Atwater's Dylan Floro chooses Cal State Fullerton after talks with Rays stall

ATWATER -- Cal State Fullerton or the Tampa Bay Rays' farm system?

Long busrides, a grueling schedule and no pay, or long busrides, a grueling schedule and some pay?

The great debate is over.

The Rays supplied pitching prospect Dylan Floro the answer he needed without saying a single word.

The midnight deadline to sign draft picks in the June First-Year Player Draft came and went on Monday with a sense of clarity for the former Buhach Colony standout.

Floro is headed to Cal State Fullerton on an athletic scholarship after negotiations with the Rays flat-lined.

A 20th round selection, Floro was asking for a $450,000 signing bonus -- a number, he said, he and his advising team generated from a list of comparable 2008 selections.

The Rays, who weren't in discussion with Floro in the days leading up to the deadline and made no contact on Monday, offered $280,000.

The numbers simply didn't match up.

"It looks like I'm going to school. It's pretty much set," Floro said. "I haven't talked to (the Rays) in the last couple of days and they didn't come with a big enough offer.

"It sounded like they were interested, but the money is down from last year all the way around."

Signing Floro wasn't the Rays' only issue. The organization's top two picks -- LeVon Washington and Kenny Diekroger -- weren't expected to sign either, according to BaseballAmerica.com and several other media outlets.

Floro hoped to go in the third round, but slipped into the second day.

The right-hander was 7-1 in the spring with 109 strikeouts in 61 innings.

For his four-year varsity career, he was 33-5 and averaged nearly two strikeouts per inning.

"I'm not really disappointed. Things happen," Floro said. "Hopefully, in three years I'll be up there playing, working my way to the Major Leagues."

Instead, Floro will join one of the top baseball schools in the country.

Fullerton was 47-16 last season and reached the College World Series in Omaha, where it was eventually knocked out by Virginia.

The 2010 recruiting class was touted as one Fullerton's best.

Of the 13 players who signed Letters of Intent during the early signing period in November, four, including Floro, were ranked in Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects publication.

"I'm ecstatic at the overall quality of the players..." Fullerton skipper Dave Serrano said in a November press release.

"The challenge ahead of us now is to see how many of them will be able to stick to their educational commitment, as many of them may have the opportunity to play professionally out of high school.

"Our fingers are crossed."

Two ultimately signed pro deals -- Tyler Skaggs with the Angels and Matt Hobgood with the Orioles -- but Serrano will retain the hard-throwing Floro.

The Sun-Star's Baseball Player of the Year will report to campus this week, he said. Floro will live with his older brother, Brock, also a pitcher at Fullerton.

"It's nice to relax and figure out what I have to do for to get ready for the college game," the younger Floro said, "instead of sitting around and not knowing."

James Burns is sports editor of the Sun-Star. He can be reached at jburns@mercedsun-star.com.