John Stilson has had to be very patient the past three months.
First, a shoulder injury sidelined the Texas A&M right-handed pitcher just as the Aggies' most productive postseason in more than a decade started.
Then he had to wait nine weeks until the weekend before the signing deadline for collegiate players selected in the MLB Draft to know whether he was going to pitch professionally or return for his senior season at A&M.
"Summer was a lot of confusion. We didn't know if they were going to make a good offer or what, so I just kept working out, getting stronger, getting bigger so I'd be ready no matter what happened," said Stilson. "Fortunately, I guess for me, the management produced an offer, one of those you can't really turn down for the situation I'm in, so I had to take it."
The offer, made by the Toronto Blue Jays, was a $500,000 signing bonus. He signed on Saturday.
The Blue Jays drafted Stilson in the third round, 108th overall, on June 8 in the MLB Draft.
Stilson said he was ready to go pro the day he was drafted, and although nearly 70 days had passed between being selected and signing, Stilson understood the logistics of it all.
"Yes and no [to a lot of haggling over an amount], there was never really a set offer put out there so we've just been waiting," Stilson said. "They had to see who they were going to have left to sign, how much money and everything that's how they were going to determine how much they would offer."
Although a third-round pick, Stilson was the Jays' eighth selection overall. As of an hour before the signing deadline, three of the seven Toronto picks drafted ahead of Stilson remained unsigned.
As a sophomore, Stilson, who transferred to A&M from Texarkana College, led the nation in ERA at 0.80, and went 9-1 with 10 saves.
He followed it up with a 1.68 ERA, third in the Big 12, and 5-2 mark as the Aggies' Friday night starter last season.
The two-time all-Big 12 performer and All-American, with a 94-98 mph fastball and a slider with a change-up to match, was thought to be a first-round selection until his shoulder injury forced him to shut it down after a gutsy performance in a 4-2 loss to Texas and first-round selection Taylor Jungmann.
"The Jays gave me a chance when most teams wrote me off. They drafted me and I really appreciated it," Stilson said. "Now I want to go out there and prove the decision they made is right and show everybody what I can really do."
First, Stilson is headed to Tampa, Fla., where he will rehab before a decision is made on whether he can pitch before the end of the season or at instructional ball this fall.
After the Blue Jays selected Stilson, they told him not to throw, so he has spent the summer working on his lower body, lifting weights and running.
"I feel great, I feel better than I've felt in a long time," said Stilson, a 6-foot-3, 195-pounder who turned 21 in late July. "It's the longest time I've had off in a while and I'm ready to go so it's just whether they are going to turn me loose or take it slow. It's up to them and what they want I'll do."
Stilson was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 19th round the summer before arriving at Texas A&M. For a while it appeared as if he might not go pro again, which certainly would have given the Aggies one of the best staffs in the nation with Michael Wacha and Ross Stripling, a ninth-round selection of the Colorado Rockies, returning.
"I'm going to miss being an Aggie big time because I loved it down here," said Stilson. "I'd do anything for that program, but it was just my time to go."
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