Bridgeport Bluefish team officials today announced that five members of the team have been selected to participate in the 2010 Atlantic League All-Star Game. Pitchers Matt Pike and Pat Ryan will be joined by outfielders Charlton Jimerson and Steve Moss and catcher Luis Rodriguez on the Liberty Division squad.

“We are very pleased to have these five players represent the Bluefish during the 2010 Atlantic League All-Star Game,” says Bluefish general manager Bob Goughan. “They have been key members of our team during the first half of the season and are deserving of this accomplishment.”

Jimerson has developed into Bridgeport’s biggest offensive threat in his second year in the Atlantic League. The reigning Atlantic League batting champ leads the Bluefish in doubles (16), RBI (35), home runs (9), on-base percentage (.458), and slugging percentage (.725). Moss is currently fourth in the league with a .330 batting average. The newcomer paces the ‘Fish in runs scored (40) and hits (64). Rodriguez, a four-year Atlantic League veteran, is batting .232 with four home runs, 18 RBI and 15 runs scored. The backstop has a .988 fielding percentage from behind the plate.

In his second season with the Bluefish, Ryan has earned his place in the starting rotation. The righty owns a 4-1 record in 18 appearances (five starts) this season, leading the Atlantic League with a 1.20 ERA over 52.2 innings pitched and ranking fifth with 55 strikeouts. Pike receives this honor for a second consecutive year by posting a 6-2 record with a 3.51 ERA through 74.1 frames.

Jimerson, Moss, Rodriguez, Pike and Ryan will represent the Bluefish on the Liberty Division squad at the 2010 All-Star Game, which takes place July 6 at Suffolk County Sports Park, home of the Long Island Ducks, in Central Islip, New York. All-Star selections were the results of fan, media and front office polling, which took place throughout the league and individual team Web sites.

Former Quinnipiac pitcher Pat Egan, a Rocky Hill resident, was promoted within the Baltimore Orioles organization, moving up from the Double-A Eastern League’s Bowie (Md.) Bay Sox to the Triple-A International League’s Norfolk (Va.) Tide. Egan made his Triple-A debut on Monday, June 28 against the Louisville Bats.

Egan gave up two runs on four hits over 1 2/3 innings in a 7-2 loss by Norfolk. Egan was promoted after posting a 6-1 record with a 2.12 earned run average in 22 games out of the bullpen for the Baysox. Egan ranked among the Double-A leaders in wins (6), saves (5) and appearances (22). He also held the opposition to a .177 batting average, giving up 29 hits in 46 2/3 innings pitched and walking just six batters.

Egan signed a minor league contract with Baltimore in 2007, just prior to that year’s Major League Baseball Draft. Egan was drafted twice by Baltimore before signing with them after he exhausted his eligibility with the Bobcats. He was originally drafted in the 35th round of the 2005 draft before being taken again in the 36th round in the 2006 draft.

Egan enjoyed a successful career at Quinnipiac in which the 6-7 right-handed pitcher won 20 games in his career, a Bobcats’ Division I record at the time which was broken last season by Andy Mayer. In 2004, Egan was named to the Northeast Conference First Team and was also tabbed as the NEC's Pitcher of the Year.

In the four seasons since Egan signed with the Orioles, he has progressed through the minor league ranks, beginning with the Bluefield (WV) Orioles of the rookie-level Appalachian League where he started in 11 of the 13 games he appeared in, allowing one earned run or less in four starts including eight innings of scoreless ball against Bristol on July 20, holding them to just one hit. In 2008, he was elevated to the Class-A Aberdeen (Md.) IronBirds of the New York Penn League. While with the
IronBirds, Egan finished third in the league with 77.2 innings pitched and won four consecutive starts from August 9 through August 27.

In 2007, Egan pitched for the Class A Delmarva (Md.) Shorebirds of the South Atlantic League. While with Delmarva, Egan appeared in 11 games, striking out 22 batters over 24 innings while allowing four runs on 12 hits. He also recorded two saves for the Shorebirds.

Branford's Mike Olt started his pro career in style. In his first three games with Class A Spokane of the short-season Northwest League, Olt is 5-for-13 (.385) with a double, triple and two RBIs.

Former Salisbury School star Chris Dwyer struck out a career-high 13 in an unusual start last week. Read about it in the Sunday notes here.

Mike Olt will forgo his senior year and UConn to begin his professional baseball career. The Texas Rangers, who drafted Olt in the supplemental first round with the 49th overall pick of the draft earlier this month, signed Olt Friday for a bonus of $717,300, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Olt flew to Arlington to sign the deal, meeting with the team's front office including team president Nolan Ryan. He will report to Spokane (Wash.) of the rookie Northwest League. Olt batted .318 with 23 homers and 76 RBIs this spring, leading UConn to its first NCAA regional in 16 years. He set the school single-season and career home run records as well as the career RBI record.

Link to the Sunday minor league notes, where we ranked the top 5 Connecticut major league drafts of all-time.

Eliot Glynne, a junior LHP at UConn, was taken by the Padres in the 49th round. Later in the 49th, the Red Sox grabbed Yale first baseman Trygg Larsson-Danforth.

Glynne, who came to Storrs from his hometown of Long Beach, Calif., also played outfield for the Huskies until this season when he focused on pitching. He went 7-3 with a 2.99 ERA as one of UConn's top starters.

Larsson-Danforth, from Massachusetts, was Yale's top power hitter the last two years, earning first-team All-Ivy League both times. At 6-foot-6, 240 pounds, he hit .373 with 11 homers, 44 RBIs and a team-high 12 stolen bases.

James Wood, a senior outfielder at Trinity, was taken by the Seattle Mariners in the 47th round. Wood has been one of the better power hitters in NCAA Division III the past few years, belting 13 in 30 games this spring. He also hit .441.

