The more Cody Laweryson saw major league league scouts watch him pitch at the University of Maine this season, the more he realized he was closer to his dream of getting drafted.

That happened early Wednesday afternoon when he was selected by the Minnesota Twins with the 12th pick (419th overall) in the 14th round of the major league draft.

“I’m just relieved,” Laweryson said. “I was just hoping to be picked at any point.”

Laweryson became the second Maine player selected in the 2019 draft. Deering senior Trejyn Fletcher was selected in the third round, 58th overall, by the St. Louis Cardinals.

With a fastball sitting in the low 90s, Laweryson recently completed a strong junior season at the University of Maine. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound pitcher was used exclusively as a starter, earning all-America East Conference status. Laweryson went 5-5 in 14 starts with a 2.85 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 72 2/3 innings. Opponents hit .224 against him this season.

Laweryson was home in Moscow when he got the news. He said John Wilson, Minnesota’s area scout, had called a few times in the morning to let Laweryson know he was on the Twins’ radar on day three of the draft.

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“(Wilson) had been calling me pretty much all morning, letting me know where they were,” Laweryson said.

Scott Laweryson, Cody’s father, was at work when his son texted him with the news that the Twins had called a few times. Scott made it home in time to celebrate when the news broke.

“I’m trying to put my head around it,” said Scott Laweryson, Cody’s baseball coach at Valley High School in Bingham. “I’ve just watched him work real hard for so long.”

Laweryson drew motivation watching some of his Maine teammates get drafted over the years, most notably shortstop Jeremy Pena, who went to the Houston Astros in the third round of the 2018 draft.

“Pena, he led by example,” Laweryson said. “To watch him put in work every day, I was inspired.”

Used primarily in relief his first two seasons with the Black Bears, Laweryson leaves Maine with 12 career wins and three saves.

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Laweryson said he expects to sign a contract in the next few days and join the Twins’ rookie camp in Fort Myers, Florida.

From there, he would get assigned to a minor league team. The Twins have a rookie league team in Fort Myers, the Gulf Coast Twins, and the Elizabethtown (Tennessee) Twins, of the Appalachian League, which opens the season June 18.

Laweryson said he’s not sure where the Twins will send him, but he’s eager to get started.

“This is everything I dreamed of,” Laweryson said. “This is another step in the right direction.”

UMAINE PITCHER Nick Silva was taken with the third pick in the 40th round, 1,190 overall, by the Chicago White Sox.


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