By: Michael Mandarino, Follow South Jersey Managing Editor
LINWOOD, N.J. — On Sunday, another South Jersey baseball star was picked in the first round of the 2021 MLB Draft.
Chase Petty, a star right-handed pitcher for Mainland Regional High School, was selected No. 26 overall by the Minnesota Twins in the first round of Sunday’s draft. You can watch the moment that the Twins officially added Petty to their organization’s pool of prospects below:
Petty reportedly has a 100 mile-per-hour fastball in his pitching arsenal. During his time pitching for Mainland Regional High School, the newest member of the Minnesota Twins’ organization became one of the most highly-touted pitching prospects in the nation. The 18-year-old is rated by Perfect Game as the No. 1 overall high school baseball player in New Jersey and the ninth-best in the country, and he has verbally committed to play baseball in college for the University of Florida.
“This is a dream come true,” Petty said shortly after being selected by the Twins. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a very long time. I’m just so thankful to the Twins and the whole organization for giving me the opportunity they’ve given me right now, and I can’t wait to get started.”
Of course, Petty isn’t the first South Jersey star to be selected in the first round of the MLB Draft. Millville native Mike Trout, perhaps the very best player in all of baseball, was picked No. 25 overall by the Los Angeles Angels in the 2009 MLB Draft. Trout has used his platform as one of baseball’s brightest stars to give back not just to his new community in Los Angeles, but his home county as well.
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