Dodgers News: LA All-Star Reveals Why He Never Pitched Professionally
Every years, scores of high school baseball players are drafted by MLB teams. Typically, high school prospects are bigger gamble than collegiate players that spent multiple years playing in the NCAA. Even the best high school pitchers sometimes convert to position players, or vice versa. The Dodgers have had several examples of the phenomenon in recent years.
Kenley Jansen and Tony Gonsolin were both position players in their younger years before becoming All-Star pitchers. The Dodgers recognized their pitching potential and converted them to hurlers.
As luck would have it, Freddie Freeman had a similar experience. The El Modena High School alum spoke to ESPN prior to Tuesday's All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium and revealed that he pitched quite a bit as a southern California prep star.
“I did in High School. The Braves were one of two teams that wanted me to hit coming into the draft. I threw hard, I didn’t know where it was going though. So I’m glad the Braves chose me to hit. …my arm hurt because I threw hard. I had taken a lot of Tylenol as a kid because my arm hurt. But I wanted to hit, I love to do it.”
The future NL MVP was picked in the second round by the Braves in the 2007 draft with the 78th overall pick. The Braves wanted his bat, not his arm in the lineup. Obviously, it was the right move. Freeman is one of the best hitters in baseball, but in some alternate universe, he's a lefty pitcher.
