Erik Sabrowski describes it as “a milestone moment.”
On Wednesday morning, the 20-year-old pitcher was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 14th round of the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft.
“I’d just been following along on my laptop for a couple days,” he said. “I was cooking breakfast and my name popped up… next to the San Diego Padres.
“I was kind of stunned. I had a pretty good idea that it was going to happen, but thinking it’s going to happen and it actually happening was a completely different experience for me.
“I kind of just stood there and looked at the computer screen for a few seconds.”
A Padres scout called him moments later to firm up details.
“A milestone moment, that describes it perfectly,” Sabrowski said.
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Sabrowski, who calls Edmonton home, currently pitches and plays first base for the Prospects. His relationship with baseball has gone through various phases over the years.
“I used to play it for fun and then I realized I was kind of good and wanted to see if I could go to college and play baseball. Then, in the last year or so, it’s been: ‘Alright, let’s see if I can make a career out of this and hopefully see if I can do something cool, something big.’
“This is the milestone — the start of something big.”
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The Prospects’ AGM said being drafted 441st overall “is really good.”
“Erik is a local product, played with Prospects Academy and has been a leader with us for the last two years on and off the field,” Jordan Blundell said in an email to 630CHED.
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Sabrowski will leave for Arizona on Sunday where he’ll start mini camp and rookie orientation at the Padres’ spring training complex. From there, the team will decide which minor team he’ll play for.
“There’s six different levels of minor leagues,” Sabrowski explained. “They have teams in Texas, a team in Indiana, a team in Washington. I’m really up to their mercy to see where they feel I’m the best fit.”
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He describes himself as an aggressive pitcher who attacks the batter, commands a big presence on the mound and is “always on the hunt, always on the attack.” It is perhaps no surprise that his favourite pitch is the fastball.
Now, he could someday be throwing heat in an actual MLB game.
“That’s always been kind of the unimaginable dream,” Sabrowski said.
“As a kid, you always envision yourself playing in the MLB for your favourite team in front of a sold-out crowd but actually seeing my name pop up on the draft board — it was something that nothing could have prepared me for.
“It’s just the realization of years of baseball, hard work, teaching, hardships, success — all of it is kind of put in to that moment right there. I’d say a lot of that rushed through me a little bit, thinking back on past experiences on the baseball diamond.”
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