Matt Purke signed with the Washington Nationals late Monday, ending his brief, but brilliant, career at TCU. The left-handed pitcher was selected by the Nationals in the third round of the major league draft in June after an injury-plagued season for the Horned Frogs. The Nationals signed Purke to a four-year, Major League contract, reportedly worth about $4.4 million.
Purke was selected out of Klein High School as the 14th overall pick by the Texas Rangers in the June 2009 draft. After failing to sign with the Rangers, Purke attended TCU. He went 16-0 and led the Horned Frogs to their first College World Series in 2010, earning several national Freshman Pitcher of the Year awards.
"We are all so very excited for Matt," TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle said. "Our goal when he came to school was to provide him with a great experience, get to Omaha and win; and make sure he left in at least as good of shape as he came. Those goals were accomplished and he signed for a great deal, that is, generally, equal or greater than what his opportunity was out of high school. It's a great testament for the college choice for an elite prospect."
Purke, who threw 52 2/3 innings as a sophomore in 2010, struggled with soreness after resting his arm for most of the offseason. He missed more than a week early during the 2011 season with a blister on his throwing hand, and while putting up solid numbers (5-1, 1.71 earned-run average in 11 starts), he was on a pitch count for much of the season. In April, Purke was sidelined with shoulder soreness and missed a month of action.
Horned Frog recruit Kevin Cron, selected by the Seattle Mariners in the third round, is headed to TCU. Cron was a standout prep first baseman/catcher at Arizona’s Mountain Pointe High School.
TCU outfielder Jason Coats, a 12th-round selection by the Baltimore Orioles, will return for his senior year.
Several key members of TCU’s CWS team who were drafted as underclassmen in June, have signed with teams this summer and will note return for their senior year. Junior pitcher Kyle Winkler, who won 27 games at TCU, signed last week with the Arizona Diamondbacks for $240,000. Another senior to be, Taylor Featherston, signed with the Rockies for $144,900. TCU seniors Jerome Pena (Orioles), Jimmie Pharr (Brewers), Joe Weik (Diamondbacks) and Erik Miller (signed with Reds for $100,000) have all signed minor league contracts. Senior pitcher Steven Maxwell, who was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 37th round, had not signed by press time Monday evening.
TCU recruits Kyle Crick, Cody Anderson and Tyler Collins all signed with their respective clubs and will not attend TCU.
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