Matthew Gorst was about as close to professional baseball as he could get without actually being in professional baseball. As of Friday, Georgia Tech’s star reliever was on the road with the Lowell Spinners, the short-season single-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, but not playing. Gorst had agreed to terms with the team, but had not signed as he was awaiting medical clearance on routine blood and urine testing in order to sign with his contract and begin his career.
While his four Yellow Jackets teammates taken in the draft signed within days of their being selected, Gorst took two weeks to decide on whether to actually sign. Gorst was drafted June 11 and said he finally arrived at his decision this past Sunday. He joined the team Tuesday. Gorst was selected in the 12th round of the draft.
Going into the draft, Gorst said, he was uncertain about what to do. Further, he was drafted later than he expected – area scouts had indicated to him that he would be taken on the second day of the draft, rounds 3-10. A few factors tilted Gorst toward signing. One, playing professional baseball had been a lifelong goal.
“I just kind of thought about how after your senior year, you had no leverage in the draft, and how the earlier that you start playing, the better chance you have to make it farther, make it to the major leagues,” he said. “That was really my decision.”
Gorst declined to reveal his signing bonus. Of players selected in the 12th round whose signing bonuses were reported in Baseball America, most signed for $100,000.
Gorst's draft stock soared this past season as he put together one of the best seasons ever for a Tech pitcher. Following surgery after his sophomore season to remove bone spurs in his elbow, Gorst at first was limited to throwing only baseballs, which gave him time to work on his location and to develop a cut fastball.
Gorst set a school record with a 0.55 ERA and had an opponent batting average of .174. He was named a second-team All-America by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
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