Gator teammates among local draftees

Spencer Patterson

Wednesday, June 6, 2001 | 10:57 a.m.

Three weeks after they captured the 4A state baseball title, the Green Valley Gators took center stage again on Tuesday.

Two of the team's seniors, along with a former Gator star, were selected in the first 17 rounds of this year's Major League Baseball first-year player draft.

As expected, Green Valley pitcher Jake Dittler was the first area player taken, going to the Cleveland Indians with the seventh pick in round two, No. 51 overall.

"My family and I went to MLB.com and hooked up to the radio broadcast," Dittler said. "We were just waiting to hear 'Dittler,' and then we all let out a sigh of relief. I'm just excited right now."

Eight rounds later, the Minnesota Twins took Gator outfielder Garrett Guzman -- the Sun's 2001 State Player of the Year -- with the first pick in the 10th round, No. 288 overall.

"That was one of the teams that was more interested," Guzman said. "I went to lunch with one of their scouts, took BP (batting practice) and ran for him. So I knew there was a good chance they might take me."

Later in the draft, the Indians took their second Southern Nevadan of the day, plucking Green Valley graduate David Jensen in the 17th round (No. 518). Jensen played first base for the Gators' 1998 state championship squad, then took home Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year honors at BYU in 1999 before leaving for a two-year Mormon mission.

Another one-time area star, Stanford junior outfielder Jason Van Meetren, went to the Seattle Mariners in round 13 (No. 400). The Bishop Gorman graduate was drafted by the Houston Astros in 1998, but like Jensen, opted to attend college.

Durango catcher Danny Kahr joined Dittler and Guzman as the only local high schoolers drafted Tuesday, going to the Montreal Expos in round 12 (No. 353).

Ex-Bishop Gorman and current Dixie College pitcher Ben Fox was picked up by the San Diego Padres in the 10th round (No. 300), UNLV junior left-hander Ryan Olson was selected by the New York Mets also in round 10 (No. 313), and former Chaparral right-hander Jamie Gonzales, now a senior at UC-Santa Barbara, went to the Detroit Tigers in round 12 (358).

Dittler, a 6-3, 200-pound right-hander who went 5-2 with two saves, a 2.44 ERA and 49 strikeouts and 11 walks in 43 innings this spring, said he and his advisor will meet with Indians representatives soon to begin negotiations. His advisor represents several players in the Cleveland system, including rookie big league pitcher C.C. Sabathia.

"My advisor knows the pitching director and he said that they really take care of their pitchers," Dittler said. "Cleveland was the team he was really pushing to draft me."

Dittler, who signed a letter of intent with Cal State Northridge in November, has already indicated that he will almost certainly turn professional. Guzman, on the other hand, said his decision will be based in large part on the signing bonus offered by the Twins.

"At this point there hasn't been an offer made, so I don't know," said Guzman, a CCSN early signee. "I think they want me to (turn pro) right away."

The 5-10, 165-pound Guzman finished his four-year varsity career with two state titles and a .535 batting average. This spring, he hit .533 with 12 homers and 55 RBIs out of the leadoff spot for the Gators.

The draft will resume today, beginning with round 21.