You might have noticed a new name appeared on the Vancouver roster recently – that’s Jason Fernandez,
an 11th round draft pick for the Oakland A’s out of the University of
Louisiana, Lafayette, who made a name for himself as a shortstop before
a summer league coach suggested he put his rocket-like arm to work as a
pitcher.

His only season for the Ragin’ Cajuns was a 9-2, 2.86 year which saw
him named to the All-Louisiana second team after holding opponents to a
.233 average, and his final game of the year saw his victory earn ULL a
regular season conference title.

Oakland has elected to draft several players over the past few seasons
who had only one season in their chosen position, and Fernandez seems
to be one of the latest. Following the Moneyball ethos of finding value
in underappreciated areas of the market, Jason ‘Death’ Ray was selected
as a pitcher last year, having less than a full season under his belt
in that position after converting from the outfield, and his progress
has been fast through the A’s system as he has come to terms with the
nuances of the role.

Grabbing Fernandez so early in the draft is indicative of the fact that
the A’s see promise far beyond the pitcher’s current stat line, and
realize that a few years of honing as a professional will likely see
the 6′2", 180lb hurler improve exponentially, though the fact that he
was a Roger Clemens Award finalist, and ranked 39th in the NCAA for
ERA may have helped his cause.

That the A’s were able to agree terms with a kid who could easily have
simply returned to college and likely been drafted higher in a year’s
time is testament to their reputation as a great system for pitching
prospects.

“[Signing] was a trying decision for him,” Fernandez’s father Mike told
the Louisiana Advocate on Wednesday. “It really beat him up for 2 or 3
weeks, but he knew Oakland was too good an organization to pass up and
decided to take the offer,” – an offer that includes college tuition
during the off-season so he can finish his degree in sports management.

“We found out that Oakland was one of the better organizations to be
with if you’re a pitcher," Fernandez continued, "[which] had a bearing
on his decision [...] Like all kids, Jason had a lifelong dream to play
pro baseball and has a chance to fulfill that dream.”