Seattle Makes Saugus’ Salkeld the Third Pick

Roger Salkeld of Saugus High School, a 6-foot-5 senior right-hander, became the highest Southern California player selected in Monday’s baseball’s amateur draft when the Seattle Mariners made him the No. 3 pick.

Salkeld, 18, the second high school player selected and first high school pitcher, was notified by telephone at 10:30 a.m. amid a festive gathering of family and friends at his parents’ home in Saugus.

“I don’t know if this is the happiest day of my life but it’s a good one,” Salkeld said. “Before the year started, I didn’t think I had a shot at the draft. I didn’t have the confidence.”

Salkeld is the highest first-round choice from Southern California since Kurt Stillwell, now with the Kansas City Royals, was taken in 1983 as the No. 2 pick by the Cincinnati Reds while a senior at Thousand Oaks High.

Salkeld, whose fastball has been clocked in excess of 90 m.p.h., was projected throughout the season as a top draft choice by Sports Illustrated, ESPN and Baseball America.

Salkeld had a three-year prep record of 30-7 with 404 strikeouts and a 1.31 earned-run average in 266 1/3 innings. This season, he was 13-1 with 177 strikeouts and a 0.59 ERA in 109 1/3 innings.

Salkeld’s high school career ended with a ninth-inning wild pitch Saturday at Dodger Stadium, allowing La Palma Kennedy to defeat Saugus, 1-0, for the Southern Section 3-A Division championship.

That did not, however, discourage the Mariners.

“We were looking for pitching help, and he obviously was one of the top pitchers in the country,” said Mariner spokesman Dave Oust. “We liked his size, his arm, his makeup. We’re happy to have him.”

Salkeld said that he anticipated the draft with no preference toward a team.

“I’m just real excited to have a chance to play professional baseball and see if I can hang with it,” he said. “I’m anxious to get out and experience it. I just want to play.”

Oust said that contract negotiations will begin next week but would not comment on the probable amount of a signing bonus. Salkeld’s father, Bill, who will serve as the pitcher’s agent, also would not comment on a bonus, saying only that he will request that a fair offer for a first-round pick be made.

“Roger’s intent is to sign as soon as possible and play,” Bill Salkeld said. “We just expect him to be treated fairly for his talent. There were only two other players picked before us.”

Last season, Steve Avery, a high school pitcher from Michigan, now with the Atlanta Braves’ Class A affiliate, was the third player selected. He received a signing bonus reported to be $211,000.

No decision has been made regarding where Salkeld will be assigned, Oust said. But he added that most Seattle draftees are sent to the club’s rookie league affiliate in Bellingham, Wash.