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Guthrie first Oregonian taken in draft Ashland product chosen in third round by Pittsburgh By TIM TROWER As implausible as it seems, Jeremy Guthrie's big adventure continued to expand when he was taken by the Pittsburgh Pirates in baseball's free-agent draft Tuesday. Guthrie, a former Ashland High standout who has been a driving force as Stanford advanced to this week's College World Series, was selected by the pitching-thin Pirates in the third round. He was the club's No. 2 pick and the 84th overall choice. Only four days earlier, Guthrie opened a super regional series against South Carolina with a six-hit, 11-1 victory that helped vault Stanford to its third straight CWS in Omaha, Neb. Earlier Tuesday, it was announced that President Bush would be in attendance when the fourth-seeded Cardinal, with Guthrie on the mound, opens at noon Friday against fifth-seeded Tulane. Then came the draft. Guthrie, a 22-year-old draft-eligible sophomore, was en route with the Cardinal to Omaha on Tuesday and could not be reached for comment. In a statement released by the school, however, Guthrie said: "It's exciting to finally know what team you have a shot to play for. It should be an exciting time for myself, my family and their organization." Greg McClain, the scout who followed Guthrie this season and recommended him to the Pittsburgh organization, talked with the 6-foot-1, 195-pound right-hander shortly after his selection. He did not get a strong sense of whether Guthrie would sign or return to school. "He sounded excited," said McClain, the Pirates' Northern California scouting supervisor. "Naturally, any young man who dreams of being in the major leagues has this day in mind. He seemed genuinely pleased to hear from me, and we're looking forward to getting the process of trying to get a deal done." Guthrie touched on his professional plans in the statement released by Stanford late Tuesday. "I want to go out and play this summer and move on to the next level," he said. "It just depends on whether we can work out a deal that works for both of us. If everything seems right, that should be the path that I will take." Guthrie had the numbers and strong outings against the best pitchers in the Pac-10 Conference - including USC's Mark Prior, the No. 2 overall draftee - to suggest he could have been taken considerably higher. The Stanford ace is 12-4 and has a 2.58 ERA. In 125� innings, he's allowed 111 hits, struck out 121 and walked 38. Guthrie has also been Stanford's top pitcher in post-season action with a 2-0 record, a 1.65 ERA and the team's only complete game. In the baseball-rich Pac-10, McClain saw Guthrie battle the best pitchers in the conference and shine. "Each time against one of those guys," said McClain, "he was even more impressive than the time before." In a March 9 showdown against Prior, who was drafted by the Chicago Cubs, Guthrie pitched a six-hitter and won, 2-0. It was the only loss of the year for Prior, the Collegiate Baseball national player of the year who went 14-1 with a 1.50 ERA. "Prior is pretty much the consensus No. 1 pitcher in the country," said McClain, "but that night, Jeremy established himself as a force and a name to be reckoned with. He matched pitches with Prior every inning and outshined him that night. When he needed to make key pitches and get an out, he was able to do so, and Prior did not." Later, Guthrie was beaten 2-1 by the Trojan ace. Another Pac-10 pitcher who went much higher than Guthrie was UCLA's Josh Karp, the No. 6 overall pick by Montreal. Karp was 5-2 with a 3.26 ERA. Even one of Guthrie's teammates, Mike Gosling, went in the second round to Arizona with the 66th pick. "Nothing surprises me any more in terms of the draft," said McClain, when asked about getting Guthrie as late as the Pirates did. McClain believes Guthrie, who originally attended Brigham Young University and went on a two-year mission to Spain, is physically and mentally ready to turn pro. He has a four-pitch repertoire: fastball, curveball, slider and changeup. The last two are particularly nasty to hitters, but McClain said any of the four are reliable. "I was excited about Jeremy's talents all year," said McClain. "I think he has tremendous makeup and is as competitive as they come. He was very purposeful every time he took the mound." The Pirates won't get into heavy discussions with Guthrie until after the CWS. "The player development people in our organization have very high hopes for him," said McClain, adding that no matter the minor league level he starts at, should he sign, "I don't imagine he'll be there very long. I think he'll be on the fast track to the big leagues and will help the ballclub out in the very near future." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.