Mundelein pitcher Murphy drafted by Milwaukee Brewers

So what does one do when dreams of epic proportions suddenly seemed dashed?

"Laundry," Brendan Murphy said. "I thought I better start doing some laundry, and start packing."

Murphy, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound hard-throwing left-hander who just finished his high school career at Mundelein, was hoping to get drafted in the first few rounds of this week's Major League Draft.

He had to wait a little longer than expected.

Nothing happened for Murphy on Monday and then on Tuesday the Baltimore Orioles called Murphy's adviser and made an offer that would make Murphy the 98th pick of the MLB draft.

"But the money was way too low," Murphy said. "I figured that was it for the draft. The money would just keep getting lower from there. I decided that I better start doing laundry so that I could start packing for Arizona State.

Murphy signed with Arizona State, and he would go there if the draft didn't work out.

But hold the phone - and the washing machine. Murphy's phone rang again later Tuesday. Murphy's adviser told him that the Milwaukee Brewers were offering more money with the 114th pick than the Orioles did with the 98th pick. And the offer was well within the range of what Murphy and his adviser had decided was acceptable.

The Brewers selected Murphy in the middle of the fourth round of the 40-round MLB draft with the No. 114 pick. His name was called on the MLB Network, and a video of Murphy playing in high school was run on the big screen.

"It's crazy and kind of strange that it worked out like this because each pick has a slot in terms of how much money gets offered and the Orioles were basically underslotting and the Brewers were overslotting," Murphy said. "That (offer from the Brewers) kind of came out of nowhere. I was so excited. I couldn't stop smiling."

Murphy, with his phone "blowing up" with congratulatory calls and texts from friends and family as the draft news became official, certainly stopped doing his laundry.

Suddenly, he was making arrangements to travel to Milwaukee to meet team personnel and figure out when to sign.

"It's not 100 percent official that I'm going to sign right now because there are still a few things that need to be negotiated, (like money to compensate for his college scholarship)," Murphy said. "But I know I really do want to sign with them. I think we'll figure it all out."

The Brewers were sold on Murphy's potential and his physical attributes. Murphy has been wearing a size 16 shoe since he was a sophomore.

"They think that I really haven't grown into my body yet," Murphy said of the Milwaukee scouts. "They think when I finally fit into my frame that I'll be able to throw even harder and that I'll have a power fastball."

In the meantime, Murphy will likely go through an extended spring training regimen this summer with the Brewers organization in Glendale, Arizona. It's a chance for rookies to spend their first summer getting comfortable with their new organization, learning the ropes of life in the major leagues and lifting to improve their strength.

"I'm so excited," Murphy said. "When this all first happened, there was so much adrenaline pumping and I was shaking. This is a dream come true."