Heading into the 2010 MLB draft, Arizona baseball right fielder Steve Selsky was expected to be selected within the top five rounds.

Just after finishing his sophomore season, which ranked him among the top 5 of the Pacific 10 Conference in batting average (.370), runs (57), hits (87), triples (6) and total bases (43), he was seeking second or third-round money.

But even after such an impressive season, the draft-eligible sophomore fell to the 34th round where he was selected by the Colorado Rockies.

The Rockies are taking a “”draft and follow”” approach with Selsky, as they will watch him play in the Cape Cod Summer League for the Orleans Firebirds in Orleans, Mass., and re-evaluate his worth before the official signing day on Aug. 15.

Selsky is asking for a deal in the range of $130,000 to $750,000, which he feels he can obtain with an impressive performance this summer.

The Arizona Daily Wildcat‘s baseball beat writer Mike Schmitz caught up with Selsky to discuss his chances of returning to Tucson, who he compares himself to in the MLB and if he wants to play for the Rockies.

Daily Wildcat: Before the draft where did you think you’d be selected?

Steve Selsky: I was supposed to go in the top 5 rounds.

DW: Do you feel disrespected that you fell so much?

SS: Yeah, but I don’t really look at it in that way. If you look at the numbers and you go back in history and look at players drafted out of the Pac-10, you look at their numbers and compare them to my numbers, mine are better than the guys that got drafted in the third round or the second round and they got like $600,000.

DW: If you had to put a percentage on coming back to Arizona what do you think it would be?

SS: I would say 75 to 25.

DW: Where do you think you’d be able to go in the draft after another year at Arizona?

SS: That will depend on how I play here. That has a big impact on how I play here because the scouts want to know how you can hit with a wood bat instead of a metal bat. Last year when I was a freshman, that draft, Grant Green, who was a USC shortstop, he came to Cape Cod, he played in the summer league and he hit really well. He hit like .330, I want to say. And he went back to USC and he did not do very good. He, I want to say, hit maybe .300 and he still got taken like sixth overall. He still went first round. I played here last summer and I had a pretty decent summer. So if I play really well here, I feel like I can go in the top two rounds.

DW: Obviously Arizona is really young and talented. Does that factor into whether you want to come back or not?

SS: You know it does. When I was talking to coach (Andy) Lopez about that, we were talking about how our team next year’s looking, and really if you look at it, the only position guy we’re losing is Rafael Valenzuela. That’s only one guy so most teams don’t do that.

And with the success that we had this year, everyone’s going to be older, more mature and know what they’re going into, including the pitchers because (Kurt) Heyer was our Friday night guy and he was a freshman and we have a lot of other freshmen pitchers that pitched a lot. So add in that experience and I feel like we’re going to be really good next year. That does play a role in coming back.

DW: Is Colorado somewhere you would want to play?

SS: I don’t really have a preference, I don’t see why it would be a bad thing because the ball flies up there so that could never hurt.

DW: If you had to compare yourself to another MLB player, who do you think?

SS: Hmmm, I’m trying to think. If you look at right fielders in the major leagues, they’re usually a lot bigger than me, except for like Ichiro (Suzuki). If you look at (Jayson) Werth for the Phillies or (Vladimir) Guerrero for the Angels (pause) I guess I’m kind of like (Nick) Swisher for the Yankees or J.D. Drew for the Red Sox. I have, like, their size but I haven’t really thought about that ever. But I don’t think I’m like any Vladimir Guerrero or Jayson Werth or big-ass guys, I think I’m an average-sized guy who can hit the ball a little bit.