Bloodline prospects feel expectations
ARLINGTON, Texas – They were on the field, and even on the stage, during World Series celebrations.
They were at All-Star Games and running around the field during Home Run Derbies.
They witnessed the thrill of victories, the agony of defeat, and the pain of injuries.
They were just kids, but they had benefits and privileges their friends could only dream of growing up.
Their fathers were major league players, some All-Stars, some journeymen, some Hall of Famers, some World Series champions.
Now, beginning Sunday in Fort Worth, Texas, for three days, these same kids could hear their names called at the MLB draft, potentially joining their family members as major league players.
You’ve got Adrian Beltre Jr., the 17year-old son of the new Hall of Famer.
First baseman Max McGwire, the son of former home run champion Mark McGwire, who hit 583 homers.
You’ve got Lucas Ramirez, son of Manny Ramirez, who hit 555 homers.
Noah Sheffield, son of 509-HR slugger Gary Sheffield.
You’ve got Braden Halladay, son of the late Hall of Famer Roy Halladay. Dawson Brown, son of 211-game winner Kevin Brown.
Jayden Fielder, the son of six-time All-Star slugger Prince Fielder.
You’ve got Colt Myers, son of World Series champion pitcher Brett Myers.
Rafael Furcal Jr., son of the 2000 National League Rookie of the Year and three-time All-Star.
Brady Counsell, son of two-time World Series champion and Cubs manager Craig Counsell.
“It’s crazy, isn’t it,” Myers tells USA TODAY Sports. “I was traveling around with my son to all of these events and couldn’t believe how many former teammates and players I saw with their kids playing.
“I mean, what were we doing, all making babies at the same time?”
Gary Sheffield, heading to Arlington, Texas, to spend the All-Star Game and the draft with his family, will be with 17year-old shortstop Noah, who also has a full scholarship to Florida State, along with 16-year-old Christian, who could be a future first-round pick.
It seems just like yesterday, he says, when he was the sixth pick in the 1986 draft and was already on the Miami campus when the Milwaukee Brewers finally came up with the extra $10,000 he wanted to turn pro. His signing bonus was a mere $152,000.
These days, that same pick has a slot value of $7.2 million.
The draft is big business these days, televised live on MLB Network and ESPN, with cameras set up at the studios and at the kids’ homes, with press conferences scheduled as quickly as possible.
“The day I was drafted,” says Ben Davis, the second pick in the 1995 draft by the San Diego Padres, “I remember my dad having me go out on the John Deere to mow the grass, grab the weed whacker and then wait for the phone to ring.”
Tague Davis, who used to sneak out of the house in the middle of the night to hit for three hours in an indoor batting cage down the street while growing up, won’t have to worry about any manual labor on draft day. The Davis family will be together in Louisville, Kentucky, where Tague has a scholarship at Louisville awaiting if he decides to delay a pro career.
“It’s just crazy to think all of these guys I played with and against have kids who could be drafted,” said Davis, now a color analyst with the Philadelphia Phillies. “I guess baseball was in our blood.”
Draft family connections
You can field a virtual All-Star team with former MLB players whose sons and relatives are eligible for this year’s draft.
Some of the notable ones: Dave Hollins (Beau); Brandon Inge (Tyler); Mark Grudzielanek (Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek); Tom Candiotti (Clark); Brian Moehler (Dane); Todd Stottlemyre (Todd Jr.); Shaun Marcum (Caden); Orlando Hernandez (Orlando); Jeff Blauser (Cooper); Jarrod Washburn (Owen and Jack); Scott Hairston (Landon); Jason LaRue (Tyler); Rusty Greer (Mason); Joaquin Andujar (Jaison); John Jaha (Jackson); Hiram Bocachica (Hiram III); Kurt Bevacqua (Jason); Kimera Bartee (Amari); Damian Jackson (Elijah); Desi Relaford (Jevin); Reggie Williams (Jordan); Mike Humphreys (Nathan); Paul Spoljaric (Turner); Kevin Witt (Tanner); Chance Sanford (Wyatt); Wes Obermueller (Cade); Kevin McGehee (Blake); Sean Lowe (Jonny); Ray Chadwick (Tyrelle); Mike Jerzembeck (Eli); and Chris Mabeus (Burke-Lee Mabeus).
Three sons of current and former general managers playing college baseball also are eligible for the draft: Teddy Cashman, son of Yankees GM Brian Cashman; Ryan Picollo, son of Royals GM J.J. Picollo; and Jack O’Dowd, son of former Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd.
There are the brothers of big leaguers who are draft-eligible: Triston Casas (Gavin); Matt McLain (Nick); A.J. Puk (Owen); Colten Brewer (Hoss); MJ Melendez (Jayden); Ryan McGuire (Conner); Nate Michey (Kobe); Will Klein (Sam); Michael Toglia (Zach); Joe Boyle (Nick); Nick Vespi (Benjamin).
There are the cousins and nephews of big leaguers: Ken Caminiti’s second cousin (Cam Caminiti); Alex Cobb’s nephew (Mavrick Rizy); Whitey Ford’s great nephew (Mike Sirota); Ben Zobrist’s nephew (Luke Heefner); Jon Duplantier’s cousin (Andre Duplantier); Andrew Susac’s cousin (Anthony Susac) Nate Eaton’s cousin (Konnor Eaton); Jason Thompson’s nephew (Bennett Thompson); Matt Cepicky’s nephew (C.J. Cepicky); Chris Sampson’s cousin (Jackson Dannelly); Kohl Stewart’s cousin (Joshua); and Luis Jimenez’s cousin (Tommy Tavarez).
Pressure of high expectations
Many of these high school and collegiate draft-eligible players hung around major league clubhouses, taking batting practice or pitching on major league fields, while getting instruction and advice from some of the greatest players in the world.
Yet being the sons of major league players could be a burden, too, with pressures none of their peers faced.
“There’s a lot of pressure being the sons of ex-players because everyone’s expecting so much,” Gary Sheffield says. “Those kids go through a lot. The thing they deal with that other kids don’t is because they’re related to that famous name. I didn’t know the magnitude of it until my kids told me about it.
“Hey, I went through it, too, being Dwight Gooden’s nephew, a Cy Young winner, and everything else. It comes with unnecessary stuff. Everyone wants to be the guy to strike you out or hit a homer off you because of your name.”
Andruw Jones, Atlanta’s 10-time Gold Glove center fielder, knows his 20year-old son, Druw, goes through the same pressure. He was the second pick in the 2022 draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He has played in only 111 games due to injuries and is still at Class A, while everyone keeps waiting for him to play like his father.
“He had a lot of people talk stuff that’s not necessary,” Andruw Jones says. “It wasn’t just kids talking about it, but grown people talking about it . ... I’m so proud of him but I noticed there’s some pressure. But he knows how to handle those things. But as I remind him, ‘Just be yourself. Don’t worry about what anyone else says.’
“People like to put expectations on you. Even when I was coming up, people were like, ‘Oh, you might be the next Willie Mays or the next Ken Griffey.’ I would never be those guys. I would like to idolize those guys, and be similar to them, but I’ll never be those guys.
“So I tell him, ‘Just be yourself. Go out there and enjoy the game. You have the talent, take advantage of it.’ ”
Still, it’s easier said than done, with Justin Crawford, son of All-Star outfielder Carl Crawford, remembering the taunting from opposing teams, and, yes, the self-inflicted pressure, too.
“When I was younger, I definitely put that pressure on myself,” Justin Crawford says. “I used to feel like I kind of had to play exactly like him, try to stand like him, run like him, everything like him. As I got older, I was able to kind of find myself and just being authentic. That’s the best for me.”
Adrian Beltre Jr., who’s in town with his dad for the All-Star festivities and will be in Cooperstown with him next weekend, knows that the comparisons will be inevitable and there will always be pressure – but he wouldn’t change a thing.
“I know I’m going to have big shoes to fill,” Beltre says. “And I know how hard it will be to do that. But I’m going to enjoy it. Believe me, it’s a blessing to have him as a role model.”
Talent versus stats
These former players, like All-Star third baseman Dave Hollins, scratch their heads and want to scream toward the heavens about the way some of these players are evaluated today.
Hollins believes that his son, Beau, who has a scholarship to South Carolina, could be a future All-Star. He’s more developed than Hollins at that age. He’s bigger. He’s stronger. He may even have a more fiery demeanor than Hollins had during his career.
So, pardon Dave Hollins’ reaction when a team recently started talking to him about his son and expressed concerned about his exit velocity.
“Here he is, hitting the second-most homers in the country, 6-foot-4 1⁄2, 225 pounds, the bloodlines, the work ethic, and you want to talk about exit velocity,” says Hollins, who also was a longtime Phillies scout. “How do you have a serious conversation about that? Are you kidding me?”
Staying connected to the game
Certainly, every former player in the draft is hoping that their sons have a greater professional career than they enjoyed, with a few wondering what their own lives will look like once their sons start playing.
Dave Hollins says it was a blessing when the Phillies cut their budget during COVID and let him go, enabling him to watch virtually every game his son played in high school and travel tournaments.
Brett Myers is grateful that he will not only get to watch his son, Colt, play in college or the pros, he still has a 12-yearold son who has the same desire to follow in his dad’s footsteps.
“For me, I’m happy my sons and older boys are keeping me around the game this long,” Myers says. “I probably wouldn’t know what to do if I didn’t have boys playing. I don’t know much more than baseball and hunting.”
Picking the right sport
The strangest part about all of these sons, nephews and cousins of former big leaguers is that they insist that no one pushed them toward baseball.
Ken Griffey Jr.’s two sons, Trey and Tevin, each played college football, with Trey at the University of Arizona and Tevin now at Boise State.
Shane Larkin, the son of Hall of Famer Barry Larkin, played in the NBA and now is in the Turkish Basketball Super League and EuroLeague.
Justin Minaya, the son of former Expos and Mets GM Omar Minaya, plays for the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA. So, why no baseball?
“My sons are adrenaline junkies like their mama,” Griffey says. “Motocross. You name it. I always said, ‘I can’t choose what you love, I can only help you get to a certain point. I can get you the right coaches, the right equipment, but eventually you’re going to have to do it yourself.’
“My brother (Craig) played college football, so my dad never forced me to play baseball. I just loved the game. But my boys, they stopped playing at 11.”
Tom Candiotti, one of the game’s finest knuckleball pitchers, who led the American League with 17 complete games in 1986, didn’t let Clark, a fifthyear senior out of the University of Arizona, even play football.
“My parents didn’t let me play because she thought I’d get hurt,” said Candiotti, who went to Saint Mary’s College on a tennis scholarship. “I would have gotten killed in football. I did the same for my boys. There are too many injuries that are going to happen. If you’re really serious about baseball and stuff, let’s do something different. So he was always into the other individual sports. Golf. Bowling. Tennis. All of that stuff.
“He was pissed off at me for a while, but it was just one of those parental things.
“I think it’s going to work out just fine for him.”
The long wait
So on Sunday, the fathers and sons were all gathering, from Lexington, South Carolina, to Scottsdale, Arizona, to Louisville, Kentucky, to St. Augustine, Florida, to Webster, Wisconsin, watching the draft on TV, hoping to hear the phone ring, see their son’s name comes across the screen, and be there to celebrate or sympathize.
Hey, that’s what dads are for, right? “It’s not like we’re waiting on pins and needles,” said Jarrod Washburn, the 18-game winner who led the Angels to the 2002 World Series, on his two sons playing at Texas Tech. “It’s been great. I’ve been proud of them to see what they accomplished. It’s been an awful fun ride watching them.
“It’s been pretty cool having them grow up in the clubhouse, be around the game, loving the game, and watching to be around Dad.
“What more could a dad want, right?