Anthony Ranuado has the chance to do something that no baseball player from the state of New Jersey has ever done in the history of professional sports. When the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft takes place from June 7-9, the former St. Rose High School ace could wind up the highest picked baseball player ever from the state of New Jersey.

The 6’7’ right hander is currently the top pitcher for the Louisiana State University Tigers, headlining a program that consistently produced high draft picks and quality major leaguers. The hard throwing righty has been picked in the MLB Draft before. He was selected in the 11th round by the Texas Rangers in 2007 upon his graduation from high school, but chose to turn down their contract offer and attend LSU. The decision seems to have greatly benefited not only his draft status, but also his abilities as a thrower. Ranuado has emerged from his college career with an improved repertoire of pitches, as well as a trophy case full of accolades. He enters next week’s draft a 2009 third team All-American and second team All-ACC.

The Jackson, NJ native is a lock to hear his name called very early in the 2010 draft. Mock drafts completed by baseball scouts and writers have him landing anywhere between two and thirty overall in the first round. He will almost certainly be the highest pick from Shore Conference history, surpassing Todd Frazier’s 34th overall selection. Anthony’s size, collegiate success, and array of weapons (fastball, curveball, and changeup) have scouts believing he could be a future MLB star. Ranuado led St. Rose to a state title, LSU to a national title, and will begin trying to lead a MLB franchise to a World Series very soon.