Cruz Signs Contract With San Francisco

OXNARD —  Jacob Cruz, the first area player selected in the baseball draft last month, signed Tuesday night with the San Francisco Giants for a bonus of $300,000, he said.

Cruz, a supplemental first-round pick out of Arizona State, said it was a not a hard decision to forgo his senior year with the Sun Devils to play professional baseball.

“(Playing professional baseball) is basically what I went to Arizona State to do,” said Cruz, a graduate of Channel Islands High. “It’s a steppingstone. It’s time to move on.”

Cruz, 6-foot, 170 pounds, said another factor in his decision was the death of longtime Arizona State Coach Jim Brock, who succumbed to cancer last month.

Cruz, a left-handed hitting center fielder, will report to the Giants’ Class-A affiliate in San Jose on Thursday. He said he has been invited to play in the Hawaii Winter League and will begin spring training in the major league camp next season.

The Pacific 10 Conference Southern Division Player of the Year, Cruz was selected to the NCAA Division I All-American team by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Assn. He was selected to Baseball America’s second team.

Cruz helped lead the Sun Devils to their second consecutive College World Series appearance.

The Giants selected Cruz, 21, with the 32nd pick in the draft, which fell in the supplemental portion of the first round. Teams are given supplemental picks as compensation for the loss of free agents. The selection the Giants used to pick Cruz was compensation for the team’s loss of Will Clark to the Texas Rangers.

Giants’ scout Gene Thompson, who covers Arizona State, said he was impressed with Cruz’s improvement during his three years with the Sun Devils.

“He didn’t impress me near as much as a freshman as he did toward the end of the junior year,” Thompson said. “He improved himself a great deal at the plate and all his stats showed that.”

Cruz is the fifth area player in the past six drafts to be selected in the first round.

Who Has Signed So Far?

Listed are the area players who were selected in the major league amateur draft in June. Players who have signed are indicated in bold. Round information provided by players.

Player Pos School ML Team Jacob Cruz OF Arizona State, Channel Islands HS Giants Roger Worley RHP Quartz Hill HS Orioles Keith Smith SS Newbury Park HS Tigers Chris Beck RHP The Master’s Mariners Kevin Foderaro RHP BYU, Coll. of Canyons, Hart HS Cardinals Joel Zamudio RHP Monroe HS Phillies Mike Mitchell 1B UCLA, Rio Mesa HS Yankees Bryan Warner OF Glendale College Indians Eddie Oropesa LHP None (Resides in Sylmar) Dodgers J.P. Roberge 1B USC, St. Francis HS Dodgers Kirk Hagge IF Crescenta Valley HS Tigers Garrett Lee RHP Crescenta Valley HS Angels Osvaldo Fernandez LHP Mission College Mariners Rob Neal OF Cal Poly SLO, Westlake HS Twins Erik Martinez SS Pepperdine, Pierce, No.Holly. HS Padres Randy Wolf LHP El Camino Real HS Dodgers Phil Derryman OF Royal HS Expos Marc Weiss RHP Cal Lutheran Reds Adam West LHP Pierce College, Thousand Oaks HS Cardinals Randy Vickers SS Glendale College Mariners Jason Adamson OF Moorpark HS Pirates Ryan Hankins 3B Simi Valley HS Phillies Nate Laufer RHP L.A. Baptist HS Mets Eric Cole 3B Antelope Valley Coll.; Ant. Valley HS Royals David Glick LHP Palmdale HS Brewers Jim Parque LHP Crescenta Valley HS Dodgers Jeff Astgen 2B Pierce Coll.; El Camino Real HS Cubs Rich Igou LHP Notre Dame HS Royals Mike Glendenning OF Crespi HS Cardinals

Player Rd Jacob Cruz 1st Roger Worley 3rd Keith Smith 5th Chris Beck 7th Kevin Foderaro 8th Joel Zamudio 9th Mike Mitchell 9th Bryan Warner 14th Eddie Oropesa 14th J.P. Roberge 18th Kirk Hagge 18th Garrett Lee 20th Osvaldo Fernandez 22nd Rob Neal 23rd Erik Martinez 24th Randy Wolf 25th Phil Derryman 26th Marc Weiss 26th Adam West 30th Randy Vickers 31st Jason Adamson 33rd Ryan Hankins 33rd Nate Laufer 37th Eric Cole 44th David Glick 48th Jim Parque 50th Jeff Astgen 58th Rich Igou 63rd Mike Glendenning 63rd