Saints in the Pros

    The Siena baseball program has become a top breeding ground for professional baseball prospects in the Northeast. Since 1996, 12 Saints have been drafted in Major League Baseball's first year players' draft.

    In the spring of 2005, John Lannan was drafted in the 11th round by the Washington Nationals. Lannan quickly ascended through the minor league system in 2007, becoming the fourth Siena player to reach the majors (Tim Christman - Colorado Rockies, Gary Holle - Texas Rangers and Billy Harrell - Cleveland Indians) where he threw 35 innings over six starts with the Nationals, finishing with a 2-2 record and a 4.15 ERA. In 2009, Lannan emerged as one of the team's top pitchers, spending the entire season in the starting rotation after being recalled in May. He finished the year with a 9-15 record, but posted a stellar 3.91 ERA and had 117 strikeouts and just 72 walks in 182 innings of work. After another strong 2010 campaign, Lannan inked a multi-million dollar deal.

    Todd Donovan - a 1999 graduate of Siena who helped the Saints to their only NCAA appearance spent several seasons playing high level minor league ball, before hanging up his spikes to pursue a professional scouting career with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2010.

    Anthony Giansanti signed a free agent contract with the Chicago Cubs in 2010 after being drafted by the Oakland A's in 2009. He has excelled in his first two years with the franchise.

    Most recently, star second baseman Daniel Paolini was drafted in the 10th Round by the Seattle Mariners. Paolini was a two-time All American at Siena, two-time conference Player of the Year and the MAAC's all-time home run king with 56 long balls in just three seasons. He was assigned to Pulaski, where his professional career began on June 20, 2011. In total 37 Siena players have gone on to sign professional baseball contracts with four (Billy Harrell, Gary Holle, Tim Christman and John Lannan) reaching the highest level.
    1950 Jim Sweeny - Boston Red Sox
    1952 Billy Harrell - Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox; MVP Eastern League 1956.
    1955 Jim Walsh - Brooklyn Dodgers
    1958 Joe McCrudden - Brooklyn / L.A. Dodgers
    1976 Gary Holle - 13th round by Milwaukee Brewers also w/ Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies
    1978 Dave Smith - 30th round; New York Mets
    1982 Ken Hayner - signed w/ Utica Blue Sox
    1983 Jim Howard - 6th round; Baltimore Orioles
    1984 Jim Howard - 23rd round; Toronto Blue Jays
    1984 Larry Monaco - 29th round; Toronto Blue Jays
    1984 Tom Winter - 24th round; Toronto Blue Jays
    1989 Chris Alesio - signed w/ St. Louis Cardinals
    1989 Chris Gorton - signed w/ St. Louis Cardinals
    1989 Dave Howard - 24th round; Pittsburgh Pirates
    1989 Shaun Sottile - signed w/ Atlanta Braves
    1990 Pasquale Arace - signed w/ Pittsburgh Pirates
    1991 Kevin Carroll - signed w/ New York Mets
    1992 Mike Serbalik - 32nd round; L.A. Dodgers
    1994 Dave Perry - signed w/ Ind. Catskill Cougars
    1996 Tim Christman - 11th round; Colorado Rockies
    1996 Ira Tilton - 5th round; Philadelphia Phillies
    1996 Paul Wilders - 33rd round; St. Louis Cardinals
    1997 Dennis Hogan - signed w/ Ind. Allentown Ambassadors
    1997 Craig Johnson - 20th round; Detroit Tigers
    1997 Mike Roberts - 21st round; Atlanta Braves
    1999 Todd Donovan - 8th Round; San Diego Padres
    1999 Jeremy Giard - signed w/ Ind. Massachusetts Mad Dogs
    2000 Kevin Brown - signed w/ Ind. Johnstown Johnnies
    2000 Dave Fields - signed w/ Ind. Chillicothe Paints
    2000 Nick Spera - signed w/ Ind. Nashua Pride
    2002 Dave Pahucki - 23rd round; Boston Red Sox
    2002 Jim Buckley - 25th round; Boston Red Sox
    2002 Justin Knoff - 30th round; Cincinnati Reds
    2004 Ryan Bitter - 22nd Round; Tampa Bay Devil Rays
    2004 Blake Hanan - signed with Baltimore Orioles
    2005 John Lannan - 11th round; Washington Nationals
    2009 Will Hassett - signed w/ Ind. Rockland Boulders
    2010 Anthony Giansanti - Free Agent; Chicago Cubs
    2011 Dan Paolini - 10th Round; Seattle Mariners
    2011 Kevin Quaranto - Free Agent; Philadelphia Phillies

    Bold font = still active - click on player name for updated bio and stats

     
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