Riverhawks see 3 current, former players taken in major-league draft

Edmonton Riverhawks pitcher Carson Latimer is one step closer to the big leagues after he was selected in the Major League Baseball Draft on Monday.

Two current Edmonton Riverhawks players and one alumni saw their names called during Monday’s Major League Baseball Draft.

The Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies took Riverhawks pitcher Carson Latimer and shortstop Robbie Phelps, respectively, in the 12th and 19th rounds of the annual 20-round affair that saw 615 players selected.

Jack Gurevitch, a first baseman from Santa Monica, Calif., who played for the Riverhawks in 2022, became property of the St. Louis Cardinals after he was taken in the third round, 89th overall. The position is the highest a Riverhawks alum has been taken in the MLB Draft. The 21-year-old played the last three NCAA Division 1 seasons with San Diego State.

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Riverhawks head coach Jake Lanferman said having two of the team’s players drafted by MLB teams has “a bigger meaning for us.”

“We’re really trying to hone in on player development,” Lanferman, who’s in his third season coaching the West Coast League club, told CTV News Edmonton on Tuesday. “We want these guys to get to the next level. We’re really ecstatic for these guys when it happens.”

Another Riverhawks alum, outfielder Jonny McGill, signed with the Los Angeles Angels. The Richmond, B.C., native played for Edmonton two years ago and has played four seasons at the University of British Columbia.

Overall, 19 Canadians were taken in this year’s draft.

Lanferman said “it’s amazing” to see as many Canadians claimed by big-league squads but that it says something about the league and the Riverhawks program itself to have the calibre of player choose Edmonton for summer development.

“Getting Americans like Robbie (Phelps) coming from Pittsburgh to spend his summer in Edmonton, when there’s a lot of viable options in the United States, it speaks on our program. It speaks on everything here, what we have going on with the atmosphere, and how amazing it is for the players in front of this crowd.”