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Aaron King to sign with San Francisco Giants
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Justin Nuzzo
Staff Reporter
The Major League Baseball Draft may not have come calling on Surry Community College pitcher Aaron King on its first day, but alas, King was taken by the San Francisco Giants in the seventh round with the 207th overall pick.
King spent just one season with Surry, compiling a 1.79 ERA, striking out 110 and allowing 35 walks, 21 runs, 14 of them earned and 40 hits in 70 1/3 innings.
“ I was anticipating going in the top five rounds,” King said on Friday afternoon. “I told the scouts I wanted to go top-five and get no less than $160,000.”
Early Friday morning, at about 8:30 a.m., King was lying in bed at home when the call he hoped would come the day before, finally came in.
“It's an amazing feeling,” he said of being drafted by a major league team. “It's something I've dreamed of doing my whole life. To be honest with you, as soon as I picked up a baseball, I knew I wanted do it for life.”
King said things had only began to sink in when he talked to Joey Portugal, the area scout for Virginia, South and North Carolina.
“When the phone rang, they called twice this morning, I was lying in bed at about 8:30,” he said. “I talked to Mr. Portugal about my signing ability, and then, he called their office and called me back at 10:15 (a.m.).
“He asked me if there were any changes on how I felt, and I said, ‘No sir.' At that point, I was leaning more toward signing... I don't think it's actually hit me yet.”
King posted a 6-4 record in 12 games with the Knights this season.
Of King's 6-4 record, head coach Mark Tucker said, “We were shut out in three of his losses.”
The 6-4, 205-pound King was also an offensive threat with Surry, hitting .329 and racking up 22 hits in 67 at-bats. He blasted five home runs, five doubles and compiled 12 RBIs. He also scored 13 runs, had 12 walks and four stolen bases.
“My fastball has always been my ‘out' pitch, I can throw it any time, anywhere,” he said.
With the Knights, King was selected All-Region X Pitcher in 2008.
His resume from his high school days as a pitcher and outfielder is pretty impressive too - 2006 All-Conference, 2007 All-Conference, Easter Tournament Most Valuable Player, 2007 Team MVP, 2007 All-Piedmont Outfielder and the CVAC's leader in home runs in 2006 and 2007.
King went to Fred T. Foard High School (Newton), where he played for Coach Marcus Greer.
Baseball America's Predraft information on King describes him as follows: “He has all the things scouting directors love, as a 6-foot-4 lefthander who pitches in the low to mid-90s. Possibly the best lefthander in the junior college ranks, King is a strikeout pitcher, pitching off his fastball and putting hitters away with his slider. He also throws a changeup.”
It continues, “He's athletic on the mound and still has projection. His delivery is somewhat unconventional and causes him to be erratic at times. The question with King, at it is with most juco pitchers, is whether he will throw enough strikes. His K-BB ratio this season was close to 3-1. He will at least be given a chance as a starting pitcher in the pros. He's a freshman at Surry and relatively new on the scouting radar, and he wasn't drafted out of high school.”
With contract negotiations ahead, King plans on staying in tip-top shape during the summer.
“I throw every week, not every day, three or four times,” he said. “I run, to get my conditioning in. This Sunday, I'm taking a beach trip with my family to get away from the madness.”
By Friday afternoon, King was sure. He was definitely going to sign with the Giants.
“I'll sign when the Giants come down to Hickory to negotiate over the summer,” he confirmed.
Even with greener pastures on the horizon, King said he will miss his teammates and coaches at Surry.
“I've met great people up there,” he said. “The coaches are great. The people I got to know are people that I'll remember forever. I'd like to thank everybody up there for showing their support.”
In other player news, former Knights pitcher Josh Whitlock was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 26th round of the draft with 791st overall pick, out of West Virginia University.
Whitlock redshirted the 2006 season after pitching his freshman year at Surry. As a freshman for the Knights, he posted a 6-1 record with a 1.52 ERA as their No. 3 pitcher. In high school, Whitlock went 16-1 with a 1.81 ERA as a senior.
Whitlock played for Raymond Swisher at Ripley High School in West Virginia.
“It's just a dream for me,” King said. “There's millions of kids out there who would like to be doing this. It's an absolute dream.”
Contact Justin Nuzzo at jnuzzo@mtairynews.com or 719-1922.
Staff Reporter
The Major League Baseball Draft may not have come calling on Surry Community College pitcher Aaron King on its first day, but alas, King was taken by the San Francisco Giants in the seventh round with the 207th overall pick.
