Here’s a curious tale: Kansas University pitcher Zach Ashwood was on the phone with the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday, trying to come to a verbal agreement on a signing bonus before the Cardinals would go through with selecting him in the Major League Baseball player draft.

Between conversations with St. Louis, Ashwood got another phone call. It was the Chicago Cubs, skipping the negotiations and pretty much blurting, “Hey, we just drafted you.”

Perhaps the best rivalry in the National League has yet another plotline.

“The Cardinals weren’t too happy,” Ashwood said with a chuckle.

Ashwood was taken by the Cubs in the 16th round of the draft, the highest Jayhawk selected this year.

By the end of the day, three more KU players were picked – outfielder Kyle Murphy (19th round, Texas Rangers), outfielder Brock Simpson (46th round, Cleveland Indians) and shortstop Erik Morrison (49th round, Pittsburgh Pirates).

Ashwood has some leverage in upcoming negotiations being just a junior. Still, the left-hander out of The Colony, Texas, says he plans on signing and starting his professional career soon.

“If I had my choice, I would rather start,” Ashwood said of his role. “I think they had said possibly a bullpen guy or maybe a back-of-the rotation-type guy. They’re going to see how I do this summer.”

Ashwood spent just one season at KU, after starting his college career with two years at TCU.

For the Jayhawks this season, he went 4-4 with a 5.77 ERA, starting in 12 games. He struck out 49 batters in 64 innings pitched, but walked 33 batters.

“My biggest thing I need to work on is command of all my pitches,” said Ashwood, who was picked 487th overall. “It’s kind of there sometimes, and sometimes it’s not.”

Murphy, meanwhile, is a senior outfielder who was picked 590th overall. Always possessing good speed, Murphy made himself more appealing this year by batting .332 with 50 runs, 28 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. A native of Beloit, Wis., Murphy started his career at Indian Hills Community College in Iowa before joining KU in 2006. He hit just .153 in his first Division-I season before the big jump led to Friday’s big news.

Friday’s news wasn’t as plentiful as a year ago, when KU had seven players picked – four in the top 20 rounds. But considering the youth that dominated the Jayhawks’ roster this year, matching the 2006 total was almost impossible.

Ashwood, who was drafted by the Seattle Mariners out of high school in 2004, saw that youth, and saw opportunity for lots of work at Kansas when deciding to leave TCU. It paid off, and he’s aiming to make sure he makes the most of his new opportunity.

“I’m going to try my best to be the hardest worker in the Cubs organization,” Ashwood said. “They’re not going to question whether I’m giving my all.”