Jimmy Mayer second-day pick of Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Unlike former teammates Jim Negrych and Billy Muldowney, former Panther shortstop Jimmy… Unlike former teammates Jim Negrych and Billy Muldowney, former Panther shortstop Jimmy Mayer faced the Major League Baseball draft with a little more uncertainty.

“I didn’t know if I was going to be drafted,” Mayer said. “I was just hoping that I would get a shot to be drafted and get a chance to play. I talked to some teams and they said they were interested, but you never know.”

The first day of the draft passed, two Pitt players had been taken, but Mayer’s future was still undecided. However, as he watched the 30th round get underway via the draft-tracker on MLB.com, Mayer saw the Tampa Bay Devil Rays rid the uncertainty.

“I saw my name pop up and they called me a minute later,” Mayer said. “It was awesome. I’d been waiting, and then finally seeing your name, it was a good feeling.”

The Devil Rays took Mayer with the 889th overall selection in the draft, making him the first Panther to be drafted by the franchise in its nine-year existence.

The Somerset, Pa., native led the Panthers in hits this season with 76 while hitting a solid .357. However, as Mayer knows, the professional game is a lot different than college. He hopes to be successful nonetheless.

“The most obvious difference is going to be [playing with] wooden bats. The speed of the game will be a lot different because these are the best players from high school and college,” Mayer said.

“I don’t know what to expect as to how I’ll do,” Mayer added. “I’d like to hit around .300.”

Since being drafted, Mayer has reached a deal with the Devil Rays and signed a contract with the franchise that will send him to their rookie-league affiliate.

“I’m going to Tampa for four days to work out with the team I’ll be playing with and then I’m leaving for Princeton, W. Va.,” Mayer said.

The team he’ll be playing with throughout the summer is the Princeton Devil Rays. Mayer was assigned to the rookie Appalachian League by the Devil Rays and regional scout Doug Witt in order to get early playing experience over the summer.

“They sent me to this league so I’d get more playing time,” Mayer said.

Playing time, and a lot of it, is something Mayer gave Pitt.

“He was an iron man playing almost every inning of every game for the past two years,” Panther head coach Joe Jordano said in a press release last week. “I’m very pleased he will have an opportunity to play at the next level.”