Konnor Griffin is the center baby of a Division III faculty softball coach. His mother and father’ names each begin with Ok, as do each of his brothers’.
“If my mother’s attempting to come up with me, she’ll in all probability say my different two brothers’ names first after which get to mine,” he mentioned. “It’s sort of complicated, however everyone in my household has Ok as a primary preliminary. It’s completely different, but it surely makes us distinctive.”
Griffin has a broad smile and an equally broad Mississippi accent, and from the neck down he’s pure muscle. He’s simply preposterously large: 6-foot-4, 205 kilos, although he’d don’t have any hassle convincing me he was being cheated one other inch and 20 or 30 kilos. At his measurement, there’s the potential for plus-plus energy. He can even run — he stole greater than 80 bases in his remaining highschool season — and hit the mid-90s throwing off a mound.
He’s 18 years outdated and simply graduated highschool. He says he can play shortstop on the subsequent stage, however can he cook dinner and do laundry?
“I’m attempting to be taught that stuff proper now,” he says. “I understand how to scrub garments. I don’t know methods to cook dinner nice. I’m nonetheless engaged on that.”
I advised Griffin {that a} crockpot is your greatest buddy.
(In case you’ll indulge a short digression: The crockpot is a magical machine that turns random elements into tasty, nutritious meals with zero effort or approach required. It’s essential for any younger one that can barely cook dinner. After I’m president, the federal government will difficulty each highschool graduate a crockpot after they transfer out of their mother and father’ home for the primary time.)
Griffin Burkholder, a speedy highschool outfielder from Virginia who might go off the board early on Day Two, says that whereas he needs to enhance his culinary repertoire, he’s found an affinity for making pasta.
“You are able to do quite a lot of pastas which might be fairly straightforward,” he mentioned. “I make a great mac and cheese, make some good vodka pasta. That sort of stuff’s at all times good and never too laborious to make.”
The highschool children I talked to on the Draft Mix are going by means of two completely different experiences without delay, one common, the opposite extremely uncommon. The primary: Graduating highschool, transferring out of their mother and father’ homes for the primary time, beginning faculty and/or a profession. Each teenager (at the least each teenager who gained’t turn into a burden to their future roommates and/or romantic companions) learns methods to cook dinner and clear. Each teenager has to determine who they’re and what they need out of life, as soon as given the liberty to make their very own selections.
The place Burkholder, Griffin, and their cohort diverge from that common expertise is right here, on the draft. They’ve been making ready for this second for years, and have been picked over by scouts, coaches, and — sure, reporters — alongside the best way.
“I’ve by no means skilled, like, actually going exterior and hanging with the blokes,” mentioned PJ Morlando, an outfielder from Summerville, South Carolina, who was projected to go twenty seventh general in Eric Longenhagen’s first mock draft. “I’ve at all times been so centered on my consistency, being a baseball participant and attempting to ensure I’m one of the best model of myself that I might probably be. I eat, breathe, sleep — I really feel like I used to be positioned right here on this earth to play baseball. And that’s what I’m going to do till the sport actually tells me to take my cleats off.”
Morlando had been wanting ahead to his week in Arizona for the Mix for weeks. “I’ve been having desires about it,” he mentioned. The day we talked he confirmed up at Chase Area at 7:30 a.m., took greater than 20 interviews and conferences, and stayed till after 8 p.m.
He additionally did one thing uncommon for a participant projected to go within the first spherical: He labored out.
A lot of the high draft prospects — at the least those that aren’t in any other case busy on the School World Collection — come to the Mix for conferences, however in 2023, no person ranked in our high 30 truly threw a bullpen or took batting observe. Morlando did, and he placed on a present. He had seven out of the highest 30 exit velocities on the day he hit, in a gaggle that included various faculty hitters.
“I had the very best common exit velo, I believe 107,” he mentioned, clearly happy with himself. Morlando mentioned understanding was not solely a possibility to make one final constructive impression on the scouts, but it surely made sense because the capstone of a remaining season of highschool ball.
“I needed to reopen some eyes,” he mentioned. “I believe I’ve slid on lots of people’s mock drafts, however actually I simply did it for my very own satisfaction, and to point out off all of the issues I’ve been engaged on.”
The mix exercise/press junket just isn’t not like the showcases that these children have gone by means of dozens of occasions, however Morlando says that whereas the ambiance on the Mix was extra laid-back, the stakes are excessive.
“That is the place they get to see in the event you’re only a showcase man or in the event you’re a real participant,” he mentioned. “That’s why all these conferences are so vital. They get to interrupt you down and attempt to get to know you.”
