Alfredo Rodriguez

After the Milwaukee Brewers selected him in the 17th round of the MLB Draft earlier this month, former Terrapins baseball shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez said he wanted to start his professional career as soon as possible.

“Wherever they send me, that’s where I’m willing to go,” Rodriguez said June 6. “I’m ready to get to work.”

By June 11, the Terps’ 2012 RBI leader was in Montana with the short-season rookie league Helena Brewers of the class’s Pioneer League. He signed his professional contract four days later, and made his first start for the Brewers on Monday night.

Although Rodriguez went 1-for-3 with a walk in his minor league debut, he had two fielding errors as the Brewers fell to the Great Falls Voyagers, 6-4. Through two games, Rodriguez was batting .429 (3-for-7) with two runs scored, one RBI and one double.

For Rodriguez, it’s the next step after a successful career in College Park. He started the Terps’ last 177 games at shortstop and helped lead the team through a turnaround under coach Erik Bakich.

“It feels great,” Rodriguez said. “It’s a dream come true to get a chance to play professional baseball, and I’m really excited.”

Of course, Rodriguez isn’t the only member of last season’s Terps team who’s already started his professional career.

Right-hander Michael Boyden, a 31st-round pick of the Washington Nationals, signed his contract on June 12 and has been assigned to the Nationals rookie-ball affiliate in the Gulf Coast League. The Nationals began their season Monday night, and Boyden has not yet appeared in a game.

Sander Beck, one of the Terps’ top midweek options in 2012, is also set to start his minor league career. The Baltimore Orioles, who drafted Beck in the 33rd round in 2011, signed the right-hander on June 11 and assigned him to the Class A Short-Season Aberdeen IronBirds. He has yet to appear in a game.

PRO DECISIONS

In separate interviews with PinstripesPlus.com, the New York Yankees’ Scout.com affiliate, pitchers Jimmy Reed and Charlie Haslup both said they will be “summer follows” in the next month.

That means Reed and Haslup will each continue their offseason plans of pitching in summer leagues before deciding whether or not to sign with the Yankees.

Both Reed and Haslup confirmed their status as summer follows to The Diamondback on Tuesday.

“It’s a summer follow type of deal where they will watch me throughout the summer and see how I do and fit with their organization,” Reed said.

The Yankees selected Reed and Haslup in the 21st and 26th rounds, respectively, in the MLB Draft on June 6.

The pitchers have until July 13 at 5 p.m. to decide whether or not to pursue professional careers. The Yankees’ scouts will track Reed and Haslup, and reconvene closer to the deadline to discuss possible scenarios for the pitchers.

Reed and Haslup were two of the most improved pitchers on the Terps’ pitching staff last season, elevating their play on the best team in Bakich’s tenure in College Park.

Reed, a 6-foot left-hander from Gaithersburg, started the season as the Terps’ closer and ended it as the team’s Friday night starter, posting a team-leading 2.70 ERA in 60 innings. He is pitching for the Orleans Firebirds this summer in the Cape Cod League, and has allowed five runs through four innings pitched.

The right-handed Haslu was one of Bakich’s top options in middle relief in 2012, posting a 5-5 record and 2.64 ERA through 44.1 innings. He is currently with the Sanford Mainers in the New England Collegiate Baseball League, and has pitched 6.1 scoreless innings in relief.

SUMMER BALL

Sixteen Terps will join Reed and Haslup in leagues scattered throughout the country this summer.

Those players will hope to replicate the success Terps first baseman Tim Kiene enjoyed in the New England Collegiate Baseball League last summer. The left-handed slugger hit .318 with 10 home runs and 31 RBI in 37 games with the Newport Gulls (Newport, R.I.), earning spots on the All-NECBL first team and Perfect Game USA’s Summer-Collegiate All-American Team.

“Playing in the summer was a great opportunity for me,” Kiene said last September. “The NECBL is a great league, and playing for the Newport Gulls was an amazing experience. We were a team of just pure winners.”

Kiene helped bring that winning mentality to College Park during the early stages of the Terps’ 2012 campaign. Before suffering shoulder and head injuries that hampered him the majority of the season, he batted .382 with three home runs as the Terps jumped to an 8-1 start.

Kiene is playing alongside Terps right fielder Jordan Hagel on Cape Cod’s Cotuit Kettleers this summer.

While nine Terps are headed to New England to play in the Cape Cod and New England Collegiate Baseball leagues, other Terps, such as third baseman K.J. Hockaday and outfielder Matt Bosse are staying in the Baltimore area to play in the Cal Ripken League.

Farther west, pitchers Jamie Pashuck and Bobby Ruse will play for the Danville Dans (Danville, Ill.) in the Prospect League, and pitcher/infielder Jake Stinnett will join the North County Waves(Carlsbad, Calif.) in the Western Baseball Association.

dgallen@umdbk.com