Princeton Baseball in the Pros
Major League Baseball Players | 2012 Roster of Professionals | Princeton and the MLB Draft
The Princeton baseball team has produced 25 Major Leaguers since its inception in the late 19th century. Many of those players ascended to the Major Leagues in the early 1900s but Princeton has seen a resurgence recently as the Tigers currently have three alums on Major League rosters. The trio includes Chris Young and Will Venable, both with the San Diego Padres, and Pittsburgh Pirate Ross Ohlendorf. Princeton also had a fourth player earn Major League time last season as TIm Lahey opened the season on the Philadelphia Phillies' roster, but was sent down to the Minors before appearing in a game.
Princeton had had six Major League players since the end of World War II with John Easton playing for Philadelphia in the 1950s, Dave Sisler pitching for four teams in the late 50s and early 60s and Bob Tufts pitching for San Francisco and Kansas City in the early 1980s.
Below is the complete list of Princeton's Major Leaguers with the years and teams each played with:
Moe Berg (1923-39; Brooklyn, Chicago AL, Cleveland, Washington, Boston)
Dan Bickham (1886; Cincinnati)
Charlie Caldwell (1925; New York AL)
Fred Winchell (1909; Cleveland)
John Easton (1955-59; Philadelphia)
Leonidas Lee (1877; St. Louis)
Hy Gunning (1911; Boston)
Homer Hillebrand (1905-08; Pittsburgh)
Duke Kelleher (1916; New York Giants)
Charles Lear (1914-15; Cincinnati)
Waddy MacPhee (1922; New York Giants)
Thomas McNamara (1922; Pittsburgh)
Dutch Meier (1906; Pittsburgh)
Ross Ohlendorf (2007-present; New York AL, Pittsburgh, Boston, San Diego)
Ted Reed (1915; Newark)
Roger Salmon (1912; Philadelphia AL)
Dave Sisler (1956-62; Boston, Detroit, Washington, Cincinnati)
Dutch Sterrett (1912-13; New York AL)
Roy Talcott (1943; Boston NL)
Bob Tufts (1981-83; San Francisco, Kansas City)
Bobby Vaughn (1909-15; New York AL, St. Louis)
Will Venable (2008-present; San Diego)
Woody Wagenhorst (1888; Philadelphia NL)
Stephen White (1912; Washington, Boston NL)
Chris Young (2004-present; Texas, San Diego, New York NL)
Major Leagues
Ross Ohlendorf - Bio & Stats
San Diego Padres
Will Venable - Bio & Stats
San Diego Padres
Chris Young - Bio & Stats
New York Mets
Minor Leagues
Dan Barnes - Bio & Stats
Lansing Lugnuts (Class A Affiliate of Toronto Blue Jays)
Brooklyn Cyclones (Class A Affiliate of New York Mets)
David Hale - Bio & Stats
Lynchburg Hillcats (Class A Advanced Affiliate of Atlanta Braves)
Jack Murphy - Bio & Stats
Lansing Lugnuts (Class A Affiliate of Toronto Blue Jays)
Princeton and the MLB Draft
The Princeton baseball team has seen 43 of its players be drafted in the Major League Baseball amateur entry draft since the draft began in 1965. Eighteen of those picks have occurred since 2000.
Robert Schiffner is Princeton's highest ever draft pick. He was selected 37th overall in the 1971 June secondary draft by the New York Yankees. At the time, high school players were drafted in a January draft and college players were chosen in June. Princeton's next two highest picks were B.J. Szymanski and Thomas Pauly, picked in 2004 and 2003 respectively, both by the Cincinnati Reds in the second round of the draft.
Four of Princeton's draft choices have made it to the Major Leagues. Chris Young was selected 89th overall in 2000 in the third round by Pittsburgh and made it to the Majors with Texas before being traded to San Diego. Ross Ohlendorf was the 116th pick in the fourth round of the 2004 draft by Arizona and made it to the Majors with the New York Yankees before a trade to Pittsburgh. Will Venable was picked twice, following his junior and senior seasons. He was the 218th pick in the seventh round by San Diego when he signed in 2005 and he reached the Majors with the Padres. Lastly, Bob Tufts, the 296th pick in the the 12th round of the 1977 draft made it the Major Leagues with San Francisco, the team that drafted him, and also played for Kansas City.
