Cunningham signs with Pirates

Jarek Cunningham assumed his next big step would be to play baseball for Arizona State University.

But the recent Mt. Spokane High School graduate instead opted to sign a professional baseball contract Saturday with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who drafted the shortstop in the 18th round (534th overall) of Major League Baseball’s first-year player draft a little more than a week ago.

Cunningham signed after meeting with Pittsburgh team representatives in Seattle.

“It was good,” Cunningham said. “It was a long meeting, but everything went really well.

“Going in, we kind of gave them a money figure and told them if they could match it then I would sign, so they matched it and I decided to sign,” Cunningham said of the decision to forgo playing Pac-10 baseball at Arizona State.

Cunningham will leave for Bradenton, Fla., sometime in the next week to join the Pirates’ rookie league affiliate in the Gulf Coast League. The team’s first game is on Thursday against the GCL Twins in Fort Myers, Fla.

Cunningham missed most of his senior season to rehabilitate a knee injury.

He joined the Wildcats for two postseason games, so the fact that he got drafted was a pleasant surprise.

“It was a huge surprise,” Cunningham said. “I kind of thought I’d go to school. The (Pittsburgh Pirates) guy even said it’s unusual to happen like it did.

“Just being able to get up and keep moving up the ladder and play in the majors – it’s going to be hard work, but I’m really looking forward to it. It’s a little scary, but super exciting.”