The NYC high schooler who can end city’s strange draft drought.
The last time a New York City high school baseball prospect was drafted in the first round, the Yankees’ Core Four dynasty was just beginning, the Knicks mattered in the spring, and the Rangers were two years removed from a Stanley Cup title.
“I am a little bit surprised it hasn’t been done since,” said Jason Marquis, the last player from the city to be taken in the first round, back in 1996, 35th overall by the Braves out of Tottenville High School on Staten Island.
There is a chance the list grows this year.
33 prospect in the draft.
In two of Baseball America’s past three mock drafts, he was picked in the first round.
“There’s no time for a bad game here, a bad game there,” said Marquis, who last pitched for the Reds in 2015, but hasn’t retired officially.
One local scout, speaking on condition of anonymity, thinks it comes down to teams not willing to take risks early in the draft.
Northeast high school players often are not as finely tuned products because they have spent less time on the field by the end of their senior year.
Marquis is rooting for Holmes.