Strong, Amaral drafted

Paul Strong and Beau Amaral don’t plan to sign with the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks, respectively.

But both recent high school graduates said it was an honor to be selected in the Major League Baseball Draft.

Strong, a left-handed pitcher from Marina, was taken June 10 by the Rangers in the 17th round, with the 514th overall pick. He said he was expecting to get drafted a bit higher than that, and will likely play for UC Irvine next season instead of signing a minor league deal.

“You deal with what you’re given,” said Strong, who was 7-2 with a 1.58 ERA this year for the Vikings. “School’s looking pretty good, going that late, but then you can come back three years later and go way higher. I’ve got to show what I’ve got.”

Marina Coach Paul Renfrow said he didn’t think any disappointment would linger for Strong.

“Baseball is a business,” Renfrow said. “Paul thought he was going to be drafted higher than that, but he’ll bounce back.”

Amaral, a center fielder from Huntington Beach High, was taken by Arizona on June 11, the last day of the three-day draft. The D-Backs drafted him in the 45th round with the 1,356th overall selection. He still plans to play for UCLA next season.

Amaral said he was listening to an Internet broadcast of the draft with his dad, former major leaguer Rich Amaral, when he heard his name called.

“I didn’t really think I would get drafted, but I did,” Beau Amaral said. “[Hearing my name] was kind of hard to describe. It’s always been my dream to play pro baseball. I could go after my dream right now if I really wanted.”

Amaral hit a team-best .446 with four home runs and 25 RBIs for the Oilers, helping them advance to a CIF title game for the first time in the program’s 105-year history.