#7 June 26th, 2028
2028 Draft Edition
With our first-round pick being lost due to signing Romano in free agency we only had 14 picks this year and thanks to all the compensatory picks etc our first pick was #56 overall. We felt the draft went well and had no trouble in negotiating with our draft picks with the exception of our 15th rounder, 393rd overall.
Miguel Fernandez a 22-yr-old second baseman who already has four years of high school & four years of college under his belt decided that he would like upwards of $1.8 million to stop him returning to waste another year in education. With the rest of the draft picks signing for a total outlay of less than $1 million, his call was not returned, and he can have his ninth year of education. All of the remaining picks have now successfully agreed terms with Hartford and have been assigned to their first ever pro team. So there’s a little about them :-
#2 (#56th overall) Ed Black
Ed is 22-yrs-old and hails from Keansburg, NJ. He’s had four years at West Virginia college mainly at shortstop with a few outings at second. We liked his top-notch defence at short (he won the 2027 USCBA COL USCBA COL Glove Wizard Award at SS) and our scouts recommend giving him some time at second to improve him there and even suggesting that he might even be able to fill in at the outfield positions given his defensive abilities. His speed is useful, but it is not anticipated to translate into multiple steals. He agreed a $370,000 bonus fee on signing and was sent to SS-A Waikiki. In his first six games as a pro he is 3-13 with 2 walks and has scored once batting in the lead-off spot.
#3 (#80th overall) Jack Beaumond
Jack is a 21 yr-old Canadian from Vancouver BC. He’s fresh out of San Juan college where he was selected to the 2026 International College All-Star Game. He spent virtually all his time there in right field and the improvement shown defencewise in his last year there convinced us to take a chance on him. Probably not going to be more though than an organisational RF, he signed with a $250,000 bonus and reported to Waikiki. In his first six games he is struggling to catch up with the ball a bit, he’s 3-16 but has a double, a RBI and six walks batting third.
#4 (107th overall) Alfredo ‘Busboy’ Montoya
Alfredo is a 21-yr-old born in Williamsburg OH. He spent four years at the Georgetown college where he acquired his ‘Busboy’ nickname due to his habit of sneaking into restaurant kitchens pretending to be a waiter in order to steal other people’s orders for himself and his impoverished team-mates. A sound defensive catcher with a bit of pop in his bat, in 2027 he hit ten homers in 37 games and was selected to the United States Collegiate Baseball Association All-Star Game. He has only just signed with a $170,000 bonus and is currently on-route to Waikiki to begin his pro career.
#5 (133 overall) Pawl Wilczynski
21-yr-old Pawl is from Krakow, Poland (misspelled on his player bio) and was the first pitcher selected this year. He spent four years at Keio University where in 53 outings (21 starts) he went 10-16 with one save and 3.96 ERA as well as striking out 157 batters in 170 IP. He agreed an $140,000 bonus and reported to Waikiki last week. His first ever por start saw him go 7.2 innings giving up three hits & two runs. Walking two and striking out eight he got a no decision as Waikiki lost 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth.
#6 (159th overall) Porter Morris
Porter is 21-yrs-old and from Huntington IN. His lightning speed we hope will lead to a stellar base-stealing career and can play above average defence in centre or left although he will need to work hard on his arm strength. He spent four years in South Florida college split between left & centre field and in 2027 he gained a Championship Ring when he won the 2027 United States Collegiate Baseball Association UCSBA World Series with the South Florida Citrus. He reported to Waikiki and in 40 AB’s so far, he has 8 hits, 4 walks with two RBI along with four runs scored. Used exclusively in centre so far, he has turned in some eye-catching performances in the field.
#7 (185th overall) Landon Lee
Second pitcher chosen 21-yr-old Landon was born in Abram-Perezville in Texas and spent four years aattending Arizona State college. He managed a 4-5 record with a 3.00 ERA in 30 outings there with a 1.18 WHIP. In his two Waikiki starts so far, the lefty has a 0-1 record with a 2.13 ERA. Striking out 11 in 12.2 innings pitched he has walked six.
#8 (211th overall) Hisayuki Nakano
Born in Gamagori, Japan 21-yr-old Hisayuki is a third baseman who attended Asia University for four years before completing his last year in France’s Aix-Marseille Universite. He was selected to the 2025 International College All-Star Game and won the 2028 ICOL AL Platinum Stick Award at 3B. Sent to Waikiki he has six hits in 25 AB’s including his first pro homer hit on June 15th off Yasu Storks’ Norm Morton.
#9 (237th overall) Robby Harris
Robby is a 21-yr-old from Mount Pleasant, WI. He spent four years in UAB college mainly playing as a catcher or first baseman, but we see his future as a first baseman where Waikiki had a hole. In his first 27 pro AB’s he has 10 hits including two doubles and a .370/.393/.444 triple slashline.
#10 (263rd overall) Brian Carlson
Third pitcher taken by Hartford, 22-yr-old Brian hails from Glencoe IL. He attended Cy-Fair high school for a year before going undrafted in the 2024 draft. He then spent four years at Illinois college compiling a 6-3 record with a 2.89 ERA and five saves in 60 outings mainly from the bullpen. He was selected to the 2025 and 2028 United States Collegiate Baseball Association All-Star Games and struckout 138 batters in 115 IP during his college career. In four outings out of the Waikiki bullpen he has compiled a 1-1 record and was unlucky to be tagged with the loss after the only run he gave up was unearned.
#11 (289th overall) Lonnie Whittier
Lonnie is 21-yrs-old and comes from New York City. He had four years in the James River High School but went undrafted in 2025 and headed for three years at Tulane college. He has racked up 292 college/High School appearances mainly at second base particularly in his college career. Patient at the plate he drew 87 walks in 163 college games. Playing at Waikiki he is currently the back-up second baseman and unfortunately has yet to lay bat on ball successfully going 0-8 with four strikeouts.
#12 (315th overall) Joe Lauzon
Another player with a long & varied career, 24-yr-old Joe who hails from Montreal in Canada signed a minor league contract with Crystal Lake after being discovered in 2020. After four years in their international complex he was promoted to their short season A team and their A ball team but was released after just two years. He signed up to attend Hamilton college and spent two years there before we finally drafted him. Good speed and a good arm has made him useful all round the outfield. In four games in Waikiki he flailed wildly during his 12 AB’s and he had just four K’s to show for his efforts. Given his age he was sent to A ball Cheyenne where he has done better, in four games he is 3-10 with a double and his first career pro home run on June 22nd against Nassau Vulcans where he drove in both of Cheyenne’s two runs in a 14-2 defeat.
#13 (341 overall) Jason Colman
21-yr-old Jason from New Orleans has spent the last four years in West Virginia college mainly at the corner outfield slots with left field being his best position. His college highlight was being selected to the 2026 United States Collegiate Baseball Association All-Star Game. As a backup corner outfielder he has one hit from two pinch-hit AB’s
#14 (367th overall) Blake Walker
Born in Penn Yan, New York state 18-yr-old Blake is the fourth & final pitcher selected by Hartford in the draft. He spent four years in Palm Beach High School where he compiled a 5-3 record with one save in 2025 as a fifteen-year-old but never got tagged for result again. Pitching out of the Waikiki bullpen his only action so far is facing a batter in the tenth innings of a 7-10 defeat against Kilauea, he threw one ball and one strike before getting him to ground out.
#15 (393rd overall) Miguel Fernandez
Greedy ******* We did not offer him a contract and will let him return to college. After four years at Chatsworth High School, going undrafted in 2024 and another four at UAB college he wants more education