By Randy Whitehouse,Staff Writer

MONMOUTH – With family and friends gathered around him, Tip Fairchild sat at the computer in his Monmouth home and contemplated his future as the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft went deeper and deeper without his name coming up.

Shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday, contemplation turned to exultation. Fairchild was selected as a pitcher by the Houston Astros in the 12th round with the 374th pick.

“It was hectic,” said Fairchild, a former Monmouth Academy star who just completed his junior year at the University of Southern Maine. “The phone’s been ringing off the hook. It’s unbelievable.”

Mike Maggert, Houston’s regional scouting director, will be flying to Maine on Thursday to talk contract, said Fairchild, who expects to sign quickly.

He’s already held out for a better deal once. He doesn’t want to do it again.

“Around the ninth round, I started getting calls from the Kansas City Royals, asking me if I’d sign for a certain amount of money,” he said. “I just said No.’

Based on their signing history, Fairchild believed that the Astros, who had seen him five times, including a workout two weeks ago at USM, would draft him and could make him a better offer.

“The first offer (Kansas City) thrown out there was $25,000 and they were going to pay for the rest of school. I was going to come back to them and say $50,000, but I thought the Astros would give me $50,000,” he said.

Many teams projected Fairchild to go between the 7th and 12th rounds, and he figured the teams that had shown the most interest, the Astros, the Boston Red Sox and the Florida Marlins, would take him

“The Astros said they wanted to take me earlier, but they had a few position players they had to get first,” Fairchild said.

Among those position players was Koby Clemens, a third baseman from Memorial High School in Houston who also happens to be the son of Roger Clemens. The Astros selected him in the ninth round, and that’s when Fairchild started to get concerned.

“I was pretty nervous, because when they say 7-12, you’re thinking seven,” he said.

Then the 10th and 11th round passed without Fairchild’s name popping up on his computer screen, and he started having second thoughts about turning down Kansas City.

“I was ready to pull the trigger with the Royals because I just want to get out there and play,” he said.

By the time the 12th round began, he had resolved to wait one more round, hoping that if the Astros didn’t draft him, perhaps the Red Sox or Marlins would. Then Houston ended all speculation.

“They’re a great organization for pitching, so I’m happy,” said Fairchild, who received a call from Maggert shortly after he was drafted.

Fairchild has yet to sign with an agent because NCAA eligibility rules prohibit it. He does have an advisor, Dave Abramson, who represents several other minor leaguers.

“He’s going to help me through the process, and my parents (Bill and Ann) are going to help me and my coaches are going to help me,” he said.

Once he signs, Fairchild will fly to Houston for a meet and greet with Astros officials, take a physical, then either report to the Astros’ rookie league affiliate in Greenville, TN or their short-A affiliate in Troy, NY. Both teams begin their seasons on June 21.

Fairchild was a co-captain at USM this past spring and compiled a 5-2 record in 14 appearances, including five starts. He yielded 44 hits and seven walks in 50 innings while fanning 66. Opponents hit .229 against him. He was named to the All-Little East and All-New England Division III baseball teams.

He is the second Mainer to be drafted by the Astros in the last two years. Former Oxford Hills standout Eric Cavers went to Houston in the 10th round last year.