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June 8, 2005 Record-Eagle/Douglas Tesner Jason Cairnes and his mother, Patti, watch the Major League draft unfold online Tuesday afternoon. St. Louis selects Cairns in the eighth roundFormer TC Central pitcher 'overwhelmed'ByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - Jason Cairns expected to be selected somewhere in the first 10 rounds of Tuesday's Major League Baseball amateur draft. But when his name finally appeared on mlb.com, he couldn't believe his good fortune. "All the hard work and after everything I've been through... I'm just overwhelmed right now," said Cairns, a former Traverse City Central standout who was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals. "I can't express it. I'm in shock. "I'm just thankful for the opportunity to become a professional baseball player." Cairns, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound right-handed pitcher, was chosen by the Cardinals in the eighth round - the 260th overall selection. The news was both good and bad for Ian Hearn, Cairns' high school coach who also serves as a scout for the Baltimore Orioles. "Eighth round - that's extremely high for a baseball draft," Hearn said. "Those are the guys who they think will become major leaguers. "I was hoping the Orioles would get him, but obviously the Cardinals got him first. I knew all along that good things would happen for Jason. He has great talent and a lot of potential." After a long day of watching the draft on his computer, Cairns was chosen about 5:30 p.m. and received a telephone call from a Cardinals representative a few minutes later. "He didn't say much," Cairns said of the rep. "The draft was still going on. It sounded like they were pretty busy." Cairns, who was 8-5 with a 3.09 ERA in his senior season at Central Michigan University this spring, said he expects to hear more from the St. Louis organization in the next few days and hopes to sign a contract as soon as possible. His agent, Mike Nicotera of the Sparta Group in New Jersey, also represented CMU pitching coach Mike Villano during his pro career. "I trust (Villano) and he trusts Nicotera," Cairns said. Cairns, who holds several offensive records at TC Central, said he was happy to be chosen by a team in the National League, which doesn't use the designated hitter. "I really wanted to go to the National League," he said. "I can't tell you how excited I am about that." Hearn said Cairns' stock rose in the weeks prior to the draft because his sinking fastball has been explosive. He consistently throws 90-91 mph. "He worked out for Cincinnati last week and he shattered four bats (against other potential draftees)," Hearn said. Hearn called Cairns' selection "wonderful for his family and our community." "I'm excited for Jason," Hearn said. "And I'm excited for Traverse City baseball. This is pretty special."
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