Published: June 05, 2008 05:41 pm      

BREAKING NEWS — Rockies take Friedrich in first round

RICHMOND — After a long, agonizing wait, Christian Friedrich finally got the call he’d been so eagerly anticipating.

The Eastern Kentucky University junior left-hander was selected by the Colorado Rockies with the 25th pick Thursday in the first round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

“I was sitting upstairs in my parent’s bedroom watching (the draft) by myself,” Friedrich said from his home in Evanston, Ill. “I just kept watching time go by and (time) was just standing still for me. It was crazy just waiting, hoping.”

The EKU standout is only the second player in Ohio Valley Conference history to be drafted in the first round of the MLB draft, joining fellow left-handed pitcher Drew Hall of Morehead State, who was the third overall pick of the Chicago Cubs in 1984.

Friedrich was considered by some experts and insiders to be a potential upper first-round pick, perhaps in the top 15 selections, but the hard-throwing left-hander honestly didn’t know what to expect.

And he certainly wasn’t all that disappointed, even though he had obviously hoped he would be picked much sooner.

“I don’t really put much into it,” Friedrich said of being selected 25th. “It’s not really where you are picked it’s how you play and how you go about things. I’m just glad to be in the position that I’m in.”

Friedrich was considered a potential first-round pick prior to the year and impressed pro scouts with a sensational junior season. He finished his final season at EKU with a 5-1 record and was ranked second in the nation in earned run average (1.43) and hits allowed per nine innings (4.41).

He was also eighth in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (11.9).

The left-hander was named the OVC Pitcher of the Year and was named First-Team All-OVC after leading the league in ERA, hits per nine innings, strikeouts per nine innings, strikeouts and opponent batting average (.144).

He allowed only 40 hits in 81 2/3 innings, only one of which was a home run.

In his final three starts of the season, Friedrich allowed no earned runs and only nine hits while striking out 31.

“Christian has worked very hard to put himself in this position, and he deserves everything he gets,” EKU coach Elvis Dominguez said. “Even though he’s leaving us for the next chapter of his career and life, the legacy he’s left here will last a very long time. He may go down as the best pitcher ever to wear a Colonel uniform.”

He was recently named a Second-Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball newspaper and is also a finalist for several national player of the year awards, including the Brooks Wallace and Roger Clemens Awards, as well as the Golden Spikes and Dick Howser awards.

Friedrich was contacted by the Rockies several times prior to the season, but the team’s interest had declined in the past few months simply because they didn’t believe he would be available when they made their first selection of the draft.

“I was expecting it, I guess they weren’t either,” Friedrich said.

As of just a few hours after his selection, Friedrich hadn’t talked with Colorado officials about contract details, a signing bonus or where he might end up playing later this season in the minor leagues. He hopes to work out those details in the next few days.

“Once everything calms down with the all text messages and calls I’ll have to see what’s going on,” he said.

Colorado has Class A affiliates in Modesto, Cal., Asheville, N.C., and Pasco, Wa., and a rookie league team in Casper, Wy.