Danny Zandona has been going to Fenway Park to watch Boston Red Sox games for most of his life. His mother, Linda, is from the Boston area and she’d take Danny back east during the summer to visit family and see the Red Sox play.
On Wednesday, the Red Sox took Zandona in the 21st round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. The former Santa Barbara High star was the closer for the Cal Poly baseball team this past season.
The right-handed Zandona struck out an impressive 63 batters in 39.2 innings. He posted an ERA of 2.95 in 28 appearances, held opponents to a .216 average and notched seven saves. In his Cal Poly career, he had a record of 10-6, with 127 strikeouts in 117.2 innings.
At SBHS, Zandona led the Dons to the CIF Division 2 semifinals in 2011.
Several other players with local ties were picked in the final rounds of the draft.
Outfielder Zack Zehner, a teammate of Zandona’s at Cal Poly and a former standout at SBCC, was drafted in the 18th round by the New York Yankees.
From UCSB, left-hander Domenic Mazza went to the San Francisco Giants in the 22nd round; catcher Paddy O’Brien, formerly of SBCC, was drafted by the Yankees in the 24th round; James Carter (right-handed pitcher) and Robby Nesovic (RHP) were picked in the 27th round by the Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves, respectively; Connor Baits (RHP) went to the Milwaukee Brewers in the 33rd round, outfielder Cameron Newell was taken by the Miami Marlins in the 35th and first baseman Dalton Kelly went to the Seattle Mariners in the 38th round.