But it surely’s not like groups don’t already know these children in and out.
Griffin mentioned the factor that stunned him most concerning the draft course of was the extent to which scouts had examined his whole life, each on and off the sector. “I performed basketball rising up, they usually reached out to my outdated basketball coach, simply to provide an instance,” he mentioned. “They’re ensuring you’re appearing proper at school, out of college. They need all the knowledge. They attempt to discover crimson flags. In case you can simply restrict what number of crimson flags they will discover, that’s higher.”
As a way to increase his draft inventory, the Mississippi native additionally did one thing most excessive schoolers would by no means even dream of contemplating: He reclassified, which is sports activities jargon for graduating highschool a yr early.
“I used to be an older child for the ’25 class, so I used to be on the high of the category, however I needed to push myself extra. I needed to compete in opposition to older guys,” he mentioned. Griffin mentioned he was challenged extra after going up a grade, which helped him develop not simply athletically however personally. However he additionally needed to cram three years of highschool into two. He mentioned he’d racked up some highschool credit whereas taking honors courses at a public center faculty earlier than he transferred to the non-public Jackson Prep.
“After I began to reclass, I used to be forward just a bit bit, however I nonetheless needed to take tenth and eleventh grade courses my junior yr, after which eleventh and twelfth grade courses my senior yr,” he mentioned. “So for 2 years, it was quite a lot of work. But it surely was good. It confirmed that I’m mature. I can deal with that workload and nonetheless get my stuff carried out on the sector.”
Plus, as an alternative of going into the draft as a 19-year-old highschool senior, he’s now one of many youthful highschool prospects. Griffin is within the operating to be the primary highschool participant picked; one of many different candidates for that distinction is Bryce Rainer, a shortstop from Harvard-Westlake College in California. Harvard-Westlake is most well-known in baseball circles for briefly fielding a rotation of Lucas Giolito, Max Fried, and Jack Flaherty, but it surely’s additionally a preferred prep faculty for the kids of the wealthy and well-known in Los Angeles.
“I believe I’m fortunate to go to a college the place there’s quite a lot of fame, quite a lot of consideration,” Rainer mentioned. “There’s numerous celebrities. So if I’m being trustworthy with you, I truthfully had — I can’t say regular, as a result of it’s not regular — the common highschool expertise for essentially the most half.”
That’s saying one thing, as a result of Rainer’s athletic fame has an extended tail. As a freshman, he threw a whole sport to get Harvard-Westlake right into a sectional remaining, a feat that earned him headlines within the Los Angeles Occasions on the age of 15. Not one of the excessive schoolers I talked to on the Mix appeared to embrace social media and celeb the best way earlier high picks like Druw Jones and Max Clark have — every had a distinct stage of enthusiasm for the celeb side {of professional} baseball, and every was cautious, in his personal method, of the eye they’re about to obtain.
However of the three potential first-rounders, Rainer appeared essentially the most jaded about fame, maybe due to the weird tutorial atmosphere he got here up by means of.
“I haven’t actually tried to construct an excessive amount of of a platform. I’ve received an honest following on Instagram, however I’ve received, like three posts, so it’s not like I’m on it an excessive amount of,” he mentioned. (Rainer has 14,500 followers. Morlando has 23,400, Griffin 32,400. Clark has 416,000.) “I’ve TikTok and Snapchat and all that, however I don’t actually prefer it an excessive amount of. The baseball facet of it is going to care for issues, and if individuals need to observe me for that, superior. However I’m not gonna attempt to be somebody who I’m not. I’m simply not that sort of man.”
Nonetheless, a five-figure Instagram follower rely on three posts is quite a lot of consideration, a stage of notoriety apparently accessible solely to baseball gamers and particularly cute kittens. As a lot as these highschool prospects lean on their households, coaches, and buddies for assist, it helps to have somebody round who cannot solely empathize however perceive firsthand what they’re going by means of.
Griffin says he’s leaned on his father, who’s been on the opposite facet of the recruiting course of for his job. Rainer and Morlando each got here to the Mix with teammates from their highschool. Rainer’s Harvard-Westlake teammate, Duncan Marsten, is a right-handed pitcher who might go on Day Two. Morlando performed at Summerville Excessive College with Carson Messina, additionally a right-handed pitcher, who’s going by means of the draft course of. Messina’s older brother, Cole, is an All-America catcher on the College of South Carolina, and may go off the board within the first few rounds himself.
“It’s actually cool to have that, Morlando mentioned. “Me and Carson performed on the identical summer time ball groups too, so our entire summer time ball crew’s right here taking part on this occasion. I suppose you would say that is one other place the place all of our paths cross.”
