Suiting up someday as a Major Leaguer is every young baseball player's dream.
But sometimes there are better options available to the few who eventually get that opportunity. As many prospects have found, the first path to a possible professional baseball career is not always the best.
For the past month, Utah's Major League prospects have been deciding whether to accept a minor-league contract or go to college. Most are delaying their professional-baseball quest and, at least for now, bypassing the minor-league lifestyle.
Of the 16 players with Utah ties who were drafted last month in Major League Baseball's first-year player draft, only three, along with two free agents, have signed minor-league contracts.
Andrew Larsen, an infielder who prepped at Copper Hills and played last season at Salt Lake Community College, signed with the Chicago Cubs and is playing single-A ball with the Boise Hawks. He was drafted in the ninth round, the first Utahn selected.
Former BYU outfielder Kainoa Obrey was selected by St. Louis in the 13th round and is playing for the Cardinals New Jersey rookie-league team. University of Utah pitcher Sean Overholt was selected by the Cubs in the 35th round and is Larsen's teammate in Boise.
Brock Jacobsen, the former Snow Canyon and Dixie State College star who played outfield last season for BYU, drafted a year ago but not this year, signed a free-agent contract with the Texas Rangers.
Utah's other drafted baseball prospects plan on taking their talents to college, where besides obtaining an education they can increase their professional stock with a successful season or two of collegiate play.
"Until I get my education done, or get a contract offer where they'll pay for my education, I'll stay in college," said former Spanish Fork High pitcher Tyson Brummett, who will attend Central Arizona College next year despite being selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 35th round.
Brummett falls into the same category as Mountain View's Willy Newton, Taylorsville's Chad Barben, and Dixie State's Jason Snyder, Zachary Stott, David Horlacher, Trevor Heid, Skyler Southwick and Matt Elliott, and Eastern Utah's Kameron Micholo. All were drafted but none are likely to sign minor-league deals until next spring at the earliest. Scouts call them "draft-and-follow" prospects.
Since Major League rules give teams the draft rights of junior-college players up to five days prior to the following year's draft, scouts will monitor "draft-and-follow" prospects through the upcoming college season - kind of using the junior-college schedule as an expense-free minor league system. If they like what they see they might offer a player a contract next spring that is better than the bare-bones proposal most were presented the days following June's draft.
Most "draft-and-follow" prospects were offered the same deal as Brummett, a plane ticket and the minor-league salary of $850 a month. Scouts almost encourage prospects to reject the offer and play junior-college ball for one year, where they can compete in a level above high school while experiencing a traveling lifestyle away from home.
"They kind of want to keep you under their wings for a while, but want you to go out and experience college ball for a year," Brummett said.
Just like the Giants own the rights to Brummett for the next 11 months, the Red Sox will retain the rights to Newton while he pitches next season for SLCC. The Dodgers will own Barben's draft rights while he plays at Dixie State next spring. Any of the three can sign during that time, but will go back into next year's draft if they go unsigned — where they might be picked higher, lower or not at all.
Springville's Aaron Jensen, considered by most as Utah's top pro prospect, will be in a much-more limited position if he enrolls at BYU in September, which he is expected to do. Once a player enrolls in a Division I school and attends one day of class, they are off limits to Major League teams until their junior year of eligibility expires or they turn 21. If Jensen plays for BYU he won't be eligible to sign a Major League contract until June 2005, when he turns 21.
After Jensen told scouts he wouldn't sign a Major League deal unless he received early-round money, the Seattle Mariners took a chance by selecting him in the 19th round. The Mariners are one of a few teams known to throw big money at a late-round pick. It's not a sure thing that the hard-throwing right-hander will suit up for the Cougars next season. A couple of Mariners scouts were at Jensen's home last week giving him their sales pitch. Seattle loses the draft rights to Jensen if he attends one day of class at BYU.
"He's kind of kept the door open in case they offer him a deal he can't refuse," said his father Carl Jensen.
The Division I provision might give Jason Ward and Chris Hunter, two former Utah Valley State College pitchers, some contract leverage. Ward, a former Spanish Fork High hurler, turned down what he called a "peanuts" offer from the Baltimore Orioles and is not likely to sign with the team. Instead, he'll either enroll this fall at the University of Arizona or return to Utah Valley, which is now a Division I school. Once he starts class at either school in September the Orioles will lose the rights to Ward and he'll be free to sign with any team as a free agent. He might never play Division I baseball.
"He really wants to get on with it, go through the system and get to the Majors," said Ward's stepfather, Randy Christensen.
Hunter, who has spent the past several weeks pitching with Ward on a semi-pro team in Southern California, will be in the same situation if he enrolls to pitch again for Utah Valley. If the Anaheim Angels don't sign him before then he'll be free to negotiate a contract with any team.
Of the Utahns who have begun their professional careers, Jacobsen is so far having the best first season. Through 22 games with the Rangers rookie-league team in Arizona, the switch-hitting outfielder was batting .369 with two homers and 18 RBIs. Through 27 games, Larsen was hitting .276 with two home runs. Overholt has a 1-0 record, giving up eight hits and three earned-run in six innings of work. He suffered shoulder problems and was set down to Arizona to work it out. Obrey is off to a slow start, hitting only .239 in 20 games.
Statistics for all players in the minor league system can be can be tracked at Baseball America's web site at www.baseballamerica.com/today/Stats/playerfind.html.
E-MAIL: jimr@desnews.com