Barstow pitcher Aaron Sanchez, the 34th pick of last week’s Major League Baseball draft, has signed with the Toronto Blue Jays and will head off to their rookie ball team in Dunedin, Florida this upcoming weekend.

Sanchez, the first player in the county to be selected, chose not to go into details on the terms of his contract, but Jim Callis of Baseball America indicated that Sanchez is receiving a $775,000 bonus in this tweet. Either way, Sanchez is excited about embarking on his professional career.

“It’s awesome,” said Sanchez, who had signed with the University of Oregon. “It’s made better by the fact that I’m still in school. It’s kind of cool being the only kid in high school that’s a professional baseball player.”

Sanchez graduates from Barstow this upcoming Thursday and will head to Florida three days later. Florida may seem like a different world from the High Desert, but Sanchez is ready for the challenge.

“The humidity will be something to get used to, but its hot up here and its hot down there,” Sanchez said. “I can’t wait to get going.”

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