After two years of constant scrutiny, Lake Mary shortstop Brendan Rodgers is ready for it to be over.
“The past month has actually flown by which is good in my eyes,” said Brendan.
The countdown is on, the draft just a few days away. Rodgers could soon find himself with any number of teams; from the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Houston Astros, to the Colorado Rockies or the Texas Rangers.
“It is just like a mind game. You are never going to know until your name is called. So we’ll see.”
Brendan is ranked as the number one prospect on MLB’s Top 200 list, but numerous mock drafts have him going anywhere from 1st to 4th. The speculation can be hard to handle, at least it is for mom Julie.
“It’s really hard when you are a Mom and all along they’ll talk him up, and then now they are trying to nitpick little tiny things. He has been ranked at a certain place all along and now things are changing. So it is tough for me. And I want to get on the computer and say why are you saying that about my – but obviously you don’t,” said Julie.
Brendan joked, “She gets upset when she sees me lower than she thinks, but she is a Mom.”
The final month has been nothing but last minute visits and workouts with the Rodgers living out of their suitcases some weeks. And now, there is one final trip to pack for: New Jersey. The entire Rodgers family is flying up for Monday’s draft special, beginning at 6 pm, with the first pick at 7pm.
“I am very excited to put on my suit and get all cleaned up, and look good for the draft,” said Brendan.
Rodgers may soon be on his own in the minor leagues, but for now is still relying on his dad Greg to get him suited up, trying on the suit for draft night one last time.
The final days bittersweet for the Rodgers family.
“It’s pretty incredible,” said Brendan’s dad Greg. “It is just hard to imagine watching your kid grow up as a 5-6 year old baseball player and thinking he is good, and watching his actions and knowing that when he got to be 7-8 years old that he really had a special talent. But to see it from that stage, year by year, get to the point where he is at now, it’s very exciting.”
Just one day away from the draft, tears are expected when the call comes in.
“Oh boy, I think we – I get choked up too about that,” said Greg. “It’s going to be pretty much a dream come true for him and for us.”
Brendan will soon have a new home, and a new chance to prove himself.
“It is basically like a re-start. I am at the top of the ranks or whatever you want to call it, and then as soon as I get drafted or whatever, it is like a brand new slate.”
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