The last pitch of the Cape Cod League season was apparently Phil Bickford’s last as a Division I player, and potentially his last as an amateur.
As first reported by Kendall Rogers of Perfect Game, Bickford will not return to Cal State Fullerton this year, instead opting for either junior college baseball or an independent league in order to be eligible for the 2015 Major League Baseball draft.
Bickford, the Cape League’s Top Pro Prospect award winner, wowed scouts and fans alike with a mid-90’s fastball out of the Yarmouth-Dennis bullpen. He was at his best in the playoffs, saving three of Y-D’s postseason wins in dominating fashion.
Bickford was a first-round pick of the Blue Jays in 2013 but did not sign and headed to Fullerton. Had he stayed with the Titans, he would not have been eligible for the draft until 2016.
Both Rogers and Baseball America’s Aaron Fitt speculate that a possible destination could be Cypress Junior College, which happens to be coached by Scott Pickler, the Y-D Red Sox head man.
Wherever he ends up in the spring, Bickford will likely become one of the top pitching prospects in the draft next year.