Sports Writer

Former Osceola High School pitcher Alex Burgos got good news Tuesday when he was selected by Detroit in the fifth round Major League Baseball first-year draft.

So was he caught off guard by the high selection, 163rd overall? A little bit, it sounds like.

“I had the draft on the webcast, and I started to take a nap,” Burgos said. “Then I heard my name called, and I instantly had like 10 calls and text messages. One of them was the Tigers, and I called them back.”

Burgos said that since returning home from the National Junior College World Series in Colorado on Friday – where his State College of Florida squad lasted two games – he’d heard from a few teams asking about his signability.

“The Red Sox, the Cardinals, the Diamondbacks and Royals all called,” he said. “It was like, ‘If we take you, will you sign?’”

With two years of junior college ball behind him, Burgos had signed to play at Florida Southern College in Lakeland this fall. He also had agreed to play for former OHS Coach Jim Murphy in the Northwoods League, a wood-bat summer league, for a team in Mankato, Minn., this summer.

He said that he is represented by an advisor. They will work with the Tigers on a professional contract over the next few days, so he could still pitch for Murphy in Minnesota, or at FSC if they can’t come to terms.

“I’m still supposed to leave for Minnesota (today),” Burgos said. “From there, we’ll see what happens.”

Murphy said he heard rumblings before the draft that Burgos might be selected somewhere around the 10th to 12th rounds.

“But this, this is a really big deal. He’s the highest kid I’ve had drafted who played for me in high school,” Murphy said.

Former Osceola High player Jose Dore, who transferred to Orlando First Academy for his junior year, was selected in the eighth round on Tuesday (244th overall) by the San Diego Padres. Dore signed with Florida State last fall.

That brings to 11 the total number of Murphy’s players who were drafted.

“It’s quite an accomplishment,” Murphy said. “I’m pretty excited. My son was drafted in the 14th round, and that was a different kind of excitement when your own son is selected, so I know that his dad is bouncing off the walls.”

Burgos was dominant his last two years at Osceola, going 17-5 with 207 strikeouts in 144 innings and a 1.59 ERA.

After a season of adjustment to the college game at SCF, he returned to his dominant ways as a college sophomore, going 13-1 with a 1.42 ERA, striking out 109 in 95 innings and pitching the Manatees to a win in the Gulf District tournament in Lakeland.

His two victories, including a dominant performance in the championship game, qualified the team for the national tourney in Colorado.

Burgos is the first county player to go in the top 10 rounds since Poinciana’s John Madden was selected in the eighth round by the Padres in 2005.

Osceola’s Jamie Arnold (1992, Atlanta Braves, 26th overall) and Gateway’s Joe Torres (2000, Anaheim Angels, 10th) were selected in the first round.