Fitzgerald defers pro baseball dream while two other local players sign – The State Journal-Register

Nick Roscetti and David Jacob saw their dreams come true last week. Tyler Fitzgerald put his dream on the back burner.

Roscetti, a 2012 Williamsville High School graduate, was selected in the 26th round of Major League Baseball’s First-Year Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers after earning All-Big Ten Conference honors as a University of Iowa senior.

Jacob, a 2013 Sacred Heart-Griffin graduate, was picked in the 32nd round by the Toronto Blue Jays after hitting .392 during his red-shirt sophomore season at Quincy University.

And Fitzgerald, a recent Rochester graduate, was picked in the 30th round by the Boston Red Sox after winning the Central State Eight Conference batting title (.500) and leading the league in home runs (nine) and stolen bases (37).

Roscetti, the 771st player selected, has signed his contract and is in Phoenix working out at the Brewers’ complex. Jacob, who had some leverage with the ability to return for two more seasons at Quincy, also has signed and is Dunedin, Fla., at the Blue Jays’ complex.

Fitzgerald, however, plans to enroll at Louisville and spend at least three years in the Cardinals’ nationally ranked program before he will again be draft eligible in 2019.

Boston contacted Fitzgerald last Friday during the third round of the draft saying it was interested in picking the 6-foot-3, 185-pound shortstop. Detroit, Washington, Colorado and the Cardinals also showed third-round interest.

“The Red Sox offered third-round money,” Fitzgerald said. “At the end of the day it wasn’t enough to take me away from my commitment to Louisville.

“It wasn’t disappointing. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to happen. I was given a good offer, but it wasn’t what I was looking for. I’m excited for school. That’s where my heart is.”

Fitzgerald said he talked with Lousville coach Dan McDonnell last Thursday before the draft began.

“An hour before it started he called me,” Fitzgerald said. “He told me not to get caught up in my emotions, to follow my heart, to do what’s best for me and my family. I’m excited to get my career started at Louisville and see what happens three years from now.”

Fitzgerald has spent the past three summers playing high-level travel baseball and in all of the top showcase events, including last summer’s Perfect Game All-American Classic at Petco Park in San Diego. Many of the 16 high school players selected in the first round are friends and/or former teammates.

“I’ve probably played with over half of the guys that went off the board in the first round,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s cool that I was able to play with them and learn from them, get better.

“I think I competed with them well. That’s kind of why we put the price so high. I thought I could play with those guys.”

While Roscetti and Jacob work their ways up the professional ladder, Fitzgerald will be going to class and working on getting stronger and better.

“My dream is to play professional baseball,” he said. “I’m going to Louisville. It will be great playing college baseball.

“My ultimate goal is to play in the big leagues. Louisville is the next step. That will make my game that much better. Coming out of Louisville, I will be that much better. That’s the best way to go for me.”

Roscetti

Roscetti was watching his brother Joe play baseball Saturday when he got the call.

“The first thing they asked me was, ‘Did you see we drafted you?’” Roscetti said. “I had been watching (MLB.com’s Draft Tracker) but I didn’t see my name.

“My mom and my girlfriend started getting all emotional. It was pretty instantaneous.”

By Monday morning he was on a plane to Phoenix to take his physical, complete his paperwork and sign his first professional contract.

As an Iowa senior Roscetti batted .305 with a team-best 39 runs batted in. He also made just five errors in 249 chances and is one of 11 semifinalists for college baseball’s Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year Award.

“I was most proud of my defense,” Roscetti said. “Coach (Rick) Heller did a great job. My defense was my best asset this year.”

Roscetti, 6-3 and 185 pounds, isn’t sure where the Brewers will send him to play his first pro season. Milwaukee has an affiliate in the Arizona Rookie League and in Helena, Montana, in the Pioneer Rookie League.

“They told me my defense is solid, my arm strength,” Roscetti said. “They said they saw a lot of potential in me.”

He grew up a Cardinals fan, but he’s willing to change.

“Go Brew Crew,” he said with a chuckle.

Jacob

After becoming the first Prospect League player ever to hit .400 last summer with the Springfield Sliders, Jacob was on a fast track to professional baseball.

“It was the summer that wasn’t even supposed to happen,” Jacob said by phone from Dunedin. “I had knee surgery and was supposed to be out six weeks. I got a shot and everything fell into place that summer. It was an unbelievable time. That really boosted my confidence. ‘I can really do this.’

“Doing something that’s never been done before is very special.”

Jacob got off to a hot start as a Quincy freshman, hitting .439 through the first 12 games before being felled by a knee injury. Hit .394 in 2015 with 51 RBIs, seven home runs and 12 doubles, then followed it up with a .392 season this spring with 11 home runs and 61 RBIs.

“I had a pretty good year, but I still feel like I could have done better in some ways,” Jacob said. “I’m proud of everything. Every single pitch I saw was offspeed on the outside corner.”

The 6-4, 220-pound Jacob, a first baseman who also can play in the outfield, was the 972nd player taken in the draft.

Jacob was in Thunder Bay, Ontario, playing for the Lacrosse Loggers of the Northwoods League when he got the call.

“Jeff Johnson, the scout from Toronto, called me in the morning,” Jacob said. “We didn’t have WiFi so the call went right to voice mail. I was like, ‘Great, the most important day of life and I can’t get calls.’”

Eventually the Blue Jays made contact with Jacob. His first call was home to his parents.

“I called my dad and I said, ‘I’m a Blue Jay,’” Jacob said. “He said, ‘I know.’ I said, ‘You’re not supposed to know. I’m supposed to tell you.’

“He was very proud of me. Everything I’ve been through, to get to this point, like any father he was extremely proud of me. My mom wanted me to finish school . . .

“I told her, ‘Now I’m getting paid for the thing I love to do the most.”

Roscetti and Jacob are pros. They’ve lived out their childhood dream. Fitzgerald will have to wait, but that’s just fine with him.

“My dream is on hold right now,” Fitzgerald said. “It will be a great three or four years.”

— Contact Jim Ruppert: jim.ruppert@sj-r.com, 788-1549, twitter.com/JRupSJR.