Central Michigan University Athletics
Collmenter Signs Contract with Arizona Diamondbacks
6/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
MOUNT PLEASANT Central Michigan University right-hander Josh Collmenter (Homer, Mich./Homer HS) has signed a contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks and will not return for his senior season.
Collmenter will fly to Washington on Wednesday to report to the Yakima Bears, Arizona’s affiliate in the Northwest League. The Northwest League is a short-season rookie league; Yakima opens its season Tuesday night and will play a 76-game schedule that concludes Sept. 5.
A date for Collmenter’s first start in a Yakima uniform has not been determined.
“I had a dollar figure in my mind of what it would take for me to sign,” Collmenter said. “I hadn’t heard anything from them for a few days, so I was making plans to try to get a spot in the Cape Cod League for this summer. They came in Tuesday and offered me a little less than what I had wanted, but eventually they came up to my bottom figure and I felt comfortable with the offer.”
Collmenter was a 15th-round selection by the Diamondbacks in the Major League Baseball Draft on June 8. He was 9-4 with a 1.93 ERA for CMU in 2007, including 8-1 with a 0.71 ERA in nine Mid-American Conference starts. His postseason awards list includes: MAC Pitcher of the Year, All-MAC first team, All-Mideast Region first team, All-America third team by Baseball America, Great Lakes Region Pitcher of the Year by InsidePitching.com, Academic All-District IV second team, Academic All-MAC and CMU’s Most Valuable Player.
Collmenter is the second of CMU’s four draftees to sign a professional contract. Ben Humphrey, a 28th-round pick of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, has reported to the Princeton Devil Rays of the rookie-level Appalachian League. Princeton opens its season at home Thursday against the Kingsport Mets.
Collmenter will fly to Washington on Wednesday to report to the Yakima Bears, Arizona’s affiliate in the Northwest League. The Northwest League is a short-season rookie league; Yakima opens its season Tuesday night and will play a 76-game schedule that concludes Sept. 5.
A date for Collmenter’s first start in a Yakima uniform has not been determined.
“I had a dollar figure in my mind of what it would take for me to sign,” Collmenter said. “I hadn’t heard anything from them for a few days, so I was making plans to try to get a spot in the Cape Cod League for this summer. They came in Tuesday and offered me a little less than what I had wanted, but eventually they came up to my bottom figure and I felt comfortable with the offer.”
Collmenter was a 15th-round selection by the Diamondbacks in the Major League Baseball Draft on June 8. He was 9-4 with a 1.93 ERA for CMU in 2007, including 8-1 with a 0.71 ERA in nine Mid-American Conference starts. His postseason awards list includes: MAC Pitcher of the Year, All-MAC first team, All-Mideast Region first team, All-America third team by Baseball America, Great Lakes Region Pitcher of the Year by InsidePitching.com, Academic All-District IV second team, Academic All-MAC and CMU’s Most Valuable Player.
Collmenter is the second of CMU’s four draftees to sign a professional contract. Ben Humphrey, a 28th-round pick of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, has reported to the Princeton Devil Rays of the rookie-level Appalachian League. Princeton opens its season at home Thursday against the Kingsport Mets.
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