University of Delaware pitcher and Roslyn native Matt Soren was attending the Belmont Stakes with friends when he got a phone call from his father with news most boys only dream about growing up playing baseball.
“He called me up saying the Phillies had taken me and then about 20 minutes later I got a call from the scout with all the official information, so it was a really nice afternoon celebrating at Belmont knowing I had been drafted,” Soren said by phone Monday.
The 6-foot-5, 225-pound hurler was selected June 8 by Philadelphia in the 19th round – the 571st overall selection – of the 2013 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft, the 20th Delaware player taken by the Phillies and the first since Carlos Alonso in 2010. Philadelphia later selected Soren’s teammate, Delaware outfielder Nick Ferdinand, in the draft’s 35th round.
“It was something I was expecting, so I was ecstatic, I was happy,” Soren, 22, said. “It was an East Coast team so I’m going to close to home, but it’s been a surreal thing knowing I’m going to play professional baseball, and it was great knowing a few hours later that one of my teammates was going to the Phillies as well.”
Soren, who graduated from Roslyn High School in 2009, went 4-5 in 15 games this year for the Blue Hens, finishing with a 3.62 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 74.2 innings. He was named the Colonial Athletic Association’s Pitcher of the Week twice during the season.
“I’m very happy for Matt, Delaware head coach Jim Sherman said in a statement. “He is a hard thrower who professional baseball scouts really like and now he has the chance he wanted. He worked hard this year and it paid off for him.”
Soren said he was preparing to fly to the Phillies’ spring training complex in Clearwater, Fla. tomorrow to sign a contract and participate in a mini workout that will determine where the organization will keep him in Florida or send him to its short season low-A minor league affiliate in Williamsport, Pa. as part of the New York Penn League.
“It really just hit me last night when the scout called me again and gave me my flight information,” Soren said. “I didn’t really think everything would be happening this soon, so now it’s hitting me a lot more than it did the day I was drafted.”
Soren said he had been in contact with a few teams in the days leading up to the draft and was uncertain of where he’d land or when he’d be selected, but was pleased he ended up in Philadelphia, a city remotely close to where he played college ball at Delaware and grew up on Long Island.
“I still have the Yankees in my blood, but I’ve got to start rooting for the Phillies a little bit,” Soren said. “When I was at Delaware, a lot of my friends and teammates were Phillies fans, so there was some rooting back and forth between us, but it’s good to know I’m going to that organization that was so close to home and know that they’re going to be rooting for me.”
