Phil Bickford doesn’t sign with Toronto, to enroll at Fullerton

Pitcher Phil Bickford from Westlake Village Oaks Christian High, who was chosen No. 10 overall in the Major League Baseball draft by the Toronto Blue Jays, failed to reach agreement before Friday’s signing deadline and will enroll at Cal State Fullerton.

Asked whether he were ready to do a cartwheel, Fullerton Coach Rick Vanderhook said, “I would if I could, except I’m driving.�

Bickford, who was throwing 96 mph this spring, will join a rotation that could rival the best in college baseball. Fullerton will have sophomores Justin Garza (12-0 record, 2.03 earned-run average) and Thomas Eshelman (12-3, 1.48) and junior Grahamm Wiest (9-3, 3.27) all returning from a team that won the Big West Conference championship before losing to UCLA in an NCAA super-regional.

“I think our guys are pretty good, and it adds another guy who’s pretty good,� Vanderhook said.

“I think they just want to go the school route,� the coach said of Bickford’s decision. “There’s two different ways to do it, out of high school or college. I think they want Phil to go to school and develop and get an education and start to be who he is as a person. A lot people do it, but not many drafted in the first round. I don’t think it’s the wrong way to go.�

Bickford was the only first-round pick who did not sign. The signing price MLB assigned to his slot in the draft when Toronto selected Bickford was $2,921,400.

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