Sometimes life throws you a curveball.
The ASU baseball team got its before the season even started.
Sun Devil junior right-hander Mike Esposito, who was selected in the 12th round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, recently signed a contract with the Colorado Rockies. After agreeing to terms, the ASU ace will reportedly receive a $750,000 signing bonus, the equivalent of what a second-round pick would normally get.
Esposito was planning on starting classes Aug. 26, but is now in Zebulon, N.C., with the Double-A Carolina Mudcats after spending a week in Denver negotiating a contract. He is not expected to pitch until competing in the team's instructional league this winter at a minor-league facility in Tucson.
Esposito was supposed to be one of ASU's most dependable pitchers again this season. Sun Devil head coach Pat Murphy learned of Esposito's negotiation talks the week before school started.
"I am happy for Mike and his family, as this is a great opportunity for him to pursue his dream of playing Major League Baseball," Murphy said. "It obviously leaves a hole for us in the pitching staff, but this is the business we are in, and we will just have to adjust. He is a great kid, and we wish him the best down the road. Hopefully, the program served him well."
Esposito compiled a 15-8 career record with a 3.91 ERA at ASU. After receiving a medical redshirt year when having Tommy John surgery as a freshman, Esposito went 5-2 in 16 appearances and followed it up with a 9-6 mark and a 3.72 ERA.
Esposito was named an honorable mention All-Pac 10 selection last spring. He also pitched for the USA Baseball National Team in the summer of 2001. Esposito tallied a 3-1 record with a 1.56 ERA and was named a Baseball America second-team summer All-American.
Reach the reporter at casey.pritchard@asu.edu.
