by : Jay Recher
@jayRecher
You always hear people talk about the abundance of talent around Tampa Bay and wonder what the future holds for those talented athletes.
Well, if you look into a crystal ball and see the future, you'll probably see three local kids doing damage the next few years up in Tallahassee at Florida State.
When you look at CJ Van Eyk from Steinbrenner, Conor Grady from Tampa Catholic and Jonah Scolaro from Durant, you see three guys that make a difference on the mound and at the plate. And watching how they play now, there's no question that their talents will translate to the next level.
I've seen Van Eyk do some magical things for the Warriors the last few seasons, including helping them win a state championship last year. His performance in the Saladino Tournament where he struck out 13 against Jefferson with over 20 MLB and college scouts in attendance was just plain masterful.
While first glance at Grady's stats this season will not blow your socks off, I implore you to go watch this kid on the hill. He's got the mental makeup and pitch repertoire to be a big-time starter. His complete game one-hitter over Tampa Prep on Tuesday showed the intelligence of a pitcher wise beyond his years and the feeling I get with Conor is that he hasn't even come close to reaching his ceiling yet.
I love to hear people talk about Scolaro. I can't tell you how many times people have said to me, "He's not that big, I didn't know he could throw LIKE THAT!" The old adage of "don't judge a book by its cover" rings true with this sensational southpaw. The Cougars ace may only be 5'9 or 5'10 but the fight in that kid is immeasurable. And let's not forget the guy is batting .407 and is easily one of the toughest outs in the county.
These fellas are all different in their own way, but they have some striking similarities as well. Check out some of the facts when he dive inside the numbers :
- All three guys have exactly SIX doubles on the season
- Scolaro and Grady both have THREE wins on the mound this year
- Van Eyk has a .327 batting average and Grady's is .328
- Grady and Scolaro both have EIGHT runs batted in
- Scolaro (0.96 ERA) and Van Eyk (0.74 ERA) both have ERA's under 1
- Van Eyk and Grady are both primarily starters, but they each also have ONE save on the season
- Scolaro and Grady were teammates the past few summers for Ostinger's Baseball Academy
- Grady and Van Eyk both have SEVEN runs scored
Before you know it, these guys will be up at Florida State rocking the Garnet and Gold, but for now we get to enjoy this kids for a couple more weeks here in Tampa Bay. If you have a chance to get out and watch these guys play, TRUST ME, it will be worth the price of admission.