“Actually, simply with every little thing, it’s cool to have the ability to discuss to somebody who’s in the identical place I’m in,” Rainer mentioned. “There undoubtedly have been occasions the place you may’t actually carry up the identical points with a few of your pals as you may with Duncan, so it’s been very good.”
One of many distinctive challenges of being a highschool prospect is deciding not simply the place to go to varsity, however whether or not to go to varsity. Griffin is dedicated to LSU and Rainer to Texas, although each of them are anticipated to go off the board so early it’s unlikely that both one will make it to freshman orientation. Morlando might be, however not undoubtedly, in the identical boat as a late-first-round prospect. If he drops, he might find yourself taking part in with Carson Messina once more, on the College of South Carolina. (Being a South Carolina alum myself, I gave Morlando an enthusiastic gross sales pitch, however I don’t assume I moved the needle in any respect.) Burkholder has a spot ready at West Virginia if the draft doesn’t work out, whereas Marsten is dedicated to Wake Forest.
Morlando mentioned he’s tried to introduce himself to the faculty gamers he’s met by means of the draft course of and pump them for helpful data. Burkholder has sought recommendation from West Virginia’s outgoing star, JJ Wetherholt. Griffin has a hilariously sunny outlook on this tough choice.
“It’s been enjoyable. It exhibits all of the laborious work that I put in,” he mentioned. “It’s all paying off. I can both go to LSU and play SEC ball, or go to skilled ball. I’ve two nice choices forward of me.”
And it’s true; both Griffin’s going to be a millionaire within the subsequent few weeks, or — in an absolute worst-case state of affairs — he’s going to play for among the finest faculty groups within the nation and sure problem for a nationwide championship earlier than re-entering the draft in three years.
The highest of the draft has gotten way more college-heavy for the reason that pandemic. The mix of fewer rounds, NIL cash, and the autonomy afforded by the switch portal has made faculty baseball a way more enticing choice for high highschool prospects. The inflow of knowledge within the faculty sport has raised the usual of play and of participant growth. However Morlando thinks the switch portal truly makes faculty a much less enticing choice for high highschool prospects.
“That’s taken away from quite a lot of the blokes who had been freshmen who had an opportunity to start out. They’re getting senior transfers in,” Morlando mentioned. “So it’s robust for a man like me. I’m gonna work my tail off it doesn’t matter what, but it surely’s going to be robust for us to determine on professional or faculty.”
Even with all of this scrutiny and the robust selections forward, one of many largest markers of the passage of time for these highschool gamers has been the truth that they’re now seeing youthful gamers look as much as them.
“I really like that. I do classes with children again in my hometown. I additionally work some prep baseball camps that they run at my highschool. I simply attempt to give again, as a result of lots of people helped me turn into the participant I’m at present,” Griffin mentioned. “I keep in mind once I was a youthful child, attempting to be taught from the gamers I seemed as much as, so now, understanding that I may give again, it’s a cool feeling. I simply attempt to give them as a lot data as I can.”
Morlando talked about his expertise on the Good Recreation nationwide showcase, the place he mentioned he’d tried to do the naked minimal of off-field media engagements, however he ended up speaking to youthful children for 2 hours about his expertise on the showcase circuit and the nationwide crew, and tried to cross on classes he’d realized alongside the best way.
“It was superior, as a result of I received to show the youthful technology,” he mentioned. “I actually hope they will take that into their lives, or after they’re right here at some point I hope they could be a bit extra relaxed and revel in it.”
“I understand how vital these guys had been to me once I was arising, and motivating me to be my greatest and work as laborious as they work to get into that spot,” Burkholder mentioned, mentioning Wetherholt and College of North Carolina outfielder Casey Prepare dinner as gamers he’d seemed as much as. “If I can inspire children to work laborious and attempt to attain their targets like I did, and in addition if I can inspire them to be nice individuals off the sector too, treating individuals with respect… I’m actually attempting to cross that alongside, and it’s been an ideal feeling to be that individual for youthful children, simply because the older children had been for me.”
Being on the opposite facet of the educating relationship, or the mentor-student relationship, permits these gamers to see their whole developmental paths laid out. (“It additionally makes you are feeling actually outdated,” Morlando mentioned.”)
The following step is an enormous one, but it surely’s solely a step.
“The draft is superior, don’t get me mistaken, however my finish objective isn’t the draft,” Rainer mentioned. “Like, my life goes to alter. Clearly life-changing cash, transferring out, and it’s fully completely different. I’m myself. I’m going to attempt to be the identical individual.”
