Chipley's Whitson says no to Padres, yes to UF

Chipley’s Karsten Whitson threw his best sales pitch at the San Diego Padres on Monday, but when the team eventually balked, the talented pitcher decided to take his talents to the University of Florida.

“I wasn’t trying to blow the Padres out of the water by any means,” Whitson said by phone Tuesday. “But it just didn’t work out. I’m very happy with the decision.”

Whitson, the No. 9 pick overall in the Major League Baseball Draft in June, acknowledged he was offered in the $2 million range to sign with the Major League Baseball club.

“I was going into the day very optimistic in hoping both sides would agree on a deal in the middle,” Whitson said. “When it got toward deadline, I thought about college and couldn’t put a price tag on it.”

The No. 8 pick in this year’s draft, Delino DeShields Jr., signed with the Houston Astros for $2.15 million earlier this month.

But last year’s No. 9 draft pick, pitcher Jacob Turner, signed with the Detroit Tigers for a reported $4.7 million.

Whitson said he was on the phone with the Padres assistant general manager Monday night trying to work out a deal before the 11 p.m. CST deadline for signing this year’s draft picks.

“With 30 minutes left, I said, ‘Let’s get a deal done,’’’ Whitson said.

When the Padres elected to stick with their final offer, Whitson made his decision to follow his first dream of playing for Florida. He signed with the Gators last November before exploring his professional baseball options.

Whitson will now have to wait at least three years before being eligible to be selected in the MLB Draft again.

He called Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan Monday night to tell him the news.

“I said, ‘Hey coach, I have some bad news — you have to put up with me for the next three years,’’’ Whitson said.

“I’m really excited about going to college and pitching for UF. It has been a dream of mine before pro ball.”

The 6-foot-4, 195-pound right hander, went 7-3 with 123 strikeouts in 55 innings last season for Chipley.

He also spent two seasons (2008-2009) playing American Legion baseball in the summer for Dothan Post 12.

Whitson plans to be enrolled at Florida in the next couple of days and begin classes on Monday.

“It’s a big deal for me,” Whitson said. “They went to the World Series this year and hopefully I’ll be able to make a big impact.”

His father, Kent Whitson, believes his son made the right decision. He also said while he and his wife are Florida graduates, the ultimate decision was made by Karsten.

“This whole deal has been very tiring,” Kent Whitson said. “It’s been a whirlwind for Karsten.

“His perceived value was a little different than theirs. It’s a business. He’s unlike most high school kids that would buckle under the pressure and couldn’t turn down that money.
“I feel good mentally that he is in the right place.”

The Padres were surprised by not being able to sign Whitson, who was the second pitcher taken in this summer’s draft.

“I’ll be honest, we’re really surprised,” Padres general manager Jed Hoyer was quoted by the Associated Press. “All the information we had indicated it would be a really quick signing.

“I expected this to be done in days. I don’t know what changed, but something changed. That’s what’s frustrating to us.

“Up until the end we were confident he would sign. We offered him a fair deal for where he was taken in the first round.

“All the rest of the players in the top 10 lined up really appropriately. Karsten decided that he wouldn’t sign for that.

“He wanted far more. That’s where it fell apart.”