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Then he went out and posted a record of 7-1 and 2.89 ERA. He finished 3rd in the New York-Penn League in wins and strikeouts and was 8th in ERA.

"It went really well. I got out there and got used to pro ball pretty fast," Zagone said. "I had a week or two to rest between Missouri and Aberdeen. Then I got off to a nice start."

The 6-4, 210-pounder was tested in his first pro outing. He came on in relief and after an infield hit and error, he was in an immediate jam. But he fanned two batters and his solid season was underway.

In 65 1/3 innings, Zagone gave up just 57 hits and only two were homers. He showed excellent control with a 79-to-14 strikeout-to-walks ratio. He went 6-0, 1.07 in home games and finished the year pitching to an ERA of 1.50 in his last five starts.

He only threw 70 innings in his junior year at Missouri, going 2-3, 5.25, so he had a pretty fresh arm when Aberdeen's season began in June.

He can't really explain how he had an ERA of 5.25 in college and 2.89 in the pros.

"I was just more comfortable at Aberdeen, I don't know exactly why that was true but it was."

Zagone throws a two and four-seam fastball, along with a slider and circle change. He says his velocity sits between 89 and 92, although at draft time Baseball America listed it as a little below that. Zagone also pitches with a high leg kick.

The 22-year-old prefers to be called Rick rather than Richard and his last name is pronounced Za-go-knee. Rick has spent most of his life in Crystal Lake, Illinois, which is an hour and a half northwest of Chicago, near Wisconsin. He grew up rooting for the Cubs, Bulls and Bears.

He was a tight end on the football team in high school and power forward on the basketball team, but played only baseball his senior year.

When he got to Aberdeen, he found two people who would help him a lot in catcher Caleb Joseph, the O's 7th-round pick, and pitching coach Scott McGregor.

"He's a very good catcher, easy to throw to; we became good friends," Zagone said of Joseph. "I hope we play together next year. And I enjoyed working with Scott. He really let us go out and do our own thing, and if a problem developed he would then give his input or some drills to work on it. He didn't try to change you. Plus he had great stories about his time in baseball."

Zagone said his game plan on the mound usually involves establishing his fastball first and then working in his other pitches.

This winter he is spending some extra time working on his changeup.

"I'm playing catch a lot with it now. In high school, I was a fastball, slider pitcher and never really developed a change until college. I really need to continue to perfect that pitch and get better location with it. That, and you always work on your fastball command."

As for the rest of this winter, he looks forward to spending the holidays with family and friends. He'll continue his workouts at the University of Missouri and start his throwing program in January.