AMATEUR BASEBALL DRAFT : Titans’ Flener Signs With Blue Jays

Cal State Fullerton pitcher Huck Flener Friday signed a contract with the Toronto Blue Jays and will join Titan teammate Matt Watson next week at St. Catharines, Canada, one of the organization’s Class-A affiliates.

Flener, a junior left-hander who was a ninth-round pick, will leave for Dunedin, Fla., Sunday to participate in a one-week mini-camp before reporting to St. Catharines of the New York-Penn League on June 16.

Watson, a junior right-hander who was a 14th-round pick of the Blue Jays, signed Wednesday. He also will report to St. Catharines.

“It’s super that Matt and I will be playing together,” said Flener, a graduate of Armijo High School in Fairfield, Calif. “He’s one of my closest friends on the team. There will still be tons of people to meet, but it’s somewhat comforting knowing I have a friend there, in another country.”

Flener, one of the Titans’ top three starters this season, went 8-1 with a 3.80 earned-run average. He struck out 89 and walked 49 in 128 innings. He was the winning pitcher in Fullerton’s 6-3 victory over Creighton in the NCAA Central Regionals.

When Toronto made its first contract offer Wednesday, Flener said he was wavering between turning professional and returning to Fullerton for his senior season. But the team came back Friday with a bonus that was about double the original offer, Flener said, making his decision easier.

“I don’t want to go into detail, but they came back with something substantially higher than the first offer,” Flener said. “The first offer wasn’t close to what I thought it would be, but I’m happy with this.”

Cal State Fullerton Coach Larry Cochell lost another player when Donnie Harrel, a power-hitting catcher/infielder from Taft College who had signed a letter of intent with the Titans, signed with the Kansas City Royals.

The Titans are also in danger of losing John Ingram, a left-handed pitcher from Harbor College who was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the fourth round.

“We’ve talked, but he hasn’t made his decision,” Cochell said.

However, Jason Hutchins, a right-handed pitcher from Golden West College who was drafted by the Royals, has informed Cochell that he will attend Fullerton.

Last year, Cochell lost four outstanding players, Jason Friedman (Cypress College), Mark Loeb (San Bernardino Valley College), Craig Paquette (Golden West) and Mark Charbonnet (Gahr High School), to the professional draft before they played for the Titans.

Cochell is still awaiting word from junior second baseman Mate Borgogno and junior shortstop Kevin Farlow, who were drafted by the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres, respectively. Both are expected to make their decisions by Monday.

Junior center fielder Domingo Mota was picked by the Dodgers in the 29th round but is expected to return to Fullerton. Junior designated hitter/catcher Frank Charles, who as of Friday hadn’t heard from a professional team, said he will return to Fullerton for his senior season.

Cochell said junior catcher Matt Hattabaugh had not been contacted about the draft by Friday, but Cochell isn’t sure if Hattabaugh will attempt to sign with a team as a free agent or return to Fullerton.

Three more community college players were drafted.

Infielder Doug McConathy of Cypress was taken by Baltimore, pitcher Jay Hassell of Rancho Santiago was taken by the Angels and outfielder Steve Grack was picked by San Diego. Rounds they were chosen in were not disclosed.