Major League Baseball held its annual draft last week and it should come as no surprise to those who follow the Falmouth Commodores that the local Cape Cod Baseball League franchise was once again well represented. The team that produced current Red Sox star Jacoby Ellsbury had several former players taken in the draft, with three going in the first round and two taken in the sandwich round between the first and second rounds, which are compensatory picks for MLB teams that lose players to free agency.

     Last year’s Commodores ace Aaron Crow of Missouri was the first pitcher taken in the draft and went ninth overall to the Washington Nationals. Crow was a big contributor in the team’s run to the Cape League finals last year and was named the league’s Outstanding Pro Prospect for 2007. Crow posted a 3-1 record on the Cape and a league-best earned run average of just 0.67.

     Arizona State’s Brett Wallace, who played first base for the Commodores in 2006, was taken 13th overall by the St. Louis Cardinals. Wallace, a power-hitting corner infielder, hit .248 with five homers and 22 runs batted in for the team here two years ago. He was one of the team’s protected players for the 2007 season but accepted an invitation to play for the US National Team instead of making a second trip to Falmouth.

     Another top pitcher from last year’s West Division championship club to be selected in the first round was Eastern Kentucky’s Christian Friedrich. Friedrich was taken 25th overall by the Colorado Rockies, the World Series runner-up. Friedrich was 4-1 for the Commodores last year with an ERA of just 2.68. He struck out 52 batters over 37 innings.

     In the compensatory round, former Commodores taken were Shooter Hunt and Conor Gillaspie. Hunt, out of Tulane University, was taken with the 31st overall pick by the Minnesota Twins. The right-handed pitcher threw for Falmouth both in 2006 and 2007. In ’06 he was an all-star and put up a record of 3-0 with a 3.38 ERA. Last year he was 2-2 with a 4.71 ERA.

     Gillaspie had a monster season for Falmouth as he flirted with the league’s triple crown. The Wichita State third baseman won the batting title, with an average of .345 and finished third in homers, with seven. He also knocked in 22 runs and was the winner of the league’s Most Valuable Player award.

     Overall the Cape League had a banner season in terms of players being selected in the draft. Fourteen former Cape Leaguers were taken in the first round alone, which accounted for 47 percent of the players taken and 67 percent of the college players taken. Buster Posey of Florida State was the first player taken in the draft who played on Cape Cod, going fifth overall to San Francisco. Many felt that Posey might go with the top selection, to Tampa Bay, but the converted catcher, who used to play shortstop, was taken by the Giants after two big years with the Y-D Red Sox. Another Y-D player was the next Cape Leaguer to go as Gordon Beckham of Georgia was the eighth player taken. Beckham was drafted by the White Sox.

     The Cape Cod Baseball League’s 2008 season begins on Friday night. The Falmouth Commodores travel to Wareham for the season-opener at Spillane Field in Wareham, where Wareham GM, and longtime Cape League contributor John Wylde will be honored. Wylde was diagnosed with cancer last year and is continuing his battle with the disease.