BATON ROUGE — LSU left-handed pitcher Shane Youman has signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates, head coach Smoke Laval announced Thursday.
Youman, a junior from New Iberia, La., was Pittsburgh’s 43rd-round selection in the 2001 major league baseball draft. In three seasons at LSU, Youman made 50 appearances, posting a 6-2 record and a 4.82 ERA in 93.1 innings while recording 61 walks and 62 strikeouts. Youman is the fourth member of the 2001 LSU squad to sign a pro contract this summer.
The others are shorstop Ryan Theriot (Chicago Cubs, third round), right-handed pitcher Jason Scobie (New York Mets, 15th round) and first baseman Bryan Moore (St. Louis Cardinals, 22nd round).
Laval also said Thursday that catcher Jeff Timmons, a high school signee from Hollywood, Fla., will attend Manatee (Fla.) Junior College rather than enroll at LSU. Timmons, who prepped at Nova High School, was the 14th-round draft selection of the San Francisco Giants.
The loss of Timmons won’t deplete the Tigers’ catching corps, Laval said, as former Southeastern Louisiana catcher Dustin Weaver has completed his transfer to LSU. Weaver, a two-time Class 5A all-state performer at St. Amant High, started 24 games last season as an SLU true freshman, batting .259 with one homer and 15 RBI. Timmons became the sixth of 11 drafted LSU signees to join a major league organization.
The others who have signed with pro clubs include catcher Jonathan de Vries of Irvine, Calif. (Boston Red Sox, third round), outfielder Chamar McDonald of Madison, Miss. (Kansas City Royals, fifth round), outfielder Austin Nagle of Barbe High School in Lake Charles, La. (Oakland Athletics, sixth round); pitcher Billy Simon of Wellington (Fla.) High School (Boston Red Sox, ninth round); and pitcher Chad Gaudin of Crescent City High School in Harahan, La. (Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 34th round).
LSU’s remaining five drafted signees had not signed pro contracts as of Thursday afternoon. They include catcher Jonathan Zeringue of E.D. White High School in Thibodaux, La. (Chicago White Sox, third round); outfielder Jay Mattox of Conway, Ark. (Chicago White Sox, fourth round); outfielder Dustin Hahn of Reno, Nev. (Baltimore Orioles, 21st round); pitcher Jason Vargas of Apple Valley, Calif. (Minnesota Twins, 43rd round); and first baseman Jason Columbus of Alamogordo, N.M. (Cleveland Indians, 49th round).
Members of the 2001 LSU team who were drafted but remain unsigned as of Thursday afternoon include second baseman Mike Fontenot (Baltimore Orioles, first round); outfielder Todd Linden (San Francisco Giants, supplemental first round); outfielder Sean Barker (Toronto Blue Jays, 46th round); and right-handed pitcher Billy Brian (Cleveland Indians, 47th round).
The major league clubs may continue negotiations with the unsigned players until Monday, when fall semester classes begin at LSU. Major league teams lose draft rights to players once they attend a class.