Former Orange County all-state pitcher D.J. Brown is about to begin his professional baseball career.
Brown announced Friday on Twitter that he had signed with the Cleveland Indians organization. Cleveland took Brown, a junior at James Madison in Harrisonburg, in the 39th round of last month's draft.
"Accepted the Indians offer I will be flying out to Arizona Tuesday to start my career!" Brown tweeted.
Brown missed the entire 2012 season at JMU because of a torn labrum in his right shoulder. He finishes his college pitching career with a 13-4 record and 5.72 ERA in 37 appearances, including 16 starts. Brown was awarded the Dukes' Relief Pitcher Award after the 2011 season, when he went 9-1 with four saves and helped JMU advance to the NCAA Regionals as CAA champions.
Brown was selected all-state as both a first baseman (first team) and pitcher (honorable mention) after his senior year at Orange in 2009, when he helped the Hornets advance to the AA quarterfinals. He was also first-team all-district and all-region at both positions.