Arizona calling: UBC pitcher Curtis Taylor taken in 4th round of MLB draft
"I was speechless. People always say that but I really couldn't speak."
It's the moment Port Coquitlam's Curtis Taylor has spent many hours hoping, thinking, and dreaming about.
So when it finally happened Thursday around noon, when the Arizona Diamondbacks called out his name as their fourth round selection in the Major League Baseball draft, it was — to say the least — overwhelming.
"I was speechless," said Taylor, taken 119th over all. "People always say that, but I really couldn't speak."
The six-foot-five UBC pitcher shared the happy moment with his mom, dad, girlfriend and uncle. Taylor worked out with Arizona last month and said he had a good feeling about the team.
"They like my size and the velocity of my fastball," he said. "I connected with the scouting staff. It really fell like family."
Taylor, 20, consistently throws his fastball above 93 miles-per-hour and has reached 96 mph.
He says the next steps will be agreeing on a contract and then getting assigned somewhere in the Arizona organization.
Taylor has a sense he'll likely end up with the Hillsboro Hops, the Diamondbacks class A short season franchise in Oregon, which competes against the Vancouver Canadians.
Last season he registered nine wins and four losses with UBC, posting a 1.96 earned run average. He played his minor baseball with the PoCo Reds.