Pat Quinn, a sophomore RHP at St. Petersburg (Fla.) JC, was taken by the Cincinnati Reds in the 46th round. Quinn played at Waterford High, and spent one year at the University of Maine before heading to Florida.

The first high school player from the state to be drafted is Tom Bourdon of Northwest Catholic in West Hartford, a 38th round pick of the Boston Red Sox. Bourdon, whose older brother Mike is a catcher at the University of Tampa, is committed to attend Boston College next fall.

Mike Fabiaschi of Torrington, a senior second baseman at James Madison, was taken by the Oakland Athletics in the 38th round. A former two-sport standout at Torrington -- he twice led the state in 3-pointers made, with 88 as a senior and 77 as a junior -- he batted .326 this spring for James Madison.

Rob Gariano was the first player with Connecticut ties selected today, the final day of the Major Legaue Baseball draft. Gariano, a RHP at Fairfield University, was taken by San Diego in the 36th round.

A Nutley, N.J. native and senior at Fairfield, Gariano was first-team All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference each of the last three seasons. He struck out 74 batters this season to shatter the school's career record, finishing with 293.

Mike Drowne, an outfielder at Sacred Heart, was taken by the Dodgers in the 28th round. A senior from South Hadley, Mass., batted .313 with eight homers, 33 RBIs and 33 stolen bases this fall.

Also selected in the 30th round was South Windsor resident Tim Kiene, a strapping outfielder at Avon Old Farms, who went to the Washington Nationals. The draft has finally wrapped up for the day, and will continue with the final 20 rounds on Wednesday. Check back for all the updates.

South Windsor's Jeff Vigurs , a junior catcher at Bryant, was taken in the 22nd round by the Cubs. He batted .333 with four homers and 41 RBIs this spring.

Pierre LePage of Wolcott, a second baseman at UConn who was the toughest player in Division I baseball to strike out this spring, was taken by the Chicago Cubs in the 13th round (40oth overall).

LePage, listed at 5-foot-7 and 157 pounds, draws comparisons to Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox. Both are undersized, gritty second basemen who bust it on every single play. LePage batted .327 with a team-high 20 doubles, three homers and 58 RBIs this year. He also stole 29 bases and struck out only three times in 248 at-bats, the best ratio in college baseball.

LePage attended Loomis Chaffee, where he batted .590 as a senior.

Just got off the phone with Max Russell. He is planning to forgo his final season of college eligibility at Florida Southern to sign a pro contract with the Angels.

Groton's Jesse Hahn, a high school teammate of Matt Harvey at Fitch, was taken in the sixth round by the Tampa Bay Rays. Hahn, who recently completed his junior year at Virginia Tech, was considered a fringe first-round pick by some. Harvey was the seventh overall pick of the Mets on Monday.

At 6-foot-5, 201 pounds, Hahn is coming off his finest college season. He went 5-4 with a 3.70 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 73 innings.

Max Russell of Orange, a LHP at Division II Florida Southern University, was taken in the 4th round by the Los Angeles Angels.

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Russell is a former Register All-Area and All-State MVP, and joins a growing list of former Amity players who have been drafted over the past few years. There was RHP Scott Meyer (2007, Cubs, 24th round out of Lamar), 3B Jason Esposito (2008, Royals, 7th round, passed and is now at Vanderbilt), C Michael Moras (2008, Mets, 20th round out of the University of New Haven) and SS Patrick McKenna (2009, Tigers, 27th round out of Bryant).

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Prior to 2007, the last drafted Amity player was RHP Craig Saccavino, a 28th round pick of the Twins out of the University of Richmond in 1992.

Naugatuck's Pat Dean, a junior LHP at Boston College, was taken in the third round of the draft by the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday. He was 5-2 with a team-best 4.75 ERA in 12 games this spring. He ranks ninth all-time on the career strikeouts list at BC (170), his 90 in 2009 the third-best in a single season.

Mike Olt of Branford, a junior third baseman at UConn, saw his stock rise considerably this spring. He went power binge with 23 home runs and 76 RBIs, and developed into one of the better defensive third basemen in the country.

Just how high did he elevate himself in the eyes of major league scouts? Olt was the 49th overall pick of the draft, going to the Texas Rangers in the compensatory round between the first and second rounds of Monday's draft.

Olt batted .318 this spring, and his 23 homers shattered the school single-season record of 19. He also took over as UConn's career home run and RBI leader on Saturday during a 4-for-4 performance against Central Connecticut State at the NCAA Norwich Regional. Olt crushed two long home runs and drove in a career high eight runs despite a lingering hamstring injury.

Groton's Matt Harvey, a junior RHP at North Carolina, was the seventh overall pick of the first round by the New York Mets on Monday night.

Harvey was taken in the third round out of Fitch High in 2007, and turned down a reported $1 million bonus from the Angels. He could sign for triple that amount. Mike Miner, taken seventh overall by Atlanta a year ago, signed for $2.42 million. Harvey is a legitimate flame thrower (he routinely runs it up to 96 mph), is represented by Scott Boras and has the deep pockets of the Mets working in his favor.

He was 8-3 with a 3.09 ERA at North Carolina this spring, including 102 strikeouts in 96 innings pitched. He was a preseason All-Atlantic Coast Conference and All-American.

Among draft picks from Connecticut, only Stamford's Bobby Valentine was taken higher when he went fifth overall to the Dodgers in 1965. It's also the third successive season a player from the state has gone in the first round (Anthony Hewitt of the Salisbury School went 24th overall to the Phillies in 2008 and A.J. Pollock of Hebron went 17th to the Diamondbacks last June). Not bad considering Connecticut had only two first rounders the previous 19 drafts, the last in 1996.