Giants draft pitcher from Herkimer College's national championship team

Greg Farone has made two stops on his baseball journey since departing Herkimer College as the school's athlete of the year, the NJCAA's Division III Pitcher of the Year, and a national champion in 2022. He learned Monday where the next stop will be.

The 6-foot-6 left-handed pitcher from Schenectady and most recently the University of Alabama was chosen by the San Francisco Giants in the seventh round of Major League Baseball's annual entry draft.

"We are extremely excited for Greg and his family," current Herkimer coach Lane Potter said. "Greg has had the most decorated and dominant career of any Herkimer baseball player in the history of our program, and we're glad to see him live out his dream."

More: 2023: Standout Herkimer College pitcher 'who can run it up to 100' drafted by MLB's Rockies

More: 2015: One General, four DiamondDawgs drafted

More: 2012: HCCC's Gabay drafted by Tampa Bay Rays

Farone, a two-time junior college all-American and the most valuable player at the NJCAA's 2022 Division III World Series, was the fourth Crimson Tide player selected this year and second on Day 2; he is now the highest drafted player ever to pass through Herkimer's program, passing fellow left-hander Dale Stanavich who was chosen in the eighth round out of Rutgers University by the Miami Marlins two years ago.

This is the third year in a row a General has been drafted, another record for the program. Troy Butler from Fort Plain was picked by the Colorado Rockies last year and retired earlier this summer.

Following a dominant sophomore season that saw Farone set an NJCAA record with an average of 2.32 strikeouts per inning - 139 in 60 innings - Farone transferred to Louisville University for 2023. He left the Cardinals after one season.

In two years at Herkimer, Farone won each of his 13 decisions, struck out 213 batters in 103 innings, and recorded a 1.77 ERA with a 0.95 WHIP. On April 24, 2022, he struck out all 15 SUNY-Adirondack batters in a five-inning perfect game in Glens Falls; he had pitched six hitless innings and struck out 14 batters against Rockingham Community College earlier in the spring in a game the Generals won in extra innings on their Florida trip.

"It's probably the best college career any player from Herkimer has had," said former Generals coach Jason Rathbun, now the coach at St. Bonaventure University.

After Herkimer, Farone pitched the one year at Louisville then transferred again. He started this spring in Alabama's midweek rotation and made one relief appearance before emerging as the team's Friday starter. His 5.02 ERA was the lowest among Alabama's starting pitchers, and he struck out 68 batters while walking 24 in 71⅔ innings. Farone got the start in the Crimson Tide's lone game at the Southeastern Conference Tournament, and started Alabama's first game at the Tallahassee, Florida, regional in the NCAA Tournament.

San Francisco "is a good place for him to land," Rathbun added. "There's not a lot of 6-6 lefties out there with his stuff and as much feel (feel for pitching) as he has."

While the feel for pitching is an ongoing process, the big-framed pitcher's fastball velocity increased from 82 mph coming out of Schenectady High School to 93 in his time at Herkimer.

"He's one of the kids we use as a model of someone who came into the program, developed and opened up opportunities," Rathbun said.

Farone is the sixth player drafted after his time at Herkimer, all over the past 13 years, starting with Willie Gabay and Hassan Evans in 2012. Jacob Shortslef from Hannibal was drafted by the Texas Rangers in 2015, and Kingston's Patrick Dorrian had already been drafted by the Atlanta Braves before joining the Generals for the spring of 2015.

Dorrian is currently playing with the Milwaukee Brewers' Tripla-A affiliate in Nashville, Tennessee, while Stanavich is pitching in Double-A in Pensacola, Florida.

Earlier Monday, the Marlins used a third-round pick to select infielder Gage Miller, Farone's Alabama teammate and the 2022 Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League Player of the Year in the first of his two summers with the Amsterdam Mohawks.

Elsewhere in the PGCBL, two 2021 Utica Blue Sox pitchers were picked Tuesday - Minnesota selected Xavier Kolhosser from St. John's University in the 13th round, and Oakland drafted pitcher Aidan Layton from Seton Hill University in the 17th.

Wyatt Parliament, who pitched in Section III at LaFargeville and Thousand Islands in high school, and with Watertown in the PGCBL, was the Yankees' seventh-round choice Monday from Viginia Tech. Parliament was selected three picks after Farone.

This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Giants draft pitcher from Herkimer College's national championship team