New Mexico State pitcher Sammy Natera will turn professional

Sammy Natera, who played high school baseball at El Paso' Lydia Patterson Institute and then at New Mexico State, will turn professional.

The 6-foot-4, left-handed pitcher from Ciudad Juarez, was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the 17th round of the Major League Baseball Draft last Tuesday.

"I'm excited for the next step in my career and it's always been a dream of mine to play professional baseball," Natera said. "Going on the third day of the draft was something I expected, but going to Los Angels was a surprise. I had talked to several teams but not them. I'm going to give them my best effort."

Natera graduated from Lydia Patterson in 2019 before joining the Aggies. Natera showed potential early in the 2022 season with a 14-strikeout performance against Illinois-Chicago on Feb. 19. He finished one strikeout short of the New Mexico State single-game record, Natera threw innings of one-hit baseball.

Immediately after the start against Illinois-Chicago, Natera struck out eight hitters in back-to-back starts against Oakland and Seattle University.

But Natera said a shoulder injury slowed him down for the rest of the season and he finished with eight appearances.

"I feel good right now," Natera said. "My fastball, my movement with that fastball and my slider are parts of my game I can build on."

Natera is still learning the intricacies of being a pitcher. He didn't start pitching until he was 16 or 17 after playing first base for much of his career.

"I've still have lots of room to grow as a pitcher" Natera said. "It was a transition for me moving over to pitcher, but I feel like I'm getting better and learning more and more all the time."

Natera said he and his team are still finishing up a contract but that he expects to report to Arizona in the coming weeks to begin his professional career.

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Felix F. Chavez may be reached at 915-546-6167; fchavez@elpasotimes.com; @Fchavezeptimes on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: New Mexico State pitcher Sammy Natera to sign with Los Angeles Angels