The Hawaii chapter of the Brew Crew has yet another member.
The Brewers selected Hawaii catcher Kekai Rios in the 28th round of the Major League Baseball Draft on Wednesday as Milwaukee continues to tap the islands for talent.
“All I wanted was an opportunity,” Rios, who turned 21 on Wednesday, told Tribune News Service, “and I got an opportunity.”
Rios, a Kamehameha-Kapalama graduate, was the fourth of five players with Hawaii ties selected in the three-day, 40-round draft.
The first, recent Hilo High graduate, Micah Bello, was taken in the second round Monday by the Brewers. Bello hasn’t signed yet, but he and his family are expected to find out by the weekend whether they will fly to Milwaukee or Arizona, home to the Rookie League, to finish the details on a pro contract.
When he does sign, Bello will join Waiakea graduates Kodi Medeiros and Quintin Torres-Costa – who both are at Double-A Biloxi (Miss) – in the Brewers’ farm system.
In addition, KJ Harrison, a Punahou alum from Kailua, Oahu, is a Milwaukee farmhand with Single-A Wisconsin after attending Oregon State. In 2014, the Brewers also drafted graduate Jordan Yamamoto out of Saint Louis School in Honolulu, but the right-handed pitcher was sent to the Marlins in an offseason trade that netted the Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich.
Rios hit .318 in 24 Big West games this past season as a catcher, third baseman and designated hitter. He also handled a pitching staff that used eight different starters.
According to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, the Kansas City Royals called Rios earlier in the day but made a conditional offer that was deemed too low.
After a breakfast of pancakes and Portuguese sausage, Rios was returning to his family’s Hilo home when he learned he was selected by the Brewers.
According to KHON-TV, Rios turned down the Royals’ offer of $75,000 and is expected to sign for six figures.
Rainbow Warrior relief pitcher Dylan Thomas was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 38th round. Thomas receiving calls before the start of Wednesday’s 10th round, but teams interested in selecting Thomas between the 10th and 15th rounds could not meet his asking price. As a draft-eligible sophomore, Thomas also has leverage next year if he chooses to return to UH for his junior season. He is scheduled to leave Thursday morning to compete in the Cape Cod Baseball League this summer.
After Bello, the second player from Hawaii off the board was Anthony Ho’opi’i-Tuionetoa, a pitcher/outfielder from Maui’s Baldwin High who was selected Wednesday by the Minnesota Twins in the 16th round.
The Seattle Mariners chose Beau Branton, a Stanford infielder and Punahou School graduate, in the 28th round.
At last month’s HHSAA baseball tournament, Ho’opi’i-Tuionetoa pitched five innings to get the win in the semifinals for Baldwin, and he was 1 for 3 with a sacrifice fly as the Bears beat Waiakea to claim the state title.
