Bargain Hunters Beware: Ibarra Has Upper Hand : Baseball: Because he is draft eligible after his sophomore year, the Loyola Marymount standout has the enviable bargaining position of declining a major league offer.

Jesse Ibarra helped his baseball team win a game last summer with what might turn out to be the three most profitable swings of his career.

Ibarra homered three times for the Santa Maria Indians during their first game of the National Baseball Congress World Series at Wichita, Kan., an annual national amateur tournament that draws throngs of professional scouts.

After the game, a scout from the Angels approached Ibarra, who had recently completed his freshman season at Loyola Marymount. During some perfunctory small talk, the scout asked Ibarra for his birth date. When Ibarra said July 12, 1972, the scout gave him some unexpected news: Ibarra was going to be eligible for the draft after his sophomore year.

Under an agreement between the NCAA and Major League Baseball, college players at four-year universities are eligible for the professional draft only after their junior years. However, a sophomore is eligible if he turns 21 within 45 days after the draft, which this year will be held June 3 through 5.

That means Ibarra is in the enviable position of accepting or declining an offer from a professional team after this season. If he returns to Loyola, he could still have a strong bargaining position next year.

“I’m kind of in a good situation,” said Ibarra, who has been used primarily as a designated hitter and pitcher this season. “I came in this year with no pressure. I knew if I had an off year, I could still come back and not really lose anything.

“I think that helped me relax.”

Ibarra, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound switch-hitter, has made things look relatively easy. Entering the week, he was batting .295, was tied for the West Coast Conference lead with 13 home runs, and was second in the WCC with 44 runs batted in. Ibarra, who throws right-handed, had also compiled a 2-1 record, 3.69 earned-run average and three saves as relief pitcher. He had 36 strikeouts and 10 walks in 31 2/3 innings for Loyola, which was 22-27 and 13-11 in the WCC.

Earlier this season, Ibarra hit a game-winning homer to beat defending national champion Pepperdine at Malibu. Ibarra has five hits in 11 at-bats against the Waves, who visit Loyola May 14-15 for a three-game conference finale.

“You can see the kid getting better and better, and tougher and tougher,” Pepperdine Coach Andy Lopez said. “He has a stroke from both sides, and power from both sides. He also has one trait that I usually dread to see in an opponent--he’s not shy. He’ll go out there and compete.

“Personally, I hope he gets drafted and signs. Then we won’t have to worry about him anymore.”

Ibarra is a product of the El Monte Dukes, a youth baseball organization that has produced a number of current college players, including USC freshman shortstop Gabe Alvarez and Pepperdine freshman infielder Ruben Gamboa.

Ibarra graduated from Don Bosco Technical Institute in Rosemead. He had 101 strikeouts in 69 innings as a junior pitcher and batted .490 with nine home runs in 20 games as a senior, but was not selected to an All-Southern Section team.

“I had attempted to transfer out of Bosco before my senior year because I didn’t think I was getting enough recognition,” said Ibarra, a history major. “But I’m glad I stayed. I’m getting pretty good grades at Loyola because that school prepared me for college.”

High school baseball, however, did not prepare Ibarra for an immediate jump to the Division I level. He opened last season as Loyola’s starting third baseman and hit a game-winning homer in his first game. But he finished with a .216 batting average, three homers and 11 RBIs in 35 games.

“I was a little overwhelmed and intimidated by the whole college atmosphere,” Ibarra said. “During the summer, though, I faced some really, really good college pitchers and found I could compete with anyone.”

Loyola Coach Jody Robinson did not jump for joy when he learned about Ibarra’s draft status after the NBC World Series. Robinson, in his second season with the Lions, had hoped to have Ibarra in the lineup for three years.

“We talked early in the season and I told Jesse, ‘You have a good year, you’re going to have some things going for you,’ ” Robinson said. “I would love to have him back next year. If he gets drafted, he’s going to have some decisions to make.”

Ibarra is taking a wait-and-see approach to the draft, which will take place June 3-5. With several talented young players, the Lions appear to be on the verge of regaining their status as one of the top teams in the WCC and a regular in postseason play.

“Next year’s team is the one to be on,” Ibarra said. “I’d love to come back and be a part of it. But it’s nice to have options.”