Wallace, Landaker Top Valley Draft Selections

For a day, anyway, Wrigley Field became a pitcher’s park, where the weather is always sunny and the breeze blows in from the outfield.

Or so it seemed to Pepperdine junior Derek Wallace, the former Chatsworth High standout who was selected first among regional players Monday in the opening rounds of the amateur baseball draft. The Cubs made Wallace the 11th pick overall.

Also selected from the region were Royal High shortstop Dave Landaker (Houston Astros) and former Notre Dame High catcher Bobby Hughes of USC (Milwaukee Brewers) in the second round; Cal State Northridge pitcher Kevin Kloek in the fourth round (Milwaukee); Rio Mesa High third baseman Jon McMullen in the eighth round (Philadelphia Phillies); Westlake High right-hander John Snyder in the 13th round (Angels), and Northridge second baseman Scott Richardson in an undisclosed round (Milwaukee).

Wallace immediately pronounced the Cubs “a great organization with a great history and a great field.”

His comments might have been rehearsed. Wallace, reached by telephone Monday in Omaha hours before he pitched for Pepperdine against Texas in the College World Series, said his father had received inside information before the draft that the Cubs would select him if he were still available. The source: Bob Lofrano, Pierce College coach, part-time Cubs scout and Wallace’s former high school coach.

Wallace, a 6-foot-3 right-hander who missed a month of the season because of a broken leg he sustained in a car accident, took a 2-2 record and a 4.08 earned-run average into Monday’s game in Omaha. However, since returning to duty in late April, he has given up only two earned runs in 18 2/3 innings.

Landaker, a projected first-round choice, slipped a few notches before Houston made him the 39th pick overall. Landaker batted .526 this season with 45 runs and 18 stolen bases.

Hughes, a sophomore, was made the 50th overall pick by the Brewers. Hughes batted .351 this season with 15 doubles, 13 home runs, 45 RBIs, 36 runs and 65 hits. Kloek, a junior, was 8-2 with a 3.15 ERA and 111 strikeouts in 100 innings.

McMullen batted .523 with seven homers and 34 RBIs this season. Snyder struck out 97 in 60 innings. Richardson, a junior, led Northridge with a .342 batting average, 15 doubles, five triples and 20 stolen bases.

Staff writer Steve Elling contributed to this story.