Joseph Sanders spent the past four weeks away from Auburn, the place where he morphed from a proficient hitter for average to a bona fide slugger with the same reliable swing.

Sanders admitted that he missed it while he traveled across the country for workouts with Major League Baseball clubs.

But there was just no way he could have skipped out on the long-awaited opportunity he received Wednesday.

The Colorado Rockies selected Sanders in the fifth round (151st overall) on the second day of the MLB amateur draft. Sanders said he will accept the offer, which ends his three-year career with the Tigers.

“I definitely feel like it’s time to move on to a different surrounding and do what I can,” Sanders said. “I feel like I’m ready to go and I think it’s just what I want to do in my heart.”

Sanders led Auburn in four different offensive categories this past season — doubles (14), home runs (19), RBI (55) and slugging percentage (.737) — and was on pace to smash Frank Thomas’ record for most home runs in a season before a fastball to the jaw put his prolific campaign on pause for more than three weeks.

Sanders didn’t do much baseball-wise during that period, when he had five titanium plates surgically clamped on his broken jaw and braces placed on his teeth. Doubts began to creep in his head that his draft stock would plummet.

In hindsight, though, it was nothing more than a small hurdle, Sanders said.

“It worried me just because I was having such a good year,” Sanders said. “Now I feel like it’s something that was overlooked. It’s just a jaw, it’s not going to affect my baseball career.”

Sanders said he wasn’t sure about his potential contract and said he hadn’t signed with an agent, though he has “a guy that he’s working with.”

Sanders said he worked out with nine clubs over the past few weeks, including the Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves. When he worked out for the Rockies, Sanders said he “got a good vibe from them.”

“Ever since I was little, I’ve been always dreaming of it and watching on TV,” Sanders said. “For it to happen, I’m really excited.”

Sanders became the highest selected Auburn player since the Chicago Cubs picked up Josh Donaldson in the 2007 supplemental round.

Sanders was joined by righthanded pitcher Scott Shuman as the two Tigers selected Wednesday. The Tampa Bay Rays selected Shuman in the 19th round (583rd overall).

Shuman was strong during his first season with the Tigers, when he went 4-1 with a team-best 2.00 ERA, but struggled considerably thereafter. He went 2-2 with a 6.07 ERA in 2008 and followed up with a 1-0, 7.90 season in 2009.

Before he came to Auburn, Shuman, a Valdosta, Ga., native, was selected in the 23rd round of the 2006 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. This time, it doesn’t appear Shuman will pass up the chance to go pro.

“It’s always exciting when you get a chance to play professional baseball,” Shuman said in a university release. “I really like the Rays organization and I can’t complain about going to an organization on the rise that is competing for World Series titles every year. Tampa Bay was the only team I wanted to go to because it is close to home.”

Auburn’s football team is also down a player after Wednesday’s draft.

Incoming running back/linebacker Brandon Jacobs said he will pursue a baseball career after being selected by the Boston Red Sox, according to AuburnSports.com. Jacobs, a 10th-round selection, said the immediate money was too tempting to pass up.

“I’m pretty excited about it,” Jacobs told AuburnSports.com. “I based the decision on the money. Being offered that much is hard to turn down, especially from a great team like the Red Sox.”

Four of Auburn’s baseball signees have been taken so far in the draft, which wraps up today with rounds 31-50.

Shortstop Nick Franklin (1st round — Seattle), catcher Luke Bailey (4th Round — Tampa Bay), junior-college transfer starting pitcher Drew Madrigal (11th Round — San Diego) and Garrett Bush (15th Round — Baltimore) will be forced to decide between the pros and Auburn.

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