Pfennigs drafted by Oakland in 13th round

By MARK NELKE

Sports editor

Jake Pfennigs got the text, then saw his name pop up on the draft tracker on his phone, and he’s ready to move on with his career.

The former Post Falls High star, a pitcher at Oregon State the past four seasons, was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 13th round, 349th overall, on Tuesday, the final day of the three-day, 20-round MLB First-Year Player Draft.

“It all happened super quick,” Pfennigs said from his parents’ home in Post Falls. “I knew it was going to happen today; I just didn’t know when or where. So it was just a waiting game. It feels good to start the process now; I’m pumped up and ready.”

This season, as a fourth-year junior at OSU, the 6-foot-7, 215-pound Pfennigs missed seven weeks early in the season with a small lat tear in his shoulder. He pitched in 11 games, all starts, finishing with a 4-1 record, a 3.96 ERA, with 30 strikeouts in 36.1 innings.

“I felt good the rest of the year, and that’s all that matters,” he said.

Oakland was one of a handful of teams who had expressed interest in Pfennigs prior to the draft.

“I’m excited; I’m ready,” he said. “They’ve got a good development system for pitchers, so I’m ready to get down to Arizona and start working.”

This is the third time Pfennigs has been through the draft process. In 2018, after his senior season at Post Falls High, he was drafted in the 35th round by the San Diego Padres, but chose not to sign.

He was eligible to be drafted last year, but made it known he was leaning toward returning to Corvallis for one more year.

“It was kinda my decision, I wanted to go back to school,” Pfennigs said. “With all the COVID stuff, and I kinda had an injury last year, I felt, go back and experience a full year of baseball with a great college program.”

This year, he said there was a possibility he could have been drafted Monday, when rounds 3-10 were held.

“I knew it was going to be yesterday or today; I just didn’t know when,” Pfennigs said.

So now that the day he’s waiting for much of his life has happened …

“It doesn’t really even feel real yet; I’m sure when I get on that plane and head to Arizona, it’ll kick in more,” Pfennigs said. “I’ve been through this process once in high school, I went through it last year, kinda. It feels good to get it over with, and start the pro career. I’m excited.”

Pfennigs said he’ll learn more from the Athletics soon, but figures he’ll be headed soon for their spring training facility in Arizona, sign his contract and take his physical, and perhaps pitch somewhere in the minors later this season.

“It’s all gonna happen quick,” said Pfennigs, the Gatorade Idaho Player of the Year in boys basketball in 2018, and who attracted some interest from colleges in basketball.

Oakland has a rookie-level team in the Arizona League. The Athletics’ High-A affiliate is the Lansing (Mich.) Lugnuts. Their AA affiliate is in Midland, Texas, and their AAA team is in Las Vegas.

In what would be his final start as a Beaver, Pfennigs started Game 1 of a best-of-3 super regional vs. Auburn on somewhat short notice, after the scheduled starter, Cooper Hjerpe, was unable to go. The left-handed Hjerpe was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday with the 22nd overall pick.

“I found out the night before, probably around 10:30,” Pfennigs recalled. “I live with Cooper, who is our Friday night starter, and he got food poisoning, got pretty sick. We were just sitting there, and he looks at me and goes, ‘I’m not going to be able to pitch tomorrow,’ I went, ‘Well, OK, looks like I’m going.’”

Pfennigs was lifted after 2.2 innings in what eventually became a 7-5 OSU loss, but it wasn’t for lack of preparation.

“I felt good, and I was ready as can be,” he said. “I was pumped up for the opportunity. I felt good going into it, but it’s baseball, things don’t go your way sometimes. But going into it I was pumped up and I was ready. I wanted the ball.”

In four seasons at OSU, Pfennings pitched in 45 games, starting 31. He was 12-4 with a 3.75 ERA, and 116 strikeouts in 144 innings.

“I couldn’t have chosen a better program to go to and play for,” he said. “It’s a very prestigious program with great coaches, a great support staff, and they helped me grow as a person on the field and off. It was a great decision; the greatest four years of my life.”