Long Beach continues to colonize the rest of the nation, as an ever-increasing stream of Beach players hit the pros.  A few months ago, Desean Jackson (former Poly receiver) was taken by the Eagles (where he’ll be joining fellow Poly alum Winston Justice), and now, after the MLB draft, you can add St. Paul, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, San Diego, Seattle, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Toronto, Phoenix, and Washington D.C. to your official map of “Long Beach and Surrounding Areas.”

Over the first 26 rounds of the MLB draft, held Thursday and Friday, thirteen players were taken out of Long Beach, two from Wilson and a team-record eleven Dirtbags.  Of course, the biggest question was who would take Wilson High superstar Aaron Hicks.  We were all holding our breath for the Dodgers, but he ended up getting nabbed at the fourteenth overall pick by the Minnesota Twins, just one pick shy of falling to the Dodgers.  One.  Pick.  Still, the kid hasn’t taken his finals yet and he was a Top 15 pick, which, you know, isn’t too bad.  His teammate Zach Wilson was the final pick from Long Beach, at the 774th overall pick; Wilson was taken by the Pirates.

The Dirtbags, of course, were hit terribly hard, losing eleven guys—some of them with eligibility remaining—to the 2008 draft, which I imagine will be remembered by Dirtbag fans as a bittersweet experience.  Shane Peterson was the first to go, in the second round, to the Cardinals.  Espy went round three to the Nationals, and Jason Tweedy was the last to go, in round twenty to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, where he’ll be joining Long Beach State teammate Jason Corder; maybe with the success of Evan Longoria this season, the Rays were taking a harder look at the ‘Bags.  Nick Vincent will be going home, as the San Diego local was selected by the Padres.

Here is a complete list of local players taken in this year’s draft:

Day One
1: Aaron Hicks (Wilson Senior) Round 1- Pick 14- Minnesota Twins
2: Shane Peterson Round 2- Pick 59- St. Louis Cardinals
3: Brian Shaw Round 2- Pick 73- Arizona Diamondbacks
4: Danny Espinosa- Round 3- Pick 87- Washington Nationals
5: Andrew Liebel- Round 3- Pick 95- Toronto Blue Jays
6: Vance Worley- Round 3- Pick 102- Philadelphia Phillies
7: David Roberts- Round 4- Pick 141- Cleveland Indians
8: Brett Lorin- Round 5- Pick 162- Seattle Mariners

Day Two:
9: Jason Corder- Round 7- Pick 203- Tampa Bay Rays
10: Travis Howell- Round 18- Pick 552- Seattle Mariners
11: Nick Vincent- Round 18- Pick 555- San Diego Padres
12: Jason Tweedy- Round 20- Pick 593- Tampa Bay Rays
13: Zach Wilson- Round 26- Pick 774- Pittsburgh Pirates