He finished in style…Tyler Pettorini’s final at bat as a Buckeye produced this game-winning double and an 11-10 win over Illinois. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
One of the Big Ten’s best hitters isn’t even on the list of top 250 Major League Draft prospects for next week. But that doesn’t matter to Ohio State’s Tyler Pettorini. All he’s hoping for is that one team that likes something he does well enough…to give him a chance!
Tyler Pettorini was holed up in his apartment in Morgantown, West Virginia Monday evening, biding his time and considering his prospects while anticipating next week’s Major League Draft (July 13-14, in Atlanta).
The Swiss-army-knife-third baseman, shortstop, second baseman, and outfielder (if you need one)…has spent the last six weeks playing for the West Virginia Black Bears of the Major League Draft League, doing his best to build on what he did over the past three seasons as a Buckeye at Bill Davis Stadium.
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And collectively, he used that time to hit .299, with 23 home runs and 136 runs batted in…highlighted by his senior season when he hit a career-best .319 with 10 homers and 45 RBIs.
Publisher Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA sports and the Buckeyes for Press Pros Magazine.
“He worked harder to make himself a better player than anyone I’ve seen in a long time,” said former Buckeye coach Bill Mosiello during his junior season, speaking of his former protege’.
“He told me he wanted to play professionally,” said Mosiello. “I told him…you can’t do what you’re doing and get there. You’ve got to work to get better defensively…a more selective hitter…base-running…anything you can do that makes you a better player. And he went out and did it. I’m very proud of him.”
“He’s always had the hit tool, but he’s really impressed me with his work ethic to be solid defensively.” first-year coach Justin Haire said of Pettorini this past spring.
Now it’s down to a week of waiting, knowing that he’s going to have a longer wait than fellow Big Ten prospects like Indiana’s Devin Taylor (projected top five rounds), Michigan State’s Joseph Dzierwa (lefthand pitcher, projected 78th best prospect in top 250), or Michigan infielder Mitch Voit (63rd best prospect in top 250).
“It really doesn’t matter,” said Pettorini by phone on Monday. “I just keep playing, playing well, and I’m hoping for the best. If my name gets called it would be just the start. It would be awesome…it would be an honor…and I’d be really excited.”
Playing, and playing well in West Virginia, he’s hitting .337 as of Monday, playing for manager and former big leaguer Jon Nunnally (32 for 95), with nine extra base hits and slugging at a .474% rate.
And trying to improve, Pettorini credits Nunnally for helping him spray the ball to all fields.
“He’s really helped me a lot with hitting the ball the other way,” says Pettorini. “I’m seeing more fastballs here, a lot of outside pitches, and I’ve been hitting a lot of balls to left center and in the gap. Just trying to take things that way.”
Attitude is hardly an issue, despite his long-shot status, and never has been. He struggled as a freshman, hitting just .218 in 110 at bats before catching fire his sophomore season, improving to .315.
He kept working, and by his junior year he had begun to show some power, poling 9 home runs while learning to become a dependable glove man at third, shortstop, and second base.
He followed up by hitting a hard .314 this spring, and the scouts took a closer look at his overall game. An agent from California knocked on his door last year, believing that there was something there, regardless of how long it took to refine.
All of which brought him to Morgantown on Monday, a week before the draft, and his hopes for the rest of his baseball life. The draft consists of twenty rounds, and the chances of being called in one of those twenty rounds can be daunting, and encouraging at the same time. The record books are full of players who weren’t taken as a high draft choice, a hopeful omen for Buckeye teammates Trey Lipsey, Matt Graveline, and Blaine Wynk.
Don Mattingly (Yankees) was taken in the 19th round in 1978.
“He’s always had the hit tool, but he’s really impressed me with his work ethic to be solid defensively.” – Justin Haire on infielder Tyler Pettorini
Ryne Sandberg (Phillies) was taken in the 20th round that same year.
Reds pitcher Nick Martinez was taken in the 18th round by the Rangers in 2011.
Bowling Green’s Orel Hershiser was selected by the Dodgers in the 17th round in 1979.
And more recently, former Ohio State teammate Zach Dezenzo was taken in the 12th round by Houston in 2022.
And believe it or not…Nolan Ryan was drafted in the 12th round back in 1965.
All any of them asked for was a chance. And regardless of what next week brings, Pettorini has no regrets.
“I wouldn’t have done things any other way,” he says, despite the disappointment of a 13 and 37 record this past season at Ohio State. “All of it has been a great experiences…my teammates, the coaches, they’ve all been good people. [I] certainly couldn’t have asked for more than being a Buckeye.”
And in true fashion, he crowned his career with the winning walk-off hit against Illinois in the season finale, 11-10.
Now, the waiting, along with one of the game’s great ironies. Baseball has prospered for 150 years with players who weren’t five-tool players and became better after signing a professional contract. Just players who coveted the chance.
More than a few…like Tyler Pettorini.
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