Nogales shortstop Demetrio Crisantes was selected in 7th Round (198) of the MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks Monday afternoon. The Southern Arizona Player of the Year was the first high school player from Arizona selected in the draft.
“This is great!” Crisantes said. “It will be a family decision, we are all happy and especially since it’s an Arizona team. It’s a dream situation.”
Crisantes has until August 1 to decide between his University of Arizona commitment and signing and it might be a difficult decision with the estimated $247,000 slot he was selected in.
“It’s an awesome feeling and I my family knows I have a great situation with college with Arizona also. We will decide together.”
“Coming out of high school at this point in his career, he’s right up there with some of the best to ever come out of Nogales,” legendary Nogales head coach OJ Favela said. “He came back from Tommy John surgery after his sophomore year and he put the work in. He gained 19 pounds of muscle and that’s without the use of his arm. But, to put this in perspective, we’ve had some great major league guys to come out of Nogales and, at this point in his career, he’s right there and it’s because of his work ethic.”
Nogales @ApacheBaseball1 senior and @ArizonaBaseball commit Demetrio Crisantes talks Apache baseball and playing for the Wildcats under the lights of the pro scout cameras. #azpreps365 pic.twitter.com/LHRny5jOoV
— Andy Morales (@AndyMorales8) March 15, 2022
Crisantes helped lead the Apaches to a 31-4 record and a second place finish in the Arizona playoffs while batting .485 with 26 RBI, 15 doubles, 4 triples and 7 home runs.
His mom Joanne has some great advice for her son as they make a huge decision: “Have discipline, believe in yourself, tune out all of the noise and the negativity, surround yourself with great people and know that dreams do come true! So excited and blessed for sure!”
Crisantes also played for the USA Baseball 15U National Team Development Program in 2019. He is also part of the long tradition of coming out of Nogales National Little League, one of the most important community programs in all of Southern Arizona.
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Named one of “Arizona’s Heart & Sol” by KOLD and Casino del Sol, Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014, he was awarded the Ray McNally Award in 2017 and a 2019 AZ Education News recognition. He was a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. He was the first in Arizona to write about high school beach volleyball and high school girls wrestling and his unique perspective can only be found here and on AZPreps365.com. Andy is a Southern Arizona voting member of the Ed Doherty Award, recognizing the top football player in Arizona, and he was named a Local Hero by the Tucson Weekly for 2016. Andy was named an Honorary Flowing Wells Caballero in 2019, became a member of the Sunnyside Los Mezquites Cross Country Hall of Fame in 2021 and he was a member of the Amphi COVID-19 Blue Ribbon Committee. He earned a Distinguished Service Award from Amphitheater and he was recognized by City Councilman Richard Fimbres. Contact Andy Morales at amoralesmytucson@yahoo.com
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