King spent just one season with Surry, compiling a 1.79 ERA, striking out 110 and allowing 35 walks, 21 runs, 14 of them earned and 40 hits in 70 1/3 innings.
“ I was anticipating going in the top five rounds,” King said on Friday afternoon. “I told the scouts I wanted to go top-five and get no less than $160,000.”
Early Friday morning, at about 8:30 a.m., King was lying in bed at home when the call he hoped would come the day before, finally came in.
“It's an amazing feeling,” he said of being drafted by a major league team. “It's something I've dreamed of doing my whole life. To be honest with you, as soon as I picked up a baseball, I knew I wanted do it for life.”
King said things had only began to sink in when he talked to Joey Portugal, the area scout for Virginia, South and North Carolina.
“When the phone rang, they called twice this morning, I was lying in bed at about 8:30,” he said. “I talked to Mr. Portugal about my signing ability, and then, he called their office and called me back at 10:15 (a.m.).
“He asked me if there were any changes on how I felt, and I said, ‘No sir.' At that point, I was leaning more toward signing... I don't think it's actually hit me yet.”
King posted a 6-4 record in 12 games with the Knights this season.
Of King's 6-4 record, head coach Mark Tucker said, “We were shut out in three of his losses.”
The 6-4, 205-pound King was also an offensive threat with Surry, hitting .329 and racking up 22 hits in 67 at-bats. He blasted five home runs, five doubles and compiled 12 RBIs. He also scored 13 runs, had 12 walks and four stolen bases.
“My fastball has always been my ‘out' pitch, I can throw it any time, anywhere,” he said.
With the Knights, King was selected All-Region X Pitcher in 2008.
His resume from his high school days as a pitcher and outfielder is pretty impressive too - 2006 All-Conference, 2007 All-Conference, Easter Tournament Most Valuable Player, 2007 Team MVP, 2007 All-Piedmont Outfielder and the CVAC's leader in home runs in 2006 and 2007.
King went to Fred T. Foard High School (Newton), where he played for Coach Marcus Greer.
Baseball America's Predraft information on King describes him as follows: “He has all the things scouting directors love, as a 6-foot-4 lefthander who pitches in the low to mid-90s. Possibly the best lefthander in the junior college ranks, King is a strikeout pitcher, pitching off his fastball and putting hitters away with his slider. He also throws a changeup.”
It continues, “He's athletic on the mound and still has projection. His delivery is somewhat unconventional and causes him to be erratic at times. The question with King, at it is with most juco pitchers, is whether he will throw enough strikes. His K-BB ratio this season was close to 3-1. He will at least be given a chance as a starting pitcher in the pros. He's a freshman at Surry and relatively new on the scouting radar, and he wasn't drafted out of high school.”
With contract negotiations ahead, King plans on staying in tip-top shape during the summer.
“I throw every week, not every day, three or four times,” he said. “I run, to get my conditioning in. This Sunday, I'm taking a beach trip with my family to get away from the madness.”
By Friday afternoon, King was sure. He was definitely going to sign with the Giants.
“I'll sign when the Giants come down to Hickory to negotiate over the summer,” he confirmed.
Even with greener pastures on the horizon, King said he will miss his teammates and coaches at Surry.
“I've met great people up there,” he said. “The coaches are great. The people I got to know are people that I'll remember forever. I'd like to thank everybody up there for showing their support.”
In other player news, former Knights pitcher Josh Whitlock was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 26th round of the draft with 791st overall pick, out of West Virginia University.
Whitlock redshirted the 2006 season after pitching his freshman year at Surry. As a freshman for the Knights, he posted a 6-1 record with a 1.52 ERA as their No. 3 pitcher. In high school, Whitlock went 16-1 with a 1.81 ERA as a senior.
Whitlock played for Raymond Swisher at Ripley High School in West Virginia.
“It's just a dream for me,” King said. “There's millions of kids out there who would like to be doing this. It's an absolute dream.”
Contact Justin Nuzzo at jnuzzo@mtairynews.com or 719-1922.
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Jessy wrote on Jun 10, 2008 3:53 AM:
" My best team of MLB is The San Francisco Giants . This why I always fallow their games especially whenever I have some time. I’m always trying not o miss any of their game and hear about the team’s news. But The San Francisco Giants tickets get more pricy especially when there are some hot games. But, if we’re really good fans we should try not to be mean when we’re talking about a favourite teams. It’s not only the Giants tickets that got pricy, but there are other major teams too, so the team needs our support and we should provide as much as we can. "
