MLB draft: Pembroke Hill’s Smith taken by Oakland A’s, plus where other KC locals went

Pembroke Hill baseball skipper Jeff Diskin is racking his brain, trying to think of a moment that captures the talent of his former star outfielder, Marcus Smith, and he’s about ready to give up and resort to rattling off even more school records Smith broke before he stops himself.

“Well, here’s a story,” Diskin says, ready to recount one of his favorite on-field memories of Smith, who was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the third round with overall pick No. 104 in Tuesday’s MLB Draft.

It was Saturday, April 6, and Pembroke Hill was clinging to a one-run lead on Lee’s Summit with one out in the bottom of the seventh frame. The Tigers had runners on second and third, and when the Lee’s Summit batter whistled a single up the middle, Smith left his perch in center field and charged to the ball.

The runner on third scored, but when the runner on second tried to do the same, Smith gunned him down at the plate. The Tigers had tied the game, but Smith prevented them from winning it.

Then, after that Lee’s Summit batter had reached second on the throw, a similar situation unfolded. The very next batter poked a single up the middle, Smith pounced on it, and unfurled another perfect toss to throw the runner out at home.

The inning ended. Smith had thrown out the game-winning run on back-to-back plays. Pembroke Hill prevailed in extra innings.

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Diskin said.

Smith, a center fielder and lefty pitcher, accomplished lots in his four years as a Raider. He broke 10 school records, including career hits (112), runs (112), RBI (79), triples (12) and home runs (13), and Diskin insists that if Smith didn’t draw so many walks and get plunked by so many pitches, he would hold the school record for career at-bats by far more than the current margin of six.

Smith was committed to play at Michigan in the fall, but he’s chosen to turn pro and sign with the A’s instead. He’s just the second Pembroke Hill player ever to be drafted. Don Petrie was selected in 1974, also by the A’s.

The reason Smith decided to turn pro and forgo his college career, Diskin said, is because the A’s offered him enough money. Smith and his family went into the draft with a certain amount of money in mind — Diskin isn’t sure of the exact figure — and Oakland met it.

The slot value of Smith’s selection: $560,000. That’s about how much Smith will probably be offered to sign.

“Obviously this brings a lot of credibility to our program,” Diskin said. “More importantly, it brings credibility to our school. It’ll continue to bring credibility to our school, because there’s no question in my mind that Marcus will represent the school in an A+ fashion, as a professional player.”

Fortunately for Smith and the Raiders, he’s already been doing that. Diskin said at least one MLB scout showed at each of Pembroke Hill’s 27 games last season. As many as 15 watched a single game. All but two MLB clubs sent scouts to watch Smith.

None of it, Diskin said, changed Smith.

“You would never know anybody was there watching him,” Diskin said. “He was able to handle all the quote-unquote noise outside magnificently. That was really, really impressive. He didn’t change how he played. He didn’t change who he was. He just didn’t.”

That reminds Diskin of something else: Smith had to stay grounded. Pembroke Hill’s academic slate is rigorous. It wasn’t easy on Smith, who entered the Pembroke Hill school system in middle school.

Yet he graduated.

Now, he’s on to pro baseball.

“That’s probably more impressive than getting drafted when he was drafted, or committing to Michigan,” Diskin said. “It’s one thing to persevere through a three-game slump. It’s another thing to persevere through middle school and high school and keep working through all that time, and still perform at the level he performed.”

Also selected ...

• KC-area high school players selected during the first two days of the draft include Wichita State infielder Luke Ritter, who attended Rockhurst and was taken by the New York Mets, and K-State outfielder Will Brennan, who went to Blue Valley and was selected by the Cleveland Indians. Ritter went No. 208 overall, in the seventh round, and Brennan was drafted No. 250 overall, in the eighth round.
• Central Missouri outfielder Mason Janvrin was selected in the 14th round Wednesday, 408th overall, by the Baltimore Orioles.
• Wichita State pitcher Alex Segal was drafted in the 22nd round, No. 667 overall, by the Atlanta Braves.
• Oklahoma third baseman Brylie Ware, from Sedgwick, Kan., was tabbed by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 23rd round (695th overall).
• Staley High pitcher Carter Rustad was taken by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 23rd round with the 703rd overall selection.
• Pittsburg State outfielder Alex Achtermann was chosen by the Colorado Rockies in the 30th round with overall pick No. 909.
• Wichita State pitcher Mitchell Walters, from Katy, Tex., was nabbed by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 35th round with the 1,058th overall selection.
• Missouri State pitcher Davis Schwab was picked up by the Atlanta Braves with overall pick No. 1,117 in the 37th round.
• Two Cowley County Community College players were selected in the 40th round. Pitcher Miguel Obeso was grabbed by the Toronto Blue Jays with the 1,197th overall selection, and shortshop Logan Steenstra was snared by the Minnesota Twins with overall pick No. 1,199.

This story was originally published June 5, 2019 at 11:46 AM.