Coro: Wong enjoys Giant day

Tuesday was Jake Wong's payoff for all the backyard rounds of catch and Little League games.

It was his reward for all the days of lifting weights and nights of studying games.

Thousands of dedicated days led to one divine day for Wong when the Grand Canyon pitcher's boyhood dream was fulfilled with a MLB draft call from the San Francisco Giants.

Wong, three years after receiving his only Division I offer from GCU, became the Lopes' highest draft choice in 29 years when he was picked 80^th overall and second in the draft's third round. That puts Wong in the same sentence with GCU baseball icon Tim Salmon, the No. 69 pick in 1989, and on a short list with four other players who were top-80 picks over a 65-year Lope program history.

"It means everything," Wong said. "This is a day that you work for your whole life. I'm just very thankful and humbled for the opportunity that the San Francisco Giants are giving me. I know I wouldn't have got to this point without my opportunities at GCU. I couldn't be more appreciative of those."

Wong's draft-day routine was as even-keeled as his mound work. He kept a life-altering day to a small group, privately watching Tuesday's events unfold with his parents, grandparents and siblings.

There was an inkling about the Giants' interest from how often they watched him play this season and several phone conversations but he did not know how much the Giants believed in his rocket right arm until they called to alert him of their plan to draft him at No. 80.

"It's cool to be the first college guy from Arizona taken off the board," Wong said. "I didn't have any expectations so hearing that was kind of neat. I know there's a ton of talent here in Arizona. It means a lot to be the first Arizona college guy taken. I can't thank the Giants enough for believing in me and having the confidence in me.

"Just to be among those considered is just outright humbling. A lot of people would kill to be where I'm at and have the position I have. I couldn't be any more happy."

Wong's draft position was not a departure from where he often was projected to go. This draft dream first seemed real to Wong last summer at the Cape Cod Baseball League, when he posted a 0.86 ERA over his final 17 appearances as a reliever. He already had been GCU's Friday night starter as a sophomore but was taking his game to another level that he delivered this year, when he went 9-3 with a 2.81 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 89 2/3 innings.

Pro scouts took notice of a durable 6-foot-2 frame that throws regular 93 to 94 mph fastballs with occasional kick-ups to 96. His delivery is clean and regular. His right arm is lively but he throws fastballs, curves and change-ups with control. His mindset is competitive and mature.

"His ability to learn has gotten better now that pitching has become more natural to him,' GCU pitching coach Rich Dorman said. "He's not just a guy who jumps on the mound and throws a firm fastball. He's learned how to pitch. His aptitude has gotten better now that he's coming into his own with pitching.

"The trend is in the right direction. It's not like he punched out 90 guys his freshman year and took a dip somewhere. He's gotten better every game. For me, every outing has gotten better from his freshman year to every start this year."

Wong was a steady, dominant force at each series' outset for GCU but he still was able to close his season at another level in his first collegiate postseason appearance. Wong, 21, showed his potential for endurance with a 123-pitch outing in which he threw 93 and 94 mph fastballs in the eighth inning.

Despite not allowing an earned run over eight innings, Wong closed the season with an unexpected loss after being the staff ace for back-to-back WAC regular-season championship teams.

"I wear GCU with pride and I always will," Wong said. "I know I represented the university well. I couldn't be any more thankful for all that GCU gave me. I wouldn't be where I'm at without my teammates, coaches and the university."

Wong was the 41st NCAA player drafted and the 19th NCAA pitcher selected.

"If you're a GCU commit right now, you've got to be super-excited or if you're a player in our program," Dorman said. "Who's next?"

The conversations between the Giants and Wong, a junior, did not go beyond excitement on both ends Tuesday with San Francisco having later picks to handle. Should he sign soon with the Giants, Wong could be off to a short-season minor-league destination with a possible return to his home state for Instructional League.

"Spring training is when you walk into a clubhouse with 120 players and feel small in that big pool but he'll figure it out," said Dorman, who spent eight years coaching in the Seattle Mariners organization before joining GCU in 2016, "Jake's a worker and he knows what's important. That's routine and preparation. That's what he got really good at doing here and believing in himself."

Wong spent his lifetime for this opportunity to have a new start. The Chandler Hamilton High graduate will thrive if it goes anything like what happened when he received a fresh start at GCU in 2015.

"I was a kid with one scholarship offer out of high school and GCU was my only offer," Wong said. "I couldn't be any more thankful. I'm just so blessed to have so much support along the way and I want to thank the GCU coaches for believing in me."

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.

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Jake Wong

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