Stock Report: This One is Worthy of Long-Term Investment
In a way, baseball is a lot like stock picking. Like retail and institutional investors spend thousands of hours poring through company financials in hopes of discovering – and profiting from – a unicorn (a private company with a $1 billion valuation), all 30 MLB teams employ a network of scouts whose sole responsibilities are to traverse the country and watch game-after-game in search of someone who they believe will become the next face of their respective franchise.
Like with stock picking, scouting is all about investing in what the hope will be a profitable future. As a result, there’s bound to be a lot more misses than actual hits. Things happen. Expectations aren’t met for whatever reason and we move on. Yet, all it takes is one company or one player to either reach or exceed their potential, and it can result in a financial windfall for portfolios and organizations alike.
While there is no such thing as a guarantee in stock picking or baseball, there’s a certain outfielder in Storrs, Conn., who is in the midst of a career season and looks poised to offer a very strong return on whoever invests in him. His name is Erik Stock.
Ever since stepping foot on Connecticut’s flagship campus in the fall of 2019, all the fifth-year senior has done is impress. Not just his coaches and teammates, but fans as well. He has become a can’t miss attraction for the #HookC, someone who people from all over New England come out to see play.
In his three seasons in Storrs, Stock has put up video game-like numbers. He is batting a ridiculous .398 (good for sixth in the country) and is averaging more than a hit-and-a-half per game. What’s more, he has knocked in 75 runs to go along with 14 home runs, 89 runs scored and an on-base percentage (OBP) of .466.
This season alone, Stock has elevated his game to another level. In 35 games, he is batting .425, has driven in 37, has swatted eight home runs, and has gotten on base at an astonishing .485 clip. To put that in perspective, the average OBP for Major League Baseball hasn’t eclipsed .330 since 2009. On top of his hitting prowess, Stock has offered above-average defense in both left and center field, while demonstrating bona fide leadership characteristics that MLB franchises covet in their stars.
Given all that he has accomplished on the diamond, this might come across as somewhat unbelievable, but Stock has never been drafted. Even after his 2021 season, where he was named first-team All-BIG EAST, hit. 364 (ranked in the top 100 nationally), posted 22 multi-hit games, and had a 23 consecutive game on-base streak, Stock wasn’t deemed worthy of occupying a roster spot at the next level. Even more puzzling, he didn’t even receive a call about signing as an undrafted free agent.
Sure it hit Stock pretty hard that his career year seemingly went unnoticed to everyone outside of Connecticut. As disappointing as it was, it’s not the first time he has been overlooked. And each time it has happened, Stock has come back with a vengeance who wreaks havoc on the competition. Hell hath no fury like Erik Stock scorned.
It happened his freshman year of high school. The varsity baseball coach didn’t think Stock was ready to contribute, so he never so much as sniffed an at-bat beyond junior varsity that season. The following year, he started at the varsity level and was dominant on both the mound and at the plate. He didn’t see the bench for the next three seasons.
And it happened again at Old Dominion University, where Stock spent the first two years of his collegiate baseball career. Originally recruited to the university by family friend Karl Nonemaker, Stock was forced to prove himself all over again after Nonemaker left to become pitching coach at Auburn prior to Stock’s
freshman season. After two seasons, the second of which was the worst statistical year of his career, Stock decided to transfer and became a starter for UConn only a few months afterward (he was granted a waiver by the NCAA to play immediately and thus, did not have to sit out a year).
So, if you thought going undrafted was going to be the thing that finally got to Stock and caused him to reconsider his purpose in life, then you haven’t been paying attention. Like a Husky staring down a bowl of Dairy Bar ice cream, Stock absolutely feasts off of those who doubt him or feel he isn’t good enough.
“I was absolutely disappointed when I didn’t get drafted,” Stock said. “I thought I did as good as I could possibly do to put myself in a position to be drafted. I remember after the whole draft process and not even getting a call to sign as an undrafted free agent, turning to my parents and saying, ‘What more do I have to show them? What more do I have to do?’ But I think that's really put a chip on my shoulder. I've always felt like I’ve been overlooked my whole career, but I am determined that this year will be different.”
