Peninsula Pitcher Was Surprised to Be Selected in Draft : Baseball: Although he pitched in only eight games and had a 1-2 record, Keith Webster was picked in the 30th round by the Seattle Mariners.

When Peninsula High baseball Coach Garry Poe first saw Keith Webster three years ago, he knew the 6-foot-2 freshman was going to have to change positions from shortstop to pitcher because of his size.

The move paid off for Webster, who is now 6-6. He was selected in the 30th round of the major league draft last week by the Seattle Mariners.

Webster, a right-hander, is one of four South Bay high school players who have been confirmed as being drafted. West Torrance pitcher Mike Myro was selected in the seventh round by the Houston Astros, Carson shortstop Ben Padilla was taken in the 32nd round by the Dodgers and Leuzinger catcher Gustavo Rubio was drafted in the 42nd round by the Dodgers.

Webster’s selection was the most surprising. He was the No. 3 pitcher on Peninsula’s staff behind All-Bay League juniors Arin McCarthy and Brian Bowles, but Mariner scout Phil Pote was impressed with Webster’s potential.

Webster plans to attend El Camino College for at least a year. The Mariners will retain his rights until next year’s draft.

“I was really surprised,” Webster said of his selection. “I did not think I was going to get noticed. I want to stay at El Camino until I feel I’m ready to go (into professional baseball).”

Webster pitched in only eight games this season and had a 1-2 record with two saves. He had a 2.85 earned-run average in 27 innings, striking out 18, walking 13 and giving up 26 hits.

“(Webster) is going to blossom,” Poe said. “He has pretty good command of three pitches. Basically he just needs to be on the mound more.

“He has a lot of movement on his fastball and it is really heavy. It has a lot of sink to it. He gets a lot of batters to ground out.”

Webster is the first Peninsula High player to be drafted.

“He came here as a shortstop and he grew as a pitcher and developed,” Poe said. “It’s through his own effort that he has done it. He has done a great job at getting the most out of what he’s been given.”

Webster played basketball at Peninsula until the end of his junior year, when he decided his future was in baseball. He has been bulking up his 180-pound body in the weight room and hopes to add velocity to his fastball.

“I don’t have what you’d call a major league fastball yet,” Webster said. “I’m going to work on improving my mechanics.”

A week before the draft, Webster attended a workout at San Diego’s Jack Murphy Stadium, where he said he was impressed by Loyola Marymount pitcher Shane Bowers.

Bowers, who was 6-8 with a 4.55 ERA this season, was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 21st round.

Cal State Dominguez Hills pitcher Tom Ball was selected in the 50th round by the Chicago Cubs and teammate Corey Woinarowicz, a third baseman, signed as a free agent with the Angels. Toro first baseman Ariel Martin signed as a free agent with the Cubs.

Three Harbor College players were drafted. Center fielder Rolando Avila was selected in the 13th round by the Astros, catcher Jeff Poor (El Segundo High) was taken in the 30th round by the Oakland Athletics and outfielder Anthony Mack (Inglewood High), the younger brother of Twins outfielder Shane Mack, was chosen in the 42nd round by the Astros.

Harbor Coach Tony Bloomfield said he expects all three players to be back with the Seahawks next season.

El Camino outfielder Thomas Redd was selected by the Mariners in the 44th round.