PORTLAND — Three former Port Angeles Lefties were drafted in the 2021 Major League Baseball draft.
Kevin Kendall, who played infield and hit .301 for the Lefties in 2017, was drafted by the New York Mets Monday in the seventh round of the draft.
Kendall, a redshirt junior at UCLA, was the 202nd pick overall.
He hit .301 with seven doubles, a triple, 11 RBIs, 12 runs scored, 12 walks and five steals in 28 games for the Lefties. His on-base plus slugging percentage for the Lefties was .799.
Kendall was a member of the All-West Coast League honorable mention team.
Kendall also played in the Cape Cod Baseball League in 2019.
He played primarily shortstop through much of his career with UCLA, switching to center field in 2021. He hit .356 for the Bruins in 2021 and has hit .309 for his career.
On Tuesday, two more former Lefties were drafted.
Damiano Palmegiani of the College of Southern Nevada was drafted in the 14th round by the Toronto Blue Jays.
Palmegiani, who is from nearby Surrey, B.C., played 47 games for the Lefties in 2019. He hit .190 with five home runs, 18 runs and 20 RBIs.
Palmegiani, an infielder, really muscled up for Southern Nevada this past season with some monster stats. He hit .389 with 26 HRs and 81 RBIs in 63 games. His slugging percentage was .867, his on-base percentage was .521 and his OPS was 1.399.
Frankie Scalzo of Grand Canyon University was selected in the 14th round by the Chicago Cubs.
Scalzo was a starter and a reliever for the Lefties in 2019. He went 3-2 with a 2.84 ERA in 31 innings. He struck out 32 batters.
For Grand Canyon, he was used exclusively as a reliever this year and he shined with 12 saves in 25 appearances.
He had an ERA of 2.21 and went 2-2, striking out 31 batters and walking 11.
Kendall, Palmegiani and Scalzo were among 40 former and current WCL players selected during the MLB draft.
Leading the way was former Bellingham Bells player Matt McLain, who was a teammate of Kendall’s at UCLA. He was picked in the first round by the Cincinnati Reds.
Bellingham had seven former players drafted, while the Victoria HarbourCats had five.