Born For This
It is rather hard to grow up in Virginia Beach, Va., where Stock was born and raised, and not be overcome with baseball fever. After all, that area of the state has a solid track record of producing high-quality major-league talent. One of the greatest players in Washington Nationals history, Ryan Zimmerman, also hails from Virginia Beach, while New York Mets icon David Wright and the Upton brothers – B.J. and Justin – are from nearby Norfolk.
As a result, ever since Stock first began to walk, his life has been intertwined with baseball in every way. He looks back fondly on pictures of him holding a baseball and swinging a bat inside his house emulating his icon, Derek Jeter. In fact, the very first thing the diehard Yankees fan learned to read was a box score of a Bronx Bombers game in the local paper.
Stock credits his father, Doug, for helping him fall in love with the game. Doug coached Erik all throughout his Little League career. While Doug was hard on Erik, it was because he saw potential in his son and knew that in order for Erik to reach his ceiling, he needed to be coached, not just parented.
“I just remember my dad being there with me all throughout my Little League career,” Stock said. “He really pushed me and had high expectations for me. He just wanted what's best for me, and I think that really drove me to want to succeed.”
Doug guided Erik’s Little League teams to three town championships in a row, which, unbeknownst to Erik at the time, would be the first of several championships he would go on to win in his still very young career (the BIG EAST Championship UConn won in 2021 was his favorite thus far).
It was in middle school where Stock discovered he had a unique talent. While those his age were transitioning to the bigger diamond using Drop 5 Bats, Stock was using BBCOR Bats and collecting more hits than those he played with and against. So, it didn’t really sit right with him that he didn’t make varsity his freshman year of high school.
“It hurt a lot [that he didn’t make varsity],” Stock said, “but I think it really motivated me to be better. With baseball, I’ve always taken the approach that I just want to be better than everyone out there, so I tried to show everybody in high school that they were wrong about not putting me on the varsity squad. And I think I did that because my sophomore year, I was a first baseman and pitcher, and then junior and senior year, I played the field every single day. But, you know, I really feel I could have done better looking back because I still had so much to learn.”
Stock’s confidence in himself should not be mistaken as arrogance. After all, when one has been doubted as much as he has time and time again, the only shield that has seemingly offered a level of protection from throwing in the towel is him believing in his talent. And for the sake of the game itself, it’s a good thing Stock has continued to bet on himself. Otherwise, baseball fans would have been robbed of seeing one of the best pure hitters in all of Division I, while MLB teams wouldn’t have the opportunity to correct an injustice this coming July.
Things Have a Way of Working Out
Stock began hearing from college baseball coaches after his sophomore year of high school. And when it came time to commit, it was a pretty easy decision. He selected Old Dominion because of his longstanding relationship with Nonemaker as well as its close proximity to his home. Playing in front of family was also very enticing for him.
In his first year as a Monarch in 2018, Stock made quite the statement. He collected 49 hits to end the season with a .320 batting average, while also pitching 19.1 innings over 10 games. His performance earned him a selection to Conference USA’s All-Freshman team.
Yet, despite his success, he never felt quite right at any point throughout his freshman campaign. Stock remembers throwing a bullpen in the January leading up to the season opener and feeling tightness in his forearm. He consulted with a doctor who assured him nothing was wrong, so he played through, appearing in 40 of the Monarchs' 52 games. But the tightness persisted and his velocity dropped significantly. Stock was accustomed to throwing in the low 90s, and now his fastball was barely registering mid-80 on the radar gun.
That June, after the season wrapped up, he returned to the doctor for a follow-up visit. It was discovered that Stock had indeed torn his ulnar collateral ligament months earlier, and as such, needed Tommy John surgery. He went under the knife that month and spent the summer and fall rehabbing, determined to be ready in time for the Monarchs' opener in 2019.
“It was tough missing out on a whole summer season and then most of the fall, but I think it was actually a blessing in disguise because I learned what my body could and couldn’t do and what I needed to do to help it remain healthy throughout the season,” Stock said. “But I had no doubt after my surgery that I would come back stronger.”
Remarkably, Stock was cleared for game action that January, just seven months after having his elbow repaired. While he did appear in 38 games, he never got into a rhythm, struggling at the plate and finishing the year with a .234 batting average. A large part of Stock’s struggles that season could be tied to circumstances beyond his control, but nonetheless, he stuck to it and never lost his passion for the game.
