June 12, 2007

NJCU'S VARGAS DRAFTED BY THE CHICAGO WHITE SOX

BECOMES FIRST GOTHIC KNIGHT DRAFTED SINCE 1984

New Jersey City University junior right-hander Baldwin Vargas became the first NJCU player drafted in 23 years on June 8 when he was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 43^rd round (No. 1291) of the 2007 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.
 

Vargas was the only player drafted in the New Jersey Athletic Conference this year, and one of only 19 players nationwide in Division III that were selected in the 45-round first-year player draft. Vargas, a 6-foot-1, 235-pound righty who transferred to NJCU for the 2007 season, sits at around 91-92 miles per hour on his fastball, and has great movement on all five of his pitches, something that was noticed by Northeast Area Scout Chuck Fox.
 

Vargas, who is currently pitching for the Manchester (CT) Silkworms of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL), will likely begin his professional career later this month with the Bristol (VA) Sox of the Rookie Appalachian League, which opens its season on June 19. He has made one start this summer for Manchester.
 

“I felt weird coming out of NJCU and I didn’t think it was going to happen,” Vargas admitted about his draft chances. “This one scout [Chuck Fox] saw me a couple of times and saw something in me that no one else did. I’m happy he did and I’m going to make the most of this opportunity. I’m going to represent NJCU with my love and heart and show everyone that NJCU is a program on the rise.”

Vargas is the first NJCU player drafted by a major league club since 1984, when Matt Baker, also a pitcher, was a 37^th round choice of the Texas Rangers. In all, Vargas is the sixth NJCU draft pick since 1976, and the fourth pitcher.
 

Vargas’ draft selection marks the third time in four years that an NJCU player has drawn the interest of a major league club. In 2004, Jonathan Thomas signed a free agent contract with the Kansas City Royals and inked an independent deal with the Newark Bears in 2005. Last year, Keith Naylor was a free agent acquisition of the St. Louis Cardinals.
 

Vargas transferred to NJCU from Briarcliffe College, where he was named a USCAA Honorable Mention All-American in 2006, and helped the Seahawks win the 2006 United States Collegiate Athletic Association National Invitational Baseball Tournament.
 

Vargas logged a 3-5 record with one save and 6.04 ERA in 2007 for NJCU, with 11 appearances, including eight starts. He tossed 53.2 innings and two complete games, fanning 44 batters, with 27 walks. He allowed only 36 earned runs (50 total) and 63 hits, and no homeruns. Vargas had a part in all three of NJCU’s conference victories. He stopped William Paterson University, 14-6, in a complete-game effort that gave NJCU its first win over the Pioneers since 1995, as he fanned eight batters. On April 13, he went eight innings for the win in NJCU’s 11-7 decision over Rutgers-Newark, a game in which he fanned five.        
     

Vargas posted a three-pitch save in NJCU’s 7-5 win at Rutgers University-Camden on April 21, when he entered the game with the tying runs in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth inning and recorded a game-ending strikeout. He also was the winning pitcher in NJCU’s 9-6 victory against College of Staten Island on March 25, firing a season-high 11 strikeouts.
 

Vargas tied for the NJAC lead in least homeruns allowed per game (0.00), ranked second in ground/fly outs ratio at 2.44 and seventh in ground outs per game (13.08). He also ranked 16^th in the NJAC this season in both strikeouts and innings pitched and was tied for fifth in runners picked off (3).
 

Vargas comes from a baseball-rich family. He is the cousin of Milwaukee Brewers bullpen coach Bill Castro, who has been with that organization since 1991, following a career that lasted from 1974-80 and 1983.