With a rare free afternoon in his hectic spring schedule, Jim Penders had to decide the best use of his precious time.

It was an easy choice for the UConn baseball coach.

He hopped in his car to go watch Waterford High School senior Mike Burrows pitch against Notre Dame of West Haven in the CIAC state tournament.

Burrows, who committed to play for Penders during his junior season, didn't disappoint, going seven shutout innings before departing without earning a decision.

Penders was impressed Burrows' poise. Burrows wiggled out of a bases-loaded jam, recovering from a 3-0 count to record the final out on a strikeout.

"No fear," Penders said.

Now Burrows has an important choice to make.

Go to UConn and play for the Huskies or begin his professional baseball career in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.

Burrows was drafted in the 11th round on Wednesday after posting gaudy numbers during his senior season — 6-0, 0.38 earned run average and 98 strikeouts, eight walks, just 17 hits in 44 innings. He threw consecutive no-hitters.

Penders expects to meet with Burrows and his family sometime within the next few days or so. His goal is to present information that will help Burrows make an educated decision.

"It's great to have choices in life," Penders said on Thursday night at the UConn Huskies Coaches Road Show in Stamford. "We're going to go down and visit him and his family in the house and just go over some of the data points that we have. It's not my position or college baseball's position. We're just going to show him some of the facts."

During his 15 years at UConn, Penders has helped develop his share of professional players, with 46 Huskies being drafted, including six in the first two rounds since 2010, or signed by a major league organization. Last year's World Series Most Valuable Player, Houston's George Springer, is the marquee name on the list. Boston reliever Matt Barnes is another success story.

Pitcher Tim Cate (second round, Washington), pitcher P.J. Poulin (11th round, Colorado) and catcher Zac Susi (12th round, Pittsburgh) were drafted from this year's team.

"We do a better job of developing major leaguers than the minor leagues do," Penders said, referring to college baseball.

Penders points out that in the last three decades only four players from Connecticut have successfully bypassed college and reached the major leagues. Carl Pavano, Charlie Morton and Sal Romano, all right-handed pitchers, and catcher Brook Fordyce, a St. Bernard graduate from Old Lyme.

So the odds are long, even for a talented player like Burrows.

"It is a very difficult road," Penders said. "We just want to make sure that (Burrows) understands how much more difficult it is to make a major league career from a high school path or as opposed to any college, not just UConn.

"I think 64 percent of major league baseball players have attended at least some college. Then you take the international free agents out of that mix. There's very few guys that make it out of high school. Mike Burrows could be the next one. He's that talented. He's really, really good. And he's got a fire and he's got stuff and he knows how to compete.

"He's an extremely impressive pitcher and a very impressive player. We just want to make sure he has all the information. And his family is sharp and they know what's going on. Mom and Dad are great people. So he has his best guidance at home. It's not like we've got to do a lot of heavy lifting down there. We're just going to bring a lot of information that we have that happens to come from agents that helped us."

There's really no bad choice for Burrows.

If Burrows plays at UConn, he'll have a chance to improve his draft stock and work toward his undergraduate degree. Penders anticipates Burrows will earn a spot as a weekend series pitcher in UConn's rotation.

Penders brings up pitcher Anthony Kay's name as an example.

After being selected in the 29th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft, Kay opted to attend UConn. He improved during his three seasons in Storrs and ended up being drafted in the first round (31st overall) by the New York Mets.

Of course, money plays a factor in any decision. What the Pirates can offer Burrows, 6-foot-2, 184-pound righthander, may depend on what happens with their other draft choices.

Penders, who has a reputation for doing what's best for his players, will fully support Burrows, no matter what the Waterford graduate decides.

"Hopefully, he's a Husky," Penders said. "And if he's a Pittsburgh Pirate, we're going to wish him nothing but the best."

g.keefe@theday.com