TAMPA — Anthony Ferrara expected Thursday to be the best day of his life, the day when he'd find out where he'd go in on the opening day of this year's MLB first-year player draft.
"It ended up being horrible," the recent Riverview graduate said. "By the end of the day, I was pooped."
Major-league teams dangled the draft carrot in front of the left-hander all day. A Brewers scout was text messaging his mother beginning in the second round. The Phillies called in the third, wanting the family to fax over Ferrara's medical records. The White Sox and Tigers also kept calling, asking if Ferrara, a USF signee, would still turn pro if he slipped into the lower paying slotted rounds. At the end of the day, he still wasn't picked.
But Ferrara didn't have long to wait when the draft resumed Friday morning. Thirteen picks into Day 2, he was selected by the Cardinals in the seventh round with the 215th overall pick.
Ferrara realized that a bicep tendonitis injury, which he spent the past four months trying to prove his was over, following his junior year scared off pro scouts. He had a successful senior season, going 4-4 with a 2.74 ERA with 81 strikeouts in 46 innings.
"It killed me," Ferrera said of the injury. "As a junior, I was going to be a first-round pick. And this year, Baseball America ranked me 189th. I thought that was high, but they were pretty right on."
The 6-foot-1, 175-pounder was happy the Cardinals selected him. He didn't rule out going to USF but was excited about the prospect of turning pro.
"I'm really happy," he said. "They're a great organization."
THOMAS APPEARS READY: Middleton RHP/SS Corey Thomas, another USF signee who slipped into Day 2, said he is eager to turn pro after the Orioles drafted him in the 13th round with the 386th overall pick. He said the only way he would go to college would be if a deal was "unreasonable."
"All I wanted was an opportunity to play pro ball," Thomas said. "I'm excited that they've given me a change to play. … I think my future right now is being a professional baseball player."
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