Saddleback’s Kane Tops O.C. Baseball Draft List

The Chicago White Sox made Saddleback College’s Kyle Kane a happy man Tuesday, but they didn’t do much for Cal State Fullerton Coach George Horton’s day.

The White Sox picked Kane as the 33rd selection in the supplemental round of baseball’s amateur draft, continuing Kane’s remarkable rise from lightly regarded outfielder to top pitching prospect in less than six months.

The White Sox also used the 34th pick in the supplemental round to take Brett Caradonna, a high school outfielder from San Diego who had signed to play with Fullerton but now is expected to sign a pro contract.

Kane hadn’t pitched since high school in Temecula, and then “it was only a little.” But his fate changed when he was caught by a scout’s speed gun throwing a 92-mph fastball in the Saddleback bullpen in January. A month into the season, he became the team’s full-time relief pitcher and gave up only two runs in 28 innings.

“There’s no way I thought this would be happening to me six months ago,” Kane said.

Long Beach State junior pitcher Rocky Biddle also was among the supplemental picks between the first and second rounds by the White Sox.

Caradonna has been regarded as Fullerton’s big recruiting prize and was rated as the nation’s “best pure hitter” among high school players by Baseball America. Caradonna, compared frequently to former Titan All-American Mark Kotsay, is batting .460 with 12 home runs for El Capitan High.

After learning he was a high draft choice, Caradonna said he is leaning toward signing with the White Sox.

Another leading Titan recruit, third baseman Ryan Lehr, was drafted in the sixth round by the Atlanta Braves. Lehr is batting .480 with 11 homers for La Mesa Grossmont High.

Long Beach State pitcher Marcus Jones and Cal State Fullerton pitcher Matt Wise both benefited in the draft by returning for the 1997 season.

Jones, who was picked in the eighth round last year by the White Sox as a draft-eligible sophomore, was picked in the third round by the Oakland Athletics. Wise was a sixth-round selection of the Angels, who also picked Titan pitcher Brian Tokarse in the 11th round.

Wise, a senior, wasn’t picked until the 64th round last year by the New York Yankees.

Fullerton catcher Mike Lamb was taken in the seventh round by the Texas Rangers. First baseman C.J. Ankrum was chosen in the 13th round by the San Francisco Giants, and infielder Jerome Alviso went to the Colorado Rockies in the 17th.