One of the most exciting times of the summer schedule is when Major League Baseball holds its annual amateur draft. Of course, this means that dozens of former Valley Leaguers will have an opportunity to chase their dreams of becoming a professional player, and perhaps one day advancing all the way to the major leagues.

This year, the draft begins on July 17, so publications and scouts are gearing up with mock drafts and lists of players who will most likely be drafted.

Today, we’ll take a look at the five former VBLers who made Baseball America’s list of top 500 prospects for the upcoming draft. This is quite the eclectic list!

192. Sonny DiChiara, Auburn (Strasburg 2019): Our highest ranked prospect is Sonny D, he of the outstanding power. DiChiara was one of the top hitters in the league in ’19, slashing .313/.385/.550 in 131 regular season at-bats, and then turning around and going 11-25 in six playoff games. He hit a combined 11 home runs and drove in 46 runs (in 42 total games). And he did a lot of this on a bad ankle. DiChiara had a college season for the ages in 2022 at Auburn; he hit .383/.549/.777 in 206 at-bats, with 59 runs, 15 doubles, 22 home runs, 59 RBIs, and an outstanding 68/55 BB/K ratio. D1baseball.com named him a first team All-American.

233. Trace Bright, Auburn (Charlottesville 2021): Bright started three games for Charlottesville last summer; he went 0-1, 2.31, with 14 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings pitched. For Auburn this spring, he went 5-4, 5.13, with 78 hits, 38 walks, and 94 K’s in 80 2/3 innings pitched.

397. BT Riopelle, Florida (Purcellville 2019): Riopelle was, like DiChiara, one of the best hitters in the league in 2019. He came a little later in the summer, but still put up .317/.457/.614 numbers in 101 at-bats, while adding in eight doubles, two triples, six home runs, and a solid 23/29 BB/K ratio. For Florida this spring, Riopelle hit .304/.371/.551 in 227 at-bats, with nine doubles, a triple, 15 home runs, and 55 RBIs. He was named first team All-SEC.

448. Geo Rivera, Walters State (Strasburg 2021): Rivera did not give up an earned run for the Express in 2021; he went 0-0, 0.00, with three hits, four walks, and 16 K’s in 13 2/3 combined innings (both regular season and playoffs). His opponent’s batting average in the regular season was .091; it was .000 in the playoffs. Get a load of these stats for Walters State this spring: 8-2, 1.70, five saves, 39 hits, 15 walks, and 89 K’s in 58 1/3 innings. That’s a 13.7 K/9 for those scoring at home.

466. Luc Lipcius, Tennessee (Front Royal 2017): Hard to believe Lipcius played in the Valley a full five years ago! And he played well, too, slashing .336/.441/.542 in 107 at-bats, with 10 doubles, four home runs, and an even 17 walks and 17 K’s. He was the league’s seventh best hitter. For the 57-9 Vols this spring, Lipcius hit .313/.466/.667 in 198 at-bats, with 70 runs scored (in 65 games), 11 doubles, one triple, 19 home runs, 44 RBIs, and 59 walks against 62 K’s. He even stole 14 bases, which is not something I would have expected.