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Monday, June 11, 2007
LaVORGNA TABBED BY METS IN FIRST-YEAR DRAFT
Right-handed pitcher will become third Eastern pitcher in four years to sign contract
WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Right-handed pitcher Jason LaVorgna (North Haven, CT/Avon Old Farms) was drafted by the New York Mets in the 35th round of major league baseball’s First-Year Player Draft Friday following his junior season.
LaVorgna flew to Port St. Lucie, FL Tuesday (June 12), where he signed a one-year contract and worked out with the other new signees at the Mets' minor league facility. He was expecting to leave Saturday morning for Kingsport, Tenn. and the Mets' short-season Rookie League affiliate. The Kingsport Mets open a 67-game regular season Tuesday, June 19 at home against the Elizabethton Twins at Hunter Wright Stadium. Affiliated with the Mets since 1980, Kingsport finished 34-33 in 2006.
LaVorgna, 21, was expected to sign a contract early this week and will be assigned to either a rookie, short-season Class A or full-season Class A affiliate. The rookie and short-season Class A teams open their seasons Tuesday, June 19, while the Class A affiliates began their seasons in early April.
The Mets took LaVorgna with their 38th pick, 1,078th overall. The Mets chose 21 pitchers (15 right-handers) among their 42 selections. LaVorgna was the organization’s only selection from a New England college and was one of 14 Connecticut natives, in all, selected in the two-day draft.
A first-team All-New England selection this past spring, LaVorgna was notified of his selection by phone by Mets’ regional scout Larry Izzo late Friday afternoon while LaVorgna was on the field preparing to open his second season with the Danbury Westerners of the New England Collegiate Baseball League at Newport, RI.
LaVorgna said that he had not been in contact with any professional scouts during Eastern’s season, but had a brief workout with the Mets a week before the draft at Hofstra University on Long Island.
“I’m excited, it’s kind of a dream come true for me,” said LaVorgna, who promised that he would likely by the “fastest-signed player in the draft.” LaVorgna felt that he had had a good year as Eastern’s closer, but thought that the majority of the interest had instead been drawn by several of his high-profile teammates. “I was almost on the back burner all year. I just went in and did my thing. I was just kind of going with the flow,” admitted the 5-foot-9 inch,190-pounder. “I thought that if anything happened, that would be great. After I got the workout (by the Mets), I just kinda said, ‘we’ll just see how things go, and take it from there.’”
LaVorgna transferred to Eastern in 2006 after playing the 2005 season at the University of Massachusetts. At Eastern, LaVorgna helped the Warriors to consecutive regional championships and NCAA Division III national tournament berths. In his two-year Eastern career, he appeared in 43 games -- all out of the bullpen. He was 5-2 with seven saves and a 1.57 ERA, 50 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings. This past spring, he appeared in a staff-high 25 games – one shy of the program season record for relief appearances set by former Kansas City Royal draftee Scott Chiasson in 1998. LaVorgna was 4-1 with a team-leading 1.14 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 31 2/3 innings this year on the way to first-team All-New England and All-Little East Conference honors.
Thirty-ninth year Eastern head coach Bill Holowaty was not overly surprised by LaVorgna’s selection, but very pleased.
“I thought that he would have a chance at (getting drafted),” admitted Holowaty. “He’s a good risk (for professional baseball), because he’s strong and throws the ball hard. And I don’t think that he’s touched the surface year. He has an upside,” pointed out Holowaty, “and I’m sure (the Mets) saw that. He has a young arm, and his arm is healthy. And Jason takes care of himself, and those are all plusses.
“This has been Jason’s dream,” added Holowaty. “and I’m happy for him. He has worked hard to get there. His pitching sort of went unnoticed this year, but his stats were outstanding. He was one of our key people. He worked, and he worked, and he really focused on being better this year.”
With Danbury of the NECBL wood bat league last summer, LaVorgna appeared in a staff-high 17 games out of the bullpen, with a 3-1 record and one save and a 1.75 ERA. He had 32 strikeouts in 25 2/3 innings. As a true freshman at UMass in 2005, he appeared in ten games – nine in relief -- with an 0-2 record and one save, 5.62 ERA and eight strikeouts in 16.0 innings.
By his own admission, LaVorgna’s four-seam fastball has been clocked in the low 90s. He also throws a slider, split-fingered fastball and a two-seam fastball which cuts in and down on right-handed hitters.
“I’ve been able to fine-tune my pitches over the years,” says LaVorgna. “I’ve always been able to rear back and throw, but I don’t throw hard enough to just do that. I can locate my pitches better than I could before. I think that’s what (the Mets) saw, that they’re not getting just a thrower, but a pitcher that has good stuff. They said that I have three pitches that should be able to carry me pretty well. “
When he signs, LaVorgna will become the 29th former Eastern player to sign a contract with a major league organization. He will be the third Eastern pitchers signed in the last four years, following Ryan DiPietro (Kansas City) in 2005 and Joey Serfass (Mets) in 2004. The left-handed DiPietro was chosen in the sixth round following his junior season while the right-handed Serfass was signed as a free-agent in the summer following his senior season in 2004. Serfass currently competes for the Binghamton Mets of the Class AA Eastern League.
