Springville High's Mark Pawelek grew up as a Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox fan, but after Tuesday's first day of the Major League Baseball Draft, Pawelek is strictly a Cubs fan now.
Pawelek, the state's all-time leader in strikeouts, was selected by the Cubs in the first round — the 20th pick overall, making him the highest Utah draft choice since St. George lefty Bruce Hurst went 22nd overall to the Boston Red Sox in the 1976 draft.
"Once the draft started I didn't take my eyes off the computer screen," he said. And when he saw his name scroll across the screen, "It was awesome. It's a dream come true."
He agreed to terms later in the afternoon, but the contents of the deal weren't disclosed.
Pawelek said he will go to Chicago next week to watch his first game at Wrigley Field, be introduced to the media and sign his contract.
Trevor Plouffe, who was the 20th pick by the Minnesota Twins last year, received $1.5 million and money for school. Pawelek could be getting something similar. He turned down a scholarship offer to play at Arizona State University.
As expected, Justin Upton (Great Bridge HS, Virginia) was the first overall pick taken by the Arizona Diamondbacks in this year's draft.
BYU righthander Dave Horlacher (Dixie High) was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the eighth round, and SLCC's Ryan Zimmerman, a right-handed pitcher who underwent Tommy John surgery last month, was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 12th round. Zimmerman also had a scholarship offer from ASU.
BYU's Brandon Taylor was the fourth Utahn taken on the first day. He was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 17th round (520 overall).
Rounds 19 through 50 will be completed today.
In the 19 selections before Pawelek, seven were high school seniors, including one right-handed pitcher. Pawelek, (6-foot-3, 190 pounds) was the first left-handed high school pitcher taken and second lefthander overall. Ricardo Romero (Cal State Fullerton) was the first with the No. 6 pick to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Along with pre-draft talks with the Cubs, Pawelek was also in contact with the Reds, Orioles and Marlins, so the selection by the Cubs came as a surprise.
"I had no clue, to tell you the truth," he said.
Pawelek, who throws between 90-95 mph, is the second Springville player to be selected in the draft the past three years. Teammate Aaron Jensen was selected in the 19th round by the Seattle Mariners in 2003. Pawelek's brother, Dennis, was selected in the 40th round by the White Sox in the 2002 draft.
"It is the most exciting thing to happen around here since we won the state championship when I was a sophomore," Pawelek said.
Pawelek is the third Utah high schooler taken in the top three rounds in the past 15 years. Dixie High's Judd Wilstead was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the second round (71st overall), and Pine View's Ryan Bowers was taken by the New York Mets in the third round (77th overall) in the 1994 draft.
Pawelek fanned 132 hitters in 63 innings in his senior year, brining his career total to a state-record 476. He allowed just 16 hits his senior year and didn't allow an earned run.
He finished with a career record of 33-3 with a 0.83 ERA. He had eight career shutouts, two two-hitters, four one-hitters and one no-hitter.
E-mail: jhinton@desnews.com