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May 5, 2008 - The Windy City ThunderBolts produced additional competition for their starting rotation with the selection of right-handed pitcher Desmond Jones and left-handed pitcher Charles O’Neal in the 2008 Frontier League draft, held this afternoon in Marion, Illinois. Both Jones and O’Neal were top-20 draft picks by Major League Baseball organizations out of junior college.
Desmond Jones was the ThunderBolts’ first pick, and third overall by virtue of a previous trade with the River City Rascals. Jones was released at the conclusion of spring training last month by the Washington Nationals. An 11th round draft pick out of Middle Georgia Junior College by the Nationals in 2006, he was limited by injuries to only 11 games and 10.1 innings in two seasons with the Gulf Coast League Nationals. Before an injury caused Jones to miss the bulk of the 2007 season, he was projected to be a starting pitcher for their class A affiliate, the Hagerstown Suns.
With the final pick in the first round (12th overall), Windy City selected left-handed pitcher Charles O’Neal. The Cincinnati Reds drafted O’Neal in the 18th round in 2004 out of Chiopla Junior College. He spent two seasons in the Reds’ system plus another half-season with the Florida Marlins as part of his four-year professional career. In 75 career games, Jones has a 9-10 record and 5.81 ERA with 129 strikeouts in 158 innings.
“I think that we walked away with the two most impressive pitchers in the camp,” analyzed ThunderBolts’ field manager Brian Nelson. “Both Desmond and Charles consistently topped 90 mph in game situations today, and I expect both to battle for spots in our starting rotation.”
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