Chavez, Borowiak go in late rounds

Zach Borowiak was a bit disappointed while Jason Chavez was a bit surprised after the two local baseball players were selected in the late rounds of the Major League Amateur Draft that concluded Wednesday.

Borowiak, a shortstop who recently completed his junior season at Southeast Missouri State University, was taken by the San Francisco Giants in the 49th round of the 50-round draft.

Chavez, a right-handed pitcher who graduated from Cape Girardeau Central High School in 2001 and recently concluded his freshman season at Mineral Area College in Park Hills, Mo., was taken by the Giants in the 43rd round.

Borowiak, a native of Nashville, Ill., batted .324 for Southeast this year and has been a three-year starter for the Indians. He said he expected to be selected considerably higher.

"It's an honor to be drafted, but I did expect to go a little higher," Borowiak said. "The Red Sox were talking to me for a while and they were telling me between the 10th and 15th round, but it never panned out."

Borowiak said he doesn't plan to sign with the Giants and will return to Southeast for his senior season next year in the hopes of improving his stock. He'll play for the Cape Girardeau Capahas this summer.

"The best thing for me is to use the summer to work on my game, get stronger and give it another go next year," he said. "It's going to be a big incentive for me next year because I know quite a few clubs are interested."

Second Indian chosen

Borowiak is the second Southeast player to be drafted this week. Senior pitcher Brandon Smith went to the Red Sox in the 18th round Tuesday and is expected to sign soon, after which he will likely be assigned to Boston's short-season Rookie League team.

Unlike Borowiak, Chavez was elated after learning that he had been drafted Wednesday.

"It was a thrill," he said. "It got my heart going. I started jumping up and down."

Chavez went 4-5 with a 3.40 earned-run average as one of the top starting pitchers for Mineral Area College this year. He said he thought he had a chance to be drafted after a Giants scout clocked him at 93 miles per hour during a game.

"I did pretty good that game," Chavez said. "The scout said they were going to draft me, but I was still a little surprised when I saw it on the internet."

Like Borowiak, Chavez doesn't plan to sign, instead returning to MAC for his final season of junior-college eligibility next year. The lanky 6-foot-5, 180-pounder knows he has to get bigger and stronger, but he definitely has his sights set on a professional career down the road.

"This gives me a little more incentive to bust my butt in the weight room and really work hard," he said. "I definitely want to play pro ball."

Chavez figures he'll have a leg up on gaining weight and strength because of his father's job. Mike Chavez is the offensive line coach for Southeast's football team.

"My dad is helping me a lot," he said.

Chavez will also play for the Capahas this summer.

Noteworthy

Jeremy King, a left-handed pitcher who saw brief action for Southeast in the 2001 season, went to the Anaheim Angels in the 34th round.

King worked just 1/3 of an inning for the Indians in 2001 before redshirting with an injury. He left the program following the season and spent the 2002 campaign at Itawamba (Miss.) Junior College.

King, from Paducah, Ky., is not expected to sign as he plans to play for the Capahas.

Matt Palmer, a native of Caruthersville, Mo., who recently completed his career at Southwest Missouri State, was drafted by the Giants in the 31st round.

Palmer, a right-handed pitcher, was also drafted in the late rounds last year after his junior season at SMS.

Besides Southeast's two draftees, the only other Ohio Valley Conference players selected were Tennessee Tech's Buzzy Buzachero and Mike Miehls.

Buzachero, a pitcher who was dismissed from the Tech team midway through the season, was taken by Toronto in the 22nd round. Miehls, a catcher, went to the New York Yankees in the 41st round.