3 Petalumans drafted by MLB teams

Petaluma's Sequeira taken by Phillies;?ex-Gaucho Christy, Petaluma's Comstock selected by D-Backs|

Only time will tell how well the Giants and A’s did in the 2015 Major League Baseball draft, but it was a great draft for Petaluma baseball.

Three former Petaluma players were chosen by Major League teams. Casa Grande graduate Francis Christy was picked by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the seventh round. Petaluma High grad Daniel Comstock was selected by the Diamondbacks in the 18th round and Petaluma High graduate Anthony Sequeira was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 23rd round.

Christy had a spectacular year at Palomar College in San Marcos. He was named the Rawlings National Community College Player of the year after hitting .326 with a state-leading 11 home runs and 52 RBIs.

Comstock had a huge junior year at Menlo College, batting .393 with 56 runs batted in and 16 home runs. He finished the season ranked fourth in the nation in total bases, fifth in home runs and ninth in total hits among NAIA schools. He was selected NAIA West Group Player of the Year.

Prior to the draft, Comstock worked out for four different teams. Of the four, the Arizona was his preferred team.

“It just felt right,” he says. “They did things the right way.” When the time came, he got the call from the right team.

That Comstock is still competing is a testimony to medical science and his own tenacity. He underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2014 and worked through strenuous therapy just to be able to play this spring. “It was a tough process, but it was definitely worth it,” he says.

Once he was drafted, things moved quickly. He was soon on a plane to the Diamondbacks’ training facility in Arizona where he underwent an MRI and a physical, signed his first professional contract and began workouts and evaluations.

Sometime this week he will find out if he is headed to Montana or Oregon to begin his professional career in a short-season league.

He is confident that the short season will be just that - a beginning. “The goal is to play in the major leagues,” he explains. “Being drafted is cool, but the goal is to play in the major leagues.”

Sequeira was the 2015 Summit League Player of the Year at Oral Roberts University. He hit .348 and led the Golden Eagles in home runs (10). He led the Summit League with 52 RBIs and ranked in the top 10 in hits (70), doubles (17) and walks (28). He also tied for the league lead with nine saves with an ERA of 1.63 in 27? innings.

He was selected third-team All-American, the only player in his league to receive that honor.

Sequeira was recently named a finalist for the John Olerud Award, an honor given to the top dual-threat player in the country.

Despite his impressive collegiate batting statistics, Sequeira is now strictly a pitcher. He is also in Clearwater, Fla., where he has undergone his physical, signed a professional contract and is working out in what he describes as a “mini-camp” as a pitcher.

For him, it is different being only a pitcher. “When they have batting practice, I want to hit,” he says.

Sequeira is a professional pitcher almost by accident. Last year he threw a few innings for a summer team of college players. Someone happened to track his pitches on a radar gun and discovered he was throwing better than 90 mph. Back at Oral Roberts this spring, he asked if he might try pitching. He started with a few bullpen workouts and eventually got into a game. That led to more games and suddenly he was the team’s closer.

He was expecting to be drafted, although he acknowledges it took a little longer than he expected. “When I finally got the phone call, it was a great feeling,” he says.

He won’t know until later this week where he is headed, but he says it doesn’t really matter.

“I’m just pumped up to keep playing,” he says.

Three Petaluma athletes are about to begin both living a dream and coming face-to-face with reality. They are about to begin getting paid to play baseball.

Casa Grande High School graduate Francis Christy and Petaluma High School graduates Daniel Comstock and Anthony Sequeira were all chosen last week in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. Christy and Comstock were selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Christy was picked in the seventh round, while Comstock went in the 18th round. Sequeira was taken by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 23rd round.

That three athletes from a community that is still small enough to call itself a town says a great deal about the quality of baseball played in Petaluma. All three learned the basics of the game in Little League and high school in their hometown and, according to MLB scouts, all three have the potential to some day play the sport on the highest level.

All three have amassed an impressive array of honors and awards and put up impressive statistics after leaving high school - Christy at Palomar Community College in San Marcos, Comstock at Menlo College and Sequeira at Oral Roberts University.

This is Christy’s second time in the draft. In 2013, just after his league Most Valuable Player season at Casa Grande, he was drafted in the 37th round by the Oakland A’s. He opted to pass and after his two spectacular seasons at Palomar, he improved to the seventh round, a position that should help him both financially and within the organization. Like Christy, Comstock is a catcher, meaning the two could cross paths at some point. Sequeira has two ways to go. He spent his career at Oral Roberts as a first baseman, enjoying a break-out senior season. But the Golden Eagles discovered he could also throw better than 90 mph from the mound and used him in relief, and he could well end up starting his professional career on the mound.

The odds are long that we will ever see any of the three on television. They have a long, often bumpy road, between them and the riches of Major League Baseball. There will be a lot of bus rides, a lot of fast-food meals, a lot of instruction (some of it contradictory), a lot of learning and a lot of games. There will also be a lot of politics, with organizations giving preference to the high draft choices who will represent major cash investments for their teams.

Odds are long and the obstacles are great, but the Petaluma professionals do have a few things going for them. For starters, they are all talented. They have basic baseball skills. They have good baseball foundations, laid down by a series of excellent coaches from youth leagues through high school through college. They are all willing to work hard to learn, improve and overcome those obstacles. Perhaps most importantly, all are extremely confident.

“This is cool, but the goal is the major leagues,” says Comstock, reflecting the mindset of all three.

“They have always wanted to be the man when the game is on the line,” Petaluma High coach Paul Cochrun said.

If the dream continues for any one or all three, Petaluma will have even more to celebrate. Meanwhile, how cool is it that they are getting paid to play a game they love?

(Contact John Jackson at johnie.jackson@arguscourier.com)

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