Boston College Baseball: Dante Baldelli Commits To The Eagles

Boston College baseball commit Dante Baldelli has informed the Philadelphia Phillies that he will not sign despite being selected in this year’s Major League Baseball Entry Draft.

Baldelli, a 39th round pick out of Bishop Hendricken High School in Rhode Island, will instead attend BC this fall and join the Eagles baseball family.

The lone high school draft pick in this year’s recruiting class, Philadelphia made him the first choice of the 39th round with the 1,157th overall selection. The Phillies then had until July 15th to sign him with a competitive offer sheet or risk losing his draft rights.

High school draftees who do not sign become ineligible for three years if they attend an NCAA institution. They cannot be chosen by the team that selected them the first time around unless they consent to the choice before the draft.

After completing his senior season, Baldelli joined the Nashua Silver Knights of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League. Per the above report, the Phillies sent scouts to watch Baldelli, but the 6’4” outfielder turned down any offer to attend BC.

Baldelli hit .309 for the Silver Knights with a home run and nine RBI in 14 games before suffering a wrist injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the summer. He is expected to make a full recovery.

The Eagles have had at least one high school commit drafted every year since 2008.