By ROBERT L. LEE

HAHNVILLE – The negotiations are finished, the deal is done and Jarrod Farrell is on a plane to join the Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ Appalachian League team in Princeton, W. Va. Farrell, 18, and the first ever baseball player to be drafted directly from Hahnville High School, signed his contract with the Devil Rays late last week. Scouts for the major league team have been eager to have him on the mound, and may give him his chance to show his pitching skills, possibly as early as Thursday.

“This has been his life-long dream and so far it has come true through a lot of hard work,” said his father John Farrell. He explained that Farrell’s coach Mark Sims and his agent have been giving him a run down of life in the minor leagues and what sort of performance will be needed to be successful.

“They told him if you can withstand it and you have the heart, you’ll make it,” Farrell continued. “But it’s not all a bed of roses in the majors. I said ‘you’re 18 and you’ll have to be 35. You’ve got to grow up quick because everybody’s trying to take your job away.'”

Even after facing a firing line of questions and discussions, Farrell never lost sight of his goal and remained eager to settle the terms of his contract and join the team.

“We shot him question after question and he said he’d sign for a dollar, as long as he got to play. He knew what he wanted,” added Farrell. “He wanted to play, and as soon as he signed the contract, his face lifted and he was glowing.”

The length of Farrell’s term with the Devil Rays club will be based solely on his performance. Although he was drafted and signed a contract, he can be dropped from the lineups before ever reaching the major league team. If he continues his strong performances after joining the Appalachian league team, Farrell will still have to contend with and compete with similar, yet probably older players also trying to move up through the Devil Rays’ minor league ranks.

To assist with his move up to West Virginia, Farrell’s father is going along on the trip, and plans to fly back, or have Farrell’s mother also fly up to watch his debut on the mound, which may come at the end of this week.

“He’s ready to accept the challenge,” said Farrell.

“I told him to take it one day at a time and do his best, that’s all can be expected of him.”