The former Northwest Florida State College pitcher pushed his contract negotiations with the Toronto Blue Jays to the brink of Monday's 11:59 p.m. signing deadline before officially inking a sixyear, $450,000 deal on Monday.

Webb was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 18th round of the Major League Baseball draft in June and spent two months off and on in negotiations with the big league club.

And with a significant bump in his salary due to a few Blue Jays draftees ahead of him not signing contracts, Webb is glad he waited.

"He got a lot more money than the typical 18th-round pick and that's why he went ahead and pulled the trigger," Raiders coach Doug Martin said. "He got considerably more money than a typical 18th-round draft pick would've gotten."

Webb's original asking price was $400,000, which the Blue Jays eventually matched. Webb, a Kentucky native, attributed the final $50,000 to shrewd negotiations and being in the right place at the right time.

But was he surprised?

"I think everybody was," Webb said. "When they offered 400, of course we were happy with it, and I was going to sign but we just tried to get a little bit more and my advisor & went into negotiations with them and got that extra 50."

Webb will report to the Blue Jays' headquarters on Thursday to eventually start working out with the club's instructional team, where he'll play this fall in preparation for the spring training roster battles next year.

"It'll be an opportunity for him to get in there and start working with their pitching coaches and get some game-time experience," Martin said.

During his only season with NWF State College, Webb finished with a 4.93 ERA, pitched 62 innings and struck out 47 as the Raiders' No. 1 starter for most of the season. He consistently drew throngs of pro scouts to NWF State College games in the spring with his sizzling fastball and raw potential. It's that untapped talent that Martin thinks will be what guides him to bigger and better things if he can get a little more consistent.

"I feel three to four years down the road you're going to have a guy that has a chance to be a real good pitcher in pro ball," Martin said. "He's just raw. He's learning."

So now with the contract work behind him and the fall season still a month away, Webb has some time to digest a very successful week.

"I'm real excited," Webb said. "I just have expectations to work hard and get to the big leagues in a couple years."