Oakland A’s pluck Thousand Oaks star Muncy in first round

BASEBALL /// MLB draft



Max Muncy

Max Muncy

Max Muncy’s year just keeps getting better.

Nine stars from Acorn country heard their names called during this week’s Major League Baseball amateur draft, including Muncy, a Thousand Oaks High shortstop.

Muncy, who lives in Camarillo, was drafted No. 25 overall in the first round by the Oakland Athletics on July 11.

“It’s a dream come true,” Muncy told the Acorn. “It’s a surreal experience, for sure. I don’t think it’s sunk in a day later.”

Muncy said he will fly to Oakland in the next week or so to potentially sign a contract. In the unlikely scenario he opts out of becoming a pro baseball player this summer, the shortstop will play at the University of Arkansas on scholarship.

The Lancer helped Thousand Oaks (29-1 overall) win the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 championship this year. The Lancers were arguably the most formidable squad in California.

This season, Muncy notched a .469 batting average with 49 RBI, 34 runs, 11 home runs (including a school record four grand slams), nine doubles, two triples and one Acorn Player of the Year award.

“I’ve been training for this moment for the last 17 years, but this last year really has been a different year,” Muncy said. “I’ll take it day by day. I think I’ll keep the same work ethic and do the same things I’ve done this year. There might be heightened extra stuff to figure out in the pros or in college. I’ll figure out how those guys get better day to day, seeing what they say and get any information I can to get better every day.”

Muncy shares a serendipitous link with Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star and World Series champ Max Muncy. Both players, who are not related, share the same name and the same birthday, and both were drafted by the A’s . . . just nine years apart.

“I hope he’s able to have a good career, and I’ll watch him for sure,” the Dodgers’ Muncy told reporter Jerry Crasnick. “It’s a strange coincidence. It’s a small world.”

Muncy of Thousand Oaks said he hasn’t read a story about himself that omitted the other Muncy.

“I love it. It’s a crazy coincidence,” the Thousand Oaks slugger said. “I don’t mind having the same name as him. He’s a great player.”

Roc Riggio, a Lancer outfielder and left-handed hitter who plays with an entertaining blend of panache and grit, also heard his name called at the draft.

The Milwaukee Brewers, home to National League MVP and Westlake High grad Christian Yelich, plucked Riggio in the 11th round. The Simi Valley teen, who belted a school-record 12 home runs this spring, batted .377 with 50 runs and 26 RBI for the Lancers. Riggio committed to play at Oklahoma State.

Owen Sharts of the University of Nevada-Reno is the first pick out of the 13th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The redshirt sophomore pitcher, a Simi Valley High graduate, notched a 2-1 record with 35 strikeouts in 31 2/3 innings during an injury-shortened 2021 campaign.

Former Grace Brethren pitchers Josh Swales (13th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks) and Pierson Ohl (14th round by the Twins) got nods from big league teams. Swales toes the rubber at the College of Southern Nevada while Ohl, a conference pitcher of the year, throws cheddar at Grand Canyon University.

Barry Tolli, Grace Brethren’s former skipper, praised Ohl on Twitter.

“He’s the hardest working and most competitive kid I have ever coached!” Tolli said of Ohl.

Two Royal Highlanders arrived next on the local draft board.

Jaden Fein, a star outfielder at San Diego State, is a 15th-round pick of the Washington Nationals. The redshirt sophomore hit .389 with four homers and 53 RBI this season.

Johnathan Lavallee, the Big West Conference Co-Pitcher of the Year at Long Beach State, is a 16th-round selection of the Minnesota Twins.

Shawn Goosenberg, a Calabasas grad who patrols shortstop for Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois, is a 19th-round pick of the Chicago White Sox.

Jake Miller, a pitcher who threw a no-hitter for the University of San Diego last year, is a 20th-round pick of Cleveland. Miller prepped at Newbury Park.

Tulane southpaw Jack Aldrich (Oak Park native/Oaks Christian) went in the 20th round to the Kansas City Royals.

Muncy and all the other young baseball stars of tomorrow can prepare for the future today.

“I think it’s a great opportunity that will be hard to pass up,” Muncy said. “I think I’m ready to enter pro ball if this deal goes through.”

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