
Skylar Szynski signed on the dotted line Thursday.
That had to make the Oakland Athletics organization very happy.
The former Penn High School pitching star opted to sign with the A’s and start his professional career instead of attedning Indiana University to pitch for the Hoosiers next year.
Szynski, a 2016 PHS graduate, picked up a cool one million dollar signing bonus in the ceremony held at his parent’s home in Granger.
Szynski, a 6-2 righthander, was drafted in the fourth round by Oakland on June 10. He was the 112th overall pick in the Major League Draft.
Szynski was 10-2 with a 2.47 earned run average this season for the Kingsmen, who lost 8-5 to No. 1 Zionsville in the Kokomo Semistate last Saturday as Szynski took the loss. He had 81 strikeouts and 26 walks in 68 innings on the hill. Penn beat Warsaw 10-0 in a first-round sectional game at Penn and rallied from a 5-0 deficit to edge Elkhart Memorial 6-5 in the sectional finale. The Kingsmen then rallied from a 3-1 deficit to top rival Mishawaka 4-3 in a semifinal game before routing Chesterton 11-1 to win the LaPorte Regional title. Penn finished 29-5 in the 2016 campaign.
Szynski pitched Penn to the Class 4-A state championship in 2015. He was 10-1 with an 0.84 ERA with 102 strikeouts and 30 walks in 83.1 innings of work his junior season. Szynski fired a three-hitter as Penn beat Terre Haute North 3-2 in the state title game to win the program’s fourth state championship and conclude a 29-6-1 season in 2015.
Szynski was scheduled to leave today to report to the A’s rookie league team in Arizona.
