Twins select Maine West grad Ladendorf in second round

Tyler Ladendorf let two good pitches pass by with the expectation he would get a better one.

Ladendorf was chosen twice in the 34th round of the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft. He received six-figure financial offers from the Yankees after his senior year at Maine West in 2006 and the Giants after his freshman year at Howard Community College in Texas last year.

A lot of players would have jumped at either chance but Ladendorf remained patient and waited.

On Thursday, Ladendorf was rewarded with a selection that will put him in seven-figure territory. The mutli-talented shortstop was taken in the second round with the 60th pick overall by the Minnesota Twins.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Ladendorf is coming off a monster year at Howard College where he was led all NJCAA Division I players in hitting (.542) and slugging percentage (1.060).

Added strength saw his power numbers jump from 1 as a freshman to 16. He had 29 doubles, 5 triples, 82 RBI with 31 stolen bases in 32 attempts.

Baseball America's draft preview ranked Ladendorf as the 69th best prospect in the country and the top junior college prospect. Ladendorf has also signed a Division I letter of intent with Oklahoma.

Last year he hit .425 and wasn't caught in 65 stolen base attempts.

Ladendorf was offered $150,000 as a draft-and-follow prospect and the Giants offered a $190,000 bonus.

Ladendorf was a two-time Daily Herald All-Area baseball pick at Maine West. He missed his junior season because of a disintegrated labrum suffered in his throwing shoulder when he dived back into a base in the Class AA sectional final as a sophomore.

Ladendorf hit .392 with 28 RBI as Maine West won a school-record 30 games and advanced to the supersectional. He came back from the injury to hit .495 with 8 triples, 4 homers, 36 RBI and 24 stolen bases in 25 attempts as a senior.

Loyola Academy product Christian Friederich, a 6-foot-3 left-handed pitcher from Eastern Kentucky University, was chosen with the 25th pick overall by the Colorado Rockies.