The NECBL Fan's Guide to the 2016 MLB Draft

Kent State's Eric Lauer, a former Swamp Bat, was the first selected.

A few weeks ago, over 1,000 amateur baseball players from across the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico were drafted by Major League Baseball's 30 franchises. The draft is a lot different than, say, football and basketball. Those sports draft much fewer people (there's not multiple levels of the minors), and because of that, there's established stars who can instantly contribute. Think Karl Anthony-Towns or Jameis Winston, for instance. Baseball is a lot different -- amateurs are mostly unknown and take a lot longer to develop. NECBL fans have had the opportunity to see several of these players firsthand over the past few years, so here's some answers to questions you might've had about this edition of the draft.

Who was the first NECBL alum drafted?

With the 25th pick, the San Diego Padres took Kent State southpaw Eric Lauer, who played for the Keene Swamp Bats in 2014. Lauer is a polished left-hander who posted incredible numbers in the MAC this spring. He's got sharp control of a four-pitch mix and most likely won't need much time in the minors. Lauer starts his career in the Arizona Rookie League alongside three more Padres top prospects, including eighth overall pick Cal Quantrill. His summer in New England was brief, as he only made four appearances -- three starts -- while accumulating 15 2/3 innings. He allowed eight runs on 14 hits and three walks while striking out 17.

How many alums were selected in total?

Unfortunately, not every NECBL team released reports on their alums. It's hard to keep track of ever former player and whether they got drafted or not, so my rough estimate is in the ballpark of 85 players. Six were selected on the first day of the draft, with three coming in the opening round -- running the NECBL's total to 26 first-round selections in the leagues 22-year career.

How does that compare to previous drafts?

It's very similar to last year's numbers, when over 90 alums were taken -- including a league-record 20 from the Newport Gulls.

Who had the best season in the NECBL?

That honor could go to Willie Rios, the league's Top Pro Prospect in 2015. Rios was a 16th-round selection by the Baltimore Orioles this year, and he had a tremendously successful summer campaign last year with the Mystic Schooners. Rios was an anchor on the leagues best pitching staff (2.61 ERA), posting a 4-0 record and a 1.80 ERA, the latter of which ranked fifth in the league. In seven starts and 35 innings, the right-hander fanned 41 while the opposition batted only .202 against him all year.

However, the Robin Roberts Top Starting Pitcher, Laconia's Timothy Viehoff (Southern New Hampshire), was taken four rounds earlier. The 12th-round selection of the Seattle Mariners, Viehoff led the league in strikeouts and wins and ranked fourth in ERA. He finished with a 5-1 record and a 1.76 ERA while fanning a league-high 58 batters over 51 innings. His regular season WHIP was 0.920 and he limited opponents to a .153 batting average. He was named the starter for the 2015 NECBL All-Star Game, as well.

What team had the best talent drafted?

Excuse me if I'm miss players, but that honor belongs to the Newport Gulls. The Gulls bring in some of the best talent in the league year in and year out, and they had quite a few alums drafted in 2016. Sanford had 12 selections to Newport's 11, but the Gulls have the edge in when they had players selected. Louisville catcher Will Smith went 32nd overall, followed by Stanford's Tommy Edman (sixth round), Elon's Nick Zammerlli (eighth), and Vanderbilt's John Kilichowski (11th). A pair of 14th-round selections in Cowley County's Carson LaRue and Oklahoma State's Michael Mertz followed. Sanford finished with one selection in the first 300 picks, a fourth-rounder in Michigan's Brett Adcock.