Matt Jensen was totally caught by surprise when the telephone rang in mid-June and brass from the Kansas City Royals were on the other end offering him a professional baseball contract.
"I got the call and that was the first time I have ever heard from them," said Jensen, who works out of the bullpen for the Idaho Falls Chukars, the Pioneer League affiliate of the Royals.
"They said they wanted me to come and play," he said.
Jensen, as a 24-year-old senior at BYU, went 5-5 with a 3.86 ERA with four saves this last season.
"He (an area scout for the Royals) called and said he had seen me throw in the conference tournament and he liked what he saw. He wanted me to come and play."
That week wasn't the best for the 6-foot-2, 200-pound righthander, but the Royals still liked what they saw.
In his third appearance of the Mountain West Conference tournament, and second against nationally ranked TCU, Jensen gave up four runs in the bottom of the ninth to lose to the Horned Frogs 9-8.
Earlier in the season, he'd spoken with the Devil Rays, Marlins, Giants and Pirates, none of which selected him in the draft, but he wasn't too surprised because of his age.
"I was told it was a possibility (to get drafted) but there was nothing sure," he said. "I talked to several different scouts, and they all said they might draft me, but none of them actually said they would draft me."
For that reason, he was grateful the Royals came calling.
"I wanted to come and play and give it a shot," he said. "It was good for me to have that opportunity."
It was also good he was assigned to Idaho Falls, which allowed his wife, Jenny, to spend the first month of the season with him there before going back to Orem earlier this month to teach elementary school.
He knows his longevity will depend on what he is doing now. His age doesn't allow him much room for error.
"I'm old and if they like what they see they'll say 'let's see if he can do it against a higher level,"'Jensen said. "If they don't like what they see they'll let me go. It's not really rocket science."
In 18 appearances with the Chukars he's 1-3 with a modest 3.42 ERA. He's allowed nine earned runs and fanned 31 while walking just seven.
"I'm happy with how its going. It's more of a grind than college ball," he said.
Jensen played one year at Utah Valley State College before serving an LDS Church mission to Thailand and then played three years at BYU.
As a senior at Lone Peak High he was 8-2 with a 1.87 ERA, primarily as a starter.
At UVSC, 12 of his 13 appearances were as a starter and he was 6-4 with a 4.84 ERA. He also fanned 64 while walking just 26. He notched a no-hitter against Colorado Northwestern Community College.
At BYU he made the transition to the bullpen.
He had just 10 starts in 48 appearances with the Cougars, but he was able to develop a bullpen game, which has gotten him where he is now.
"I had a lot of guys tell me that my stuff translates to the bullpen," he said. "I figured it (a professional career) would be the bullpen or nothing."
As a sophomore he went 6-1 with a 4.24 ERA, but offseason shoulder surgery took its toll on him his junior year. He was just 1-6 with a career-worst 7.34 ERA.
"My arm felt strong, but everything felt different ... my mechanics," he said. "I didn't feel right out there. I had rehabbed hard and I was throwing pretty hard, but I didn't have any feel out there for my pitches."
He rebounded to go 5-5 as a senior and lead the team in saves with four. He posted a career-low 3.86 ERA and struck out 48, which tied his previous BYU high.
Now he's just focused on sticking with the Royals.
"I want to pitch as well as I can here until the end of the season," he said. "As of next year, with me being as old as I am, I'll either be released or they'll move me up."
He's making a pitch for the latter.
E-mail: jhinton@desnews.com