Major Step for Mater Dei’s Manning

It took Pat Manning less than 24 hours to go from being a shortstop at Mater Dei to a professional baseball player.

Manning, 18, who was selected in the third round of the Major League draft by the Atlanta Braves, signed a contract Wednesday night after a three-hour negotiating session with Atlanta officials at his home in Anaheim Hills.

Manning, who batted .494 with 12 home runs and 37 runs batted in for the South Coast League champion Monarchs, said he will receive a $700,000 signing bonus plus $50,000 for college. Had Manning not signed with the Braves, he would have attended USC on a baseball scholarship.

“I was surprised it went so quickly,” Manning said. “Their first offer was better than average third-round money, but it was less than I wanted. I told them what I wanted. They called back to their Atlanta office, talked with some other team officials, then came back and said, ‘You got it.’ ”

Manning said he was invited by the Braves to fly to Atlanta on June 11 to spend the weekend with the team for its three-game series with Baltimore at Turner Field.

“I’ll get the chance to get batting practice and wear a uniform on the bench,” Manning said. Then, Manning said, he will fly to Florida and report to the Braves’ rookie team in the Gulf Coast League.

Manning said the Braves, whose minor league system is low on middle infielders, will keep him at shortstop “unless I prove to them I can’t play it every day.” Before the draft, several scouts projected Manning as a second baseman.

Santa Ana College freshmen Josh Shaffer, a shortstop, and Richard Lane, a center fielder, also signed contracts--but with the teams who drafted them last year. Shaffer, who went to Esperanza High, will join the Angels. Lane, who went to Tustin High, signed with the Montreal Expos. Both players signed Tuesday, before this year’s draft started. The terms of their signings were not available.

Forty-five players from Orange County were among the 1,474 players selected in the two-day draft, which concluded Thursday after 50 rounds.

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Baseball Amateur Draft: Local Selections

Local players drafted in the amateur baseball draft:

THIRD ROUND

90. Montreal, Drew McMillan, C, El Dorado HS

114. Atlanta, Pat Manning, SS, Mater Dei HS

FOURTH ROUND

140. Cubs, Steven Smyth, RHP, USC/Cypress College

SIXTH ROUND

179. Minnesota, Brian Wolfe, RHP, Servite HS

SEVENTH ROUND

208. Arizona, Ryan Owens, 3B, CS Fullerton/Sonora HS

213. Oakland, Josh Hochgesang, SS, Stanford/Sunny Hills HS

10TH ROUND

321. Yankees, Brad Ticehurst, CF, USC/Mater Dei HS

13TH ROUND

386. Bryan Moore, RHP, Houston/OCC/Westminster HS

14TH ROUND

418. Arizona, Todd Gelatka, RHP, Trabuco Hills HS

429. White Sox, Spencer Oborn, OF, CS Fullerton

17TH ROUND

523. Toronto, Reed Johnson, OF, CS Fullerton

19TH ROUND

565. Tampa Bay, Onginga Aaron, 2B, Santa Ana College/Orange HS

574. Milwaukee, William Hudson, SS, Fountain Valley HS

582. St. Louis, Chris Beck, 1B, CS Fullerton

588. San Francisco, Ryan Cheo, LHP, Saddleback College/Capistrano Valley HS

21ST ROUND

637. Baltimore, Shane Waroff, RHP, Fullerton College

22ND ROUND

680. White Sox, Martin Calderon, SS, El Modena HS

681. Yankees, Chris Klosterman, 3B/OF, Cypress College

25TH ROUND

749. Minnesota, Craig Patterson, C, CS Fullerton/El Dorado HS

26TH ROUND

795. Texas, Jason Reuss, 1B, Orange Coast College/Canyon HS

28TH ROUND

836. Florida, Matt Ward, LHP, Texas A&M;/Irvine HS

847. Baltimore, Matt Larson, RHP, Corona del Mar HS

864. Atlanta, Ryan Hubbard, SS, Huntington Beach HS

30TH ROUND

897. Detroit, Joe Urban, LF, Santa Ana College/Newport Harbor HS

31ST ROUND

948. San Francisco, Scott Daeley, CF, Wake Forest/Mater Dei HS

32ND ROUND

975. Texas, Josue Lopez, 1B, El Toro HS

977. Cleveland, Ben Francisco, CF, Servite HS

33RD ROUND

1,010. Cubs, Greg Hanoian, CF, Fountain Valley HS/USC

34TH ROUND

1032. St. Louis, Jake Moon, RHP, Cypress College

1044. Atlanta, Curt Fiore, 3B, Loyola Marymount/Santa Margarita HS

35TH ROUND

1070. Chicago Cubs, Ed Marquez, CF, Nicholls St./Cypress College/Mater Dei

36TH ROUND

1092. St. Louis, Jeffrey Cruz, LHP, Fullerton College/Servite HS

39TH ROUND

1165. Tampa Bay, Kevin Beavers, LHP, Saddleback College/Woodbridge HS

1179. Chicago White Sox, Paul Beaudreau, C, El Modena HS

1193. Houston, Jeff Blitstein, RHP, Chapman

40TH ROUND

1210. Colorado, Nicholas Gor, RHP, Esperanza HS

43RD ROUND

1302. San Francisco, Brett Cayton, C, Fountain Valley HS

46TH ROUND

1359. Tampa Bay, Bo Ashabraner, RHP, Esperanza HS

47TH ROUND

1399. Texas, Marty Hayes, RHP, U. San Diego/Servite HS

1404. Chicago Cubs, Dale Thayer, RHP, Edison HS

49TH ROUND

1451. Chicago Cubs, Ryan Johnson, OF, Laguna Hills HS

50TH ROUND

1457. Minnesota, Joseph Ammirato, CF, Marina HS