Cody Bowker has a new job. One he barely dared to dream about just a few years ago.

“What I’ve been saying to people today, my full-time job is playing baseball now,” Bowker said. “You dream of that happening and I’m definitely ready to go. We’ll see what they need me to do and I’ll be ready to do it.”

The “they” are the Philadelphia Phillies who Sunday night made Bowker, a 6-foot-1, 212-pound right-handed pitcher out of Vanderbilt, their third-round selection in the Major League Baseball Rule 4 Draft, commonly called the first-year draft.

The draft continued Monday with rounds four through 20. University of Maine left-handed pitcher Caleb Leys, of Middletown, Rhode Island, was picked by the Detroit Tigers in the fourth round (129th overall). Leys was the America East Pitcher of the Year. Windham’s Brady Afthim, the 2021 Varsity Maine Player of the Year who pitched four seasons at Connecticut, was picked by the Cincinnati Reds in the 13th round (384th overall).

Bowker, 21, was at home in Bowdoinham with family and a few close friends, including parents Mark and Patrizia Bowker, when his adviser let him know the Phillies planned to select him with the 100th overall pick.

Earlier in the night Bowker’s Vanderbilt teammates JD Thompson, a left-handed pitcher, and RJ Austin, an outfielder, had been taken with the 59th (Milwaukee Brewers) and 93rd overall selections (Baltimore Orioles), respectively.

“We were saying we were hoping for all three of us to sneak into the Day One picks. It was something we all wanted,” Bowker said.

Bowker said after Thompson was selected he called to ask his friend, “‘Hey, how does this work?’ When JD called back he said, ‘I knew 30 seconds before they picked me,'” Bowker said.

Bowker had a little more of a heads-up. The Phillies called Bowker’s adviser about five picks in advance to say Bowker was their pick at No. 100. A quick discussion on a signing bonus followed.

“My adviser took care of a lot of that. He told them we just (needed) fair compensation and I definitely feel I got that,” Bowker said.

Bowker would not disclose the precise signing bonus amount — “Not yet, just because I haven’t signed anything yet,” he said — but did say the agreement was very close to the slot value of $765,400 assigned to the 100th pick.

“I don’t know if I would call it nerves, more excitement, when I was told the Phillies would pick me. I had to wait a few more picks. When the Phillies called my name, it was a sigh of relief,” Bowker said.

Prior to the draft, Bowker said he dreamed about playing professionally while growing up and then playing at Thornton Academy where he was the 2022 Varsity Maine Player of the Year after leading the Golden Trojans to their only Class A baseball title. But it wasn’t until he had an all-star season in the Cape Cod League last summer, leading to his transfer from Georgetown to Vanderbilt, that he saw professional baseball as a realistic and attainable goal.

“Being able to go to Vanderbilt, being able to learn more in one year there than all the other years combined,” was a critical step in Bowker’s development. “At Vanderbilt, I had the resources to sharpen the knife so much more.”

Bowker’s best pitch is his fastball. At times touching 95 mph, it’s delivered with high spin rate, giving it the appearance of rising through the strike zone. In his one season at Vanderbilt, Bowker made 16 starts. Over 72 innings he struck out 99 batters, walked 28, and had a 4.38 ERA in the Southeastern Conference.

Leys was the top pitcher in the America East Conference this season after missing all of the 2024 campaign with an injury. He was 5-2 with a 2.69 ERA, striking out 74 batters over 67 innings. This is the third straight year — and sixth time in eight years — that UMaine has had a player taken in the draft, with first baseman Jeremiah Jenkins going in the 14th round in 2024 and Eliot’s Quinn McDaniel, a second baseman, taken in the fifth round by the San Francisco Giants in 2023.

Afthim, a 6-0, 211-pound right-hander who was used exclusively as a relief pitcher at UConn, was initially seen as a catching prospect in high school. He swept the major player of the year awards as a senior, earning Mr. Maine Baseball and the Maine Gatorade Player of the Year in addition to Varsity Maine honors. At UConn he established a new school record for opponents batting average against, holding hitters to a .211 average over 107 1/3 career innings (130 strikeouts). After a first-team all-Big East junior season, Afthim posted career highs as a senior in innings pitched (36 2/3), strikeouts (53), and ERA (2.45), earning nine saves and two wins.

ONE SURPRISE

One player from Maine who did not hear his name called in the first 10 rounds was recent Gorham High graduate Wyatt Nadeau. A 6-foot-6, 235-pound right-handed pitcher with a 97 mph fastball, Nadeau had committed to Vanderbilt after his sophomore season. There was significant reason to think Nadeau could be drafted based on his pitch velocity, size, and that all 30 MLB teams had contacted Nadeau or his adviser this spring.

In a text message, Nadeau told the Press Herald he had “numerous calls in rounds (three and four) but turned them down.” Nadeau, who is at Vanderbilt doing summer workouts and taking a class, did not elaborate Monday on his decision making process. In a predraft interview Nadeau said, “It doesn’t matter which team picks me but the money is definitely a factor as everybody knows.”

Bowker said from his perspective Nadeau is making a good choice by not rushing into professional baseball.

“I’d like to see him at school. That’s not a knock on him in any way. You’re going to see Wyatt at least play professionally and I could see him at the major league level,” Bowker said. “But playing in the SEC for three years is not a bad decision at all. It’s one of my favorite places in the world, being in Nashville, and I learned a ton in one year. I can only imagine what someone like (Nadeau) can learn at Vanderbilt being there for three years.”