Ronny Lowe taken in 38th round, 10 better than last year when he was selected by Arizona.
By GREG AUMAN
Published June 5, 2003
It shouldn't seem too exciting to be the 1,140th selection in a draft, but for former Ridgewood pitcher Ronny Lowe, that was 291 picks better than last year.
The rising sophomore at Pasco-Hernando Community College, a left-handed pitcher, was drafted by the Anaheim Angels, the World Series champions, in the 38th round Wednesday.
"It's great - 10 rounds better than last year," said Lowe, who was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks last summer in the 48th round but opted not to accept their offer.
As a returning two-year college player, Lowe likely was taken as a draft-and-follow pick, meaning he will pitch for PHCC next spring and then negotiate with the Angels, who hold his rights until the 2004 draft. It means he has a new team to impress, which is enough to motivate Lowe to improve on lackluster numbers from his freshman season.
"I really wanted to go back to school and show something," said Lowe, who went 3-4 with a 3.84 ERA, striking out 77 batters in 791/3 innings. "A lot of people said I did well, but I didn't think I had the greatest year and I wasn't too happy. I just know I can do a lot better."
PHCC coach Steve Winterling thought as many as five of his players could be drafted, but only Lowe was taken. Former Pasco star Lee Cruz, who set PHCC's single-season record for hits as a freshman, and sophomore Matt Reed, who led the team in home runs (11) and RBIs (46), went undrafted.
"You have to like moving up 10 rounds," Winterling said of Lowe. "He's fortunate in that he's been through this before. He didn't seem overly excited when I told him because he's gone through it and knows how things work."
The Angels have a history with PHCC - Lowe is the seventh player selected since 1997. Regional scout Tom Kotchmann, whose son Casey was Anaheim's first-round pick two years ago out of Seminole High, saw Lowe pitch this season and was impressed, Winterling said.
Lowe, who was the Times Pasco County Pitcher of the Year as a senior after going 13-1 with a 0.51 ERA to lead the Rams to the state championship game, said he wasn't surprised when Winterling told him Anaheim had selected him, but he started the day thinking his future was with another team. The New York Mets called him Wednesday morning and spoke to him briefly but did not draft him.
The only other draft pick with county ties was former Mitchell pitcher Tyler Clippard, who was taken Tuesday by the New York Yankees in the ninth round. He had accepted a scholarship to South Florida but said he plans to sign with the Yankees.
