Cubs’ draftees land in Boise to play for Hawks

The goal of every college student is to land a job they want.

Three Boise Hawks learned that they had landed their dream jobs when they were drafted by the Chicago Cubs on June 10.

Life started moving at a rapid pace after that for Danny Keefe, Cody Shields and Greg Rohan. Soon after the draft, they flew to Mesa, Ariz., signed professional contracts, went through a quick workout and then hopped on a plane to Boise on Wednesday.

The Hawks, a minor-league affiliate of the Cubs, play their first game of the season at 7:15 p.m. Saturday against the Tri-City Dust Devils at Memorial Stadium.

“The last three weeks I’ve traveled to six different states I haven’t been to in my life,” Keefe said. “I’ve just been traveling left and right all over the place.”

The process of getting drafted and starting your professional career as a baseball player can be a lot to take in, and Hawks interim manager Franklin Font said the coaching staff is aware of that.”

“We go slow, step by step, showing them how the professional game will work,” Font said. “We’ve got to be patient.”

Here is a brief look at the three players:

Danny Keefe

The 6-foot-4, 185-pound right-handed pitcher just wrapped up his senior season at the University of Tampa, where he went 4-5 with a 4.13 ERA in 20 games, including five starts.

The Cubs describe him as a late-developing prospect with a fastball that’s been clocked at 90 to 93 mph.

His college baseball career ended in May.

“Then the draft came, and it’s been a storm of chaos,” said Keefe, who was selected in the 14th round. Keefe said he was glad to have the draft behind him.

“Scouts tell you things, and sometimes they don’t pan out,” he said. “So then you start worrying. It’s just a weight lifted off of your shoulder once your name gets called. You don’t even worry about who it’s with or where you’re going to go. You just know you’re going to play baseball and that’s the biggest thing.”

Cody Shields

Shields, a 6-foot-4, 190-pounder just completed his senior year at the University of Auburn at Montgomery, where he was named to the 2009 NAIA Baseball All-America Second Team.

He led his college team in batting with a .461 average and is expected to play center field.

Shields, who had never been west of New Orleans before this week, has been a man on the move after being picked in the 15th round.

“I arrived in Mesa at about midnight Monday, got up and played (Tuesday) and then got on a plane (to Boise) the next day,” he said. “It’s been a whirlwind, definitely.”

Since then, he said he’s just been focused on beginning his pro career.

“I’m ready to get into it and start playing,” he said.

Greg Rohan

The 6-foot, 205-pound first baseman finished his career at Kent State second in school history with 48 home runs. In 2008, he was named the MAC player of the year.

He admitted that draft day created some anxiety.

“I just wanted to go,” said Rohan, who was selected in the 21st round. “You can’t really pick your spot in the draft, so I was just happy to see my name go across the computer. I’ve got a big family, and they were really happy about it. It was a good day, all in all.”

Rohan said he was impressed by his plane flight and arrival in Boise.

“The mountains were beautiful,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like that before. … And then the welcoming committee at the airport, it was pretty nice.”