Stock felt it was in his best interests to hit the reset button and decided to move on from Old Dominion. The day he hit the transfer portal, he emailed 50-to-60 coaches from schools around the country, introducing himself and letting them know his desire to continue his playing career at a high-quality program. And, wouldn’t you know, UConn pounced.
“It had to be no more than 10 minutes after I sent out the emails, [UConn pitching coach/recruiting coordinator] Coach [Josh] MacDonald responded,” recalls Stock. “I’ll never forget it because UConn was playing in the Oklahoma State regional that year, and they were in the middle of a rain delay when I got MacDonald’s email. I thought that was pretty awesome and it made quite the impression on me. On top of that, I grew up watching Kemba Walker and I have family in Connecticut and New York, so I took a visit and it was awesome. I knew it was the place for me.”
Hitting the Storrs
Stock learned two weeks before the 2020 season that his waiver request was approved and made his UConn debut in the Huskies fifth game that year. And as he has done so many times throughout his career in Storrs (50 times in fact), Stock collected multiple hits. The only thing that ended up stopping him that year was COVID-19, which ended the season for the entire country.
In the eight games he appeared in that 2020 season, he hit .484 and got on base at an astronomical .556 clip. In fact, since he initially made his Huskies debut on February 22, 2020, Stock has played in 91 out of the 95 games, including starting all 35 games in 2022.
While it might look like he is hitting beach balls into the ocean each time he steps to the plate these days, it hasn’t always been like that. Stock struggled mightily out of the gate during the 2021 campaign, batting just .239 with only four runs batted in after the first 12 games.
But, if there is one thing even the greatest hitters aren’t immune to, it’s the thinking element of the game. More often than not, when hitters struggle, it’s almost always because of the mental component associated with baseball. Stock admits that’s what happened to him. He found himself overthinking his at-bats and started to press.
Stock credits Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout for helping him come out of his mini-slump. He was watching an Angels game when Trout was interviewed about his approach to hitting. Trout stated he talks to himself every time he enters the batter’s box so that he can’t think. If it worked for the best player in the game, then Stock thought maybe he should try that technique himself.
So, that’s what he ended up doing, and sure enough, he has been a hitting machine ever since. In fact, Stock batted a blistering .404 over the Huskies’ final 41 games last year and would likely have garnered votes for BIG EAST Player of the Year if it weren’t for his teammate, Kyler Fedko, who had his own season for the ages. Nevertheless, Stock is currently the front-runner for earning the distinction in 2022, a mere formality if he continues to hit the way he has so far.
Yet, despite all that he has accomplished for the program built by Andy Baylock and transformed into a national powerhouse by Jim Penders, Stock would trade it all for the opportunity to lead this year’s club to Omaha, the site of the College World Series. Yes, he has individual goals, but he won’t put those at the expense of the team’s.
“Yes, I want to get drafted, and yes, I want to eventually make it to the majors one day and play this game for a really long time,” Stock said. “But right now, all of my focus is on getting 1 percent better each day to help our team win games. We have a lot left to accomplish before we can even think of Omaha, including trying to win the BIG EAST regular-season and conference tournament, but I think we have the talent to get there. It would mean so much to me if I was able to help lead the team there.”
Playing at UConn has meant everything to Stock. He bestows so much gratitude on Penders, MacDonald and hitting coach Jeff Hourigan for taking a chance on him and helping him reach the next level of his growth as both a person and player. He wouldn’t change a thing about his experience in Storrs thus far.
“Coach Penders took a chance on me, and I will never forget it,” Stock said. “I came up here without a scholarship, but he told me I had every opportunity to earn my way into the starting role. Coach Hourigan has helped me tremendously with my swing and approach to hitting. And then there’s Coach Mac, who if he never reached out, I don't know where I would be right now or if I would be having the success I’m having.”
As Stock approaches the end of his tenure in Storrs, one can only hope that scouts will finally give Stock the opportunity he has more than earned – the opportunity to play professional baseball. He has done everything needed to prove he is worthy of a long-term investment, including bettering his performance with each passing year. Front offices take notice: now is as good a time as ever to buy into his Stock, because if you don’t, you are going to have to pay quite the premium if you want to acquire him in the future.