Below is a list of all of Princeton's draft picks since 1965.
| Pick | Round | Year | Player | MLB Team | Highest Level Reached (Current Team) |
| 37 | 2 | 1971 | Robert Schiffner ! | New York Yankees | A |
| 48 | 2 | 2004 | B.J. Szymanski | Cincinnati Reds | AAA |
| 51 | 2 | 2003 | Thomas Pauly | Cincinnati Reds | A+ |
| 83 | 4 | 1971 | Ray Huard # | Detroit Tigers | A+ |
| 87 | 3 | 2009 | David Hale | Atlanta Braves | A+ * (Lynchburg Hillcats A+) |
| 89 | 3 | 2000 | Chris Young | Pittsburgh Pirates | MLB * (New York Mets MLB) |
| 116 | 4 | 2004 | Ross Ohlendorf | Arizona Diamondbacks | MLB * (Pittsburgh Pirates MLB) |
| 197 | 8 | 1986 | Drew Stratton | Oakland Athletics | A+ |
| 213 | 9 | 1983 | Steve Kordish | Texas Rangers | AA |
| 218 | 7 | 2005 | Will Venable | San Diego Padres | MLB * (San Diego Padres MLB) |
| 272 | 11 | 1985 | Mike Fiala | Los Angeles Dodgers | A+ |
| 276 | 11 | 1981 | Mark Lockenmeyer | Detroit Tigers | AA |
| 283 | 12 | 1969 | Michael Fremuth | Detroit Tigers | AAA |
| 296 | 12 | 1977 | Bob Tufts | San Francisco Giants | MLB |
| 368 | 19 | 1965 | Jack Singer | St. Louis Cardinals | AA |
| 410 | 13 | 2012 | Matt Bowman | New York Mets | A (Brooklyn Cyclones) |
| 424 | 18 | 1976 | Mark Softy | New York Yankees | AA |
| 439 | 15 | 2004 | Will Venable $ | Baltimore Orioles | MLB * (San Diego Padres MLB) |
| 444 | 17 | 1986 | Dan Arendas | New York Yankees | AA |
| 458 | 18 | 1980 | Roderick Shepard | Houston Astros | R |
| 463 | 16 | 2004 | Steve Young | Detroit Tigers | A |
| 484 | 21 | 1970 | Ray Huard $ | Atlanta Braves | R |
| 492 | 21 | 1973 | Gary Blevins | New York Yankees | A- |
| 583 | 12 | 1982 | Steve Kordish $ | Cleveland Indians | AA |
| 601 | 20 | 2004 | Tim Lahey | Minnesota Twins | AAA |
| 624 | 24 | 1989 | Jeff Barton | San Diego Padres | A- |
| 653 | 29 | 1972 | William Binder | San Francisco Giants | R |
| 654 | 22 | 2002 | Scott Hindman | California Angels | A |
| 718 | 24 | 2002 | Pat Boran | Boston Red Sox | A+ |
| 726 | 24 | 2009 | Brad Gemberling | Arizona Diamondbacks | A+ |
| 737 | 33 | 1968 | Stephen Cushmore | Detroit Tigers | AA |
| 801 | 26 | 2007 | Sal Iacono | Houston Astros | A |
| 838 | 28 | 2000 | Buster Small | Toronto Blue Jays | A- |
| 891 | 54 | 1967 | Thomas Peppler | Cincinnati Reds | A- |
| 922 | 31 | 1998 | Michael Hazen | San Diego Padres | A |
| 940 | 31 | 2009 | Jack Murphy | Toronto Blue Jays | AA * (Lansing Lugnuts A) |
| 950 | 31 | 2008 | Spencer Lucian | New York Yankees | R |
| 1017 | 33 | 2012 | Sam Mulroy | Los Angeles Angels | AAA (Orem Owlz) |
| 1056 | 35 | 2010 | Dan Barnes | Toronto Blue Jays | A * (Lansing Lugnuts A) |
| 1085 | 36 | 2010 | Bobby Geren $% | Oakland Athletics | - |
| 1074 | 42 | 1988 | Greg Kuzma | Texas Rangers | R |
| 1098 | 36 | 2011 | Tyler Servais $% | Colorado Rockies | - |
| 1182 | 39 | 2008 | Christian Staehely | Seattle Mariners | A |
| 1271 | 46 | 1994 | Matthew Golden | St. Louis Cardinals | AA |
| 1276 | 42 | 2011 | Brett Geren $% | Oakland Athletics | - |
| 1345 | 46 | 1996 | Mike Ciminiello | Detroit Tigers | A- |
| 1354 | 45 | 2010 | Michael Fagan $% | San Diego Padres | - |
| 1366 | 46 | 2005 | Worth Lumry | Seattle Mariners | R |
| 1401 | 56 | 1991 | John Nash | San Diego Padres | A |
| 1417 | 48 | 1999 | Scott Hindman $% | Cincinnati Reds | A |
| @ | 1996 | Tom Hage | Baltimore Orioles | AA | |
| @ | 1999 | Justin Griffin | Cleveland Indians | A | |
| @ | 2005 | Brian Kappel | Seattle Mariners | A+ | |
| @ | 2006 | Erik Stiller | Cleveland Indians | AA | |
| @ | 2008 | Steven Miller | Kansas City Royals | R | |
| @ | 2009 | Dan DeGeorge | Cleveland Indians | AA |
* Currently Active
! June Secondary Draft
# January Draft
@ Undrafted Signees
$ Drafted but did not Sign
% Drafted out of High School