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--> --> Oct. 4: Guthrie inks four-year deal with Cleveland CLEVELAND (AP) - The Cleveland Indians signed former Ashland High pitcher Jeremy Guthrie on Thursday, their first-round pick in the June draft. Guthrie agreed to a four-year contract with an option year after the Indians unsuccessfully tired to sign him all summer. He was the No. 22 overall pick out of Stanford. Guthrie passed on signing with the New York Mets after high school so he could go on a two-year Mormon mission to Spain. He decided against a professional career again when he returned from the mission and attended Stanford. After his sophomore season, the Pittsburgh Pirates made him their second pick in the 2001 draft and 84th overall. He didn't sign and returned to Stanford. This time, the 23-year-old right-hander decided not to pass on the Indians after they gave him a $4 million deal. "This is probably the first year I made a decision that other people supported," Guthrie said. "A couple of days before a decision had to be made, I think they came with some offers that were right there. I knew that we could work things out during the last couple of days. ... I was very happy with the way things turned out." Guthrie could have re-enrolled at Stanford last week. If he had elected to go to school, the Indians would have lost their rights to negotiate with him. Guthrie is considered a durable power pitcher with a compact delivery. His assortment of pitches includes a 90-mph fastball, a curveball, slider and change-up. He said he has no timetable on when he wants to reach the big leagues. "My goal is simply to go out there and learn and continue to progress," Guthrie said. The Indians don't expect him to stay in the minor leagues for long. Guthrie is expected to start the 2003 season at Double-A Akron, said John Farrell, the team's director of player development. Indians general manager Mark Shapiro thinks Guthrie has a chance to crack Cleveland's rotation in 2004. "He's an advanced pitcher as far as repeating his delivery," Farrell said. John Mirabelli, the Indians' assistant general manager for scouting operations, said Guthrie "pitches with his fastball. He throws to the glove. He's got power pitches to go with it. His secondary stuff has developed during the last two years, and those have become a couple of weapons also. He's pretty complete." Mirabelli said Guthrie's fastball has registered as high as 96 mph on the radar gun, and he's not afraid to challenge hitters with it. "I think I have a good fastball, and I try to use it," Guthrie said. "I tried to do that over the past two seasons and fine-tune the other pitches. But realizing that locating the fastball is the most important thing for me, that's what I've tried to do over the past two years is get better at that." Guthrie leaves Friday for the Indians' instructional league in Winter Haven, Fla., then will play in the Arizona Fall League and attend the club's winter development program in Cleveland. He was the Pac-10 Conference pitcher of the year last season, going 13-2 with a 2.51 ERA and 136 strikeouts in 157 2/3 innings. In two years with the Cardinal, he was 26-6 with a 2.65 ERA. The Indians are counting on Guthrie to be part of their talented core of young starting pitchers, along with Jason Davis, Cliff Lee, Ryan Drese, Brian Tallet and Billy Traber. Guthrie excelled in baseball, football, and basketball at Ashland High and was also the valedictorian. He played one year of baseball at Brigham Young in 1998, then went on his Mormon mission to Spain, where he didn't so much as touch a baseball for two years. "This is also someone who is advanced mentally," Farrell said. "He's spent two years in Spain, so the adjustments that every player goes through as they come into pro baseball, we feel that adjustment will be shortened because of his life's experience leading up to this point." Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing