Florence’s Erik Ostberg feeling confident, excited as MLB draft arrives

By MATT VAUTOUR

@MattVautourDHG

Published: 06-12-2017 10:10 PM

As the balls thwacked against the outfield seats at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park and echoed through the empty ballpark Friday, Erik Ostberg just tried to appear outwardly indifferent.

He’d never even been on the playing surface, let alone taken batting practice on a Major League field before. But the Philadelphia Phillies front office invited him and several other prospects for one last workout last week.

“The whole front office was there. You don’t want to sit there and watch the ball,” Ostberg said. “I hit it and I know it’s gone, but as the next pitch is coming I can hear the clunk of the seat from the last ball.”

Ostberg hit a lot of balls hard, a few out and left feeling good. He’d shown that an April knee injury that ended his University of Hartford season early hadn’t slowed his bat at all.

“I feel fantastic. I’ve done everything but catch bullpens. Teams have said they don’t need me to catch bullpens. They have the reports on me,” he said. “I can squat with no pain. I can do all the range of motion stuff. I’ve regained my hip flexibility.”

Philadelphia was his fifth and last showcase since the college season ended. He worked out for the Mets in Worcester, the Rays at their Single-A facility in Hudson Valley, New York, the Yankees at their Staten Island park and the Padres at IMG Academy in Florida.

The Florence native has been preparing to be a professional baseball player since he was old enough to realize that was actually a job.

“It’s crazy to think at this point in my life, I can’t do anything to influence a decision on the draft,” Ostberg said. “There’s nothing else that can be done.”

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After hundreds of practices and games from Cal Ripken league to travel teams, to camps, showcases, Williston Northampton and the University of Hartford, the catcher’s future is in the hands of general managers and scouting directors now.

The 2017 Major League Baseball draft began with the first two rounds Monday. Ostberg projects to be picked either late Tuesday (rounds 3-10 begin at 1 p.m.) or sometime early on Wednesday (rounds 11-40 begin at noon).

Baseball America has him listed as the No. 20 catcher and the No. 205 player overall. Selections obviously won’t follow exactly to rank, but pick No. 205 is early in the second round and comes with a signing bonus of just over $200,000.

Before his injury, Ostberg led all of Division I in hitting at .500 (43-for-86), and had six home runs and 23 RBIs in 24 games.

Peter Fatse, the director of player development at Advanced Performance Academy, where Ostberg has worked to hone his skills, said the catcher’s approach should ease his transition to professional baseball.

“If you put him in a Hartford Yard Goats (Double A) uniform tomorrow he’s going to have three quality at-bats,” Fatse said. “Anytime you find a catcher with the ability to hit, they’re at a premium.”

Ostberg has a year of collegiate eligibility left, but he’s planning on signing.

The Padres, Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Phillies, Pirates, Mariners and Rays have contacted Ostberg the most, but every organization, except the Twins and Dodgers, has been in touch.

“The draft is unpredictable. I just want the opportunity to play,” he said. “A lot of scouts say they want to draft me, it’s just a matter of how the board shakes out.”

Ostberg will watch the draft at home with family and a few close friends. More than likely he’ll be on a plane to join his new franchise by the end of the week.

The immediacy of all of it has been both exciting and a little overwhelming.

“I’ve been thinking about it for so long, I’m not really sure how I’m going to react,” he said.

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage

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