Photo: Josiah Romeo (Mike Sabo/Trenton Thunder)
Drafted Thunder Players:
RHP Josiah Romeo - Round 6 to Oakland Athletics
The 6-3 right handed Starter from Ontario played June ball with your Thunder before heading off to the MLB Draft Combine to show off his skills. The 33rd ranked senior in North America committed to FSU in December over Alabama, Kentucky, and Missouri State. Romeo will get opportunity to be a two-way player for Seminoles, also plays corner infield. Fastball low-mid 90s, Slider 79-82MPH, Changeup 84-85MPH.
Outfielder Jackson Strong - Round 7 to Detroit Tigers
All-MAAC First Team in 2023. Batted .357 with 61 hits and a team leading 13 home runs. Also led the team in RBI’s with 48. Strong finished the 2024 season with a .350 average, 62 hits, 11 home runs, 9 doubles, 34 RBI’s, and 55 runs scored. Stole 42 bases which was 2nd in the Nation across Division 1 baseball and the single season record for Canisius.
Outfielder Nathan Archer - Round 12 to Chicago White Sox
35 Career Home Runs, T-4th All-Time. 10 Career Triples T-6th All-Time… 340 Total Bases 7th all time… 137 RBIs T-8th all time…2024 ABCA/Rawlings All-Region selection… 2024 MAC Player of the Year…2024 First Team All MAC…Two-Time MAC All-Defensive Team 23-24…2024 - .300/.599/.362 74H 14 Doubles, 18 Home runs, 64 RBIs, 66 Runs, 247 AB 61K’s, 22 BBs.
Outfielder Ryan Cesarini - Round 14 to Cleveland Guardians
2023 Atlantic-10 All-Conference Second Team…Started all 49 games in 2023 for the hawks and led the team in batting average at .402… Also held the team lead in doubles with 17 and tied for the lead in RBI’s with 54…Scored 47 runs and hit 8 home runs… career .351 hitter on Hawk Hill with a .544 career slugging percentage.
RHP Jacob Kisting - Round 14 to Minnesota Twins
Signed with Bradley as part of the 2021 recruiting class… Started in all 29 of his appearances over the 2022 and 2023 seasons… Led the team in strikeouts and innings pitched in with 79 strikeouts over 72.2 innings during the 2023 season… Got injured prior to the 2024 season. Made his first appearance on April 20, 2024, marking the first relief appearance of his Bradley career. He threw one inning with two strikeouts… 2024 – 5G 16IP 14H 11R 11ER 6BB 15K 6.19 ERA – Career: 7-14 34G 33GS 171.2IP 5.50ERA 173K to 71BB 770BF .265BAA.
RHP Blake Hammond - Round 15 to Oakland Athletics
RHP Luke Gabrysh - Round 15 to Philadelphia Phillies
Primarily used out of the bullpen for the Hawks. Posted a 3-3 record in the regular season across 18 appearances… in 39 innings scattered 41 hits, striking out 34 while allowing 25 runs – 24 earned.
RHP Eli Trop - Round 16 to Philadelphia Phillies
Made 10 appearances out of the bullpen in 2022, pitching to a 3.65 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 12.1 innings … Struck out three across two scoreless, hitless innings of work in first appearances of the season, against Lehigh (March 23) and Delaware State (April 5) … Picked up first collegiate save after striking out three in three perfect innings of work against Yale (April 29). Struck out two in a scoreless inning against Bucknell (May 18) and two more in another scoreless inning against Columbia in the Ivy League Playoff Series (May 21) … Ended season allowing just one earned run over final 9.1 innings of work, striking out 10 during that span. Has maintained a sub 1.00 ERA and Sub .100 batting average against.
Infielder Brendan Lawson - Round 19 to St. Louis Cardinals
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Original Story:
Trenton, NJ – All eyes will be on the closest screen as the 2024 MLB Draft kicks off at 7:00 PM Sunday night. Following a successful 2023 season that saw 10 Thunder players selected in the MLB Draft, the organization is eager to see if any of its current stars will hear their name called.
Some of the highest rated and youngest prospects in this year’s draft spent their summer in Trenton. Infielder Brendan Lawson ranks as the number one prospect coming out of Canada and is the 40th ranked overall prospect in the 2024 MLB Draft. Baylor University commit Brayden Bergman ranks as the 59th overall prospect for the 2024 class according to prospectlive.com. Florida State commit Josiah Romeo is the 33rd ranked senior in North America and committed to the Seminoles over Alabama and Kentucky.
Ira Jefferies-Harris, a Georgia Tech commit, has drawn the eyes of Major League scouts with his quick hands, blazing speed, and versatility across the infield. Tanner Chun, the Tulane commit, a top prospect out of Hawaii, ranks as a top 500 prep prospect in this year’s class and was a member of Hawaii’s 2018 Little League World Series team. Bryce Grudzielanek, son of 15-year MLB Veteran Mark Grudzielanek, has drawn considerable attention from scouts with his consistent bat and defense.
Your Thunder are a founding member of the MLB Draft League, a unique six-team league designed to showcase top draft-eligible talent. Players compete in a split-season format, with the first half focused on draft preparation and the second half featuring a traditional professional league structure.
The team will provide updates throughout the week on any Thunder players selected in the draft.
For full ticket pricing and information for the rest of the 2024 season, partnership/sponsorship opportunities, and information about special events at Trenton Thunder Ballpark, please visit trentonthunder.com or call the Thunder Box Office at (609) 394-3300, opt 4.
About Trenton Thunder Baseball
The Trenton Thunder have drawn over 10.7 million fans over 30 years and have won the three major awards that Minor League Baseball teams can win: the Johnson Trophy for the "Nation's Best Franchise", the Larry MacPhail Trophy for Outstanding Club Promotion, and the Bob Frietas Award for Long-Term Success (Given by Baseball America). The team has given back over $8.5 million worth of goods, services, and monetary donations through Trenton Thunder Charities, under the Grand Slam We Care Foundation umbrella. The Thunder can be found online at trentonthunder.com.
