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MLB draft prospects with famous bloodlines carry weight of monster expectations

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MLB draft prospects with famous bloodlines carry weight of monster expectations

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ARLINGTON, Texas — They were on the field, and even on the stage, during World Series celebrations.

They were at All-Star Games and running around the field during Home Run Derbies.

They witnessed the thrill of victories, the agony of defeat, and the pain of injuries.

They were just kids, but they had benefits and privileges their friends could only dream of growing up.

Their fathers were major-league players, some All-Stars, some journeymen, some Hall of Famers, some World Series champions.

Now, beginning Sunday in Fort Worth, Texas, for the next three days, these same kids could hear their names called at the MLB draft, potentially joining their family as major league players.

You’ve got Adrian Beltre Jr., the 17-year-old son of the new Hall of Famer.

First baseman Max McGwire, the son of former home-run champion Mark McGwire, who hit 583 homers.

You’ve got Lucas Ramirez, son of Manny Ramirez, who hit 555 homers. Noah Sheffield, son of 509-home run slugger Gary Sheffield.

You’ve got Braden Halladay, son of the late Hall of Famer Roy Halladay. Dawson Brown, son of 211-game winner Kevin Brown. Jayden Fielder, the son of six-time All-Star slugger Prince Fielder.

You’ve got Colt Myers, son of World Series champion pitcher Brett Myers. Rafael Furcal Jr., son of the 2000 NL Rookie of the Year and three-time All-Star.

Brady Counsell, son of two-time World Series champion and Cubs manager Craig Counsell.

“It’s crazy, isn’t it,” Myers tells USA TODAY Sports. “I was traveling around with my son to all of these events, and couldn’t believe how many former teammates and players I saw with their kids playing.

“I mean, what were we doing, all making babies at the same time?’’

Gary Sheffield, heading to Arlington, Texas to spend the All-Star Game and the draft with his family, will be with 17-year-old shortstop Noah, who also has a full scholarship to Florida State, along with 16-year-old Christian, who could be a future first-round pick.

It seems just like yesterday, he says, when he was the sixth pick in the 1986 draft, and was already on the Miami campus when the Milwaukee Brewers finally came up with the extra $10,000 he wanted to turn pro. His signing bonus was a mere $152,000.

These days, that same pick has a slot value of $7.2 million.

The draft is big business these days, televised live on MLB Network and ESPN, with cameras set up at the studios and at the kids’ homes, with press conferences scheduled as quickly as possible.

“The day I was drafted,” says Ben Davis, the second pick in the 1995 draft by the San Diego Padres, “I remember my dad having me go out on the John Deere to mow the grass, grab the weed whacker and then wait for the phone to ring.”

Tague Davis, who used to sneak out of the house in the middle of the night to hit for three hours in an indoor batting cage down the street growing up, won’t have to worry about any manual labor on draft day. The Davis family will be together in Louisville, Kentucky. where Tague has a scholarship at Louisville awaiting if he decides to delay a pro career.

“It’s just crazy to think all of these guys I played with and against have kids who could be drafted,” said Davis, now a color analyst with the Philadelphia Phillies. “I guess baseball was in our blood.’’

MLB draft’s family connections

You can field a virtual All-Star team with former MLB players whose sons and relatives are eligible for this year’s draft.

Some of the notable ones: Dave Hollins (Beau); Brandon Inge (Tyler); Mark Grudzielanek (Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek); Tom Candiotti (Clark); Brian Moehler (Dane); Todd Stottlemyre (Todd Jr.); Shaun Marcum (Caden); Orlando Hernandez (Orlando); Brandon Inge (Tyler); Jeff Blauser (Cooper); Jarrod Washburn (Owen and Jack); Jeff Blauser (Cooper); Scott Hairston (Landon); Jason LaRue (Tyler); Rusty Greer (Mason); Joaquin Andujar (Jaison); John Jaha (Jackson); Hiram Bocachica (Hiram III); Kurt Bevacqua (Jason); Kimera Bartee (Amari); Damian Jackson (Elijah); Desi Relaford (Jevin); Reggie Williams (Jordan); Mike Humphreys (Nathan); Paul Spoljaric (Turner); Kevin Witt (Tanner); Chance Sanford (Wyatt); Wes Obermueller (Cade); Kevin McGehee (Blake); Sean Lowe (Jonny); Ray Chadwick (Tyrelle); Mike Jerzembeck (Eli); and Chris Mabeus (Burke-Lee Mabeus).

Three sons of current and former GMs playing college baseball also are eligible for the draft: Teddy Cashman, son of Yankees GM Brian Cashman; Ryan Picollo, son of Royals GM J.J. Picollo; and Jack O’Dowd, son of former Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd.

There are the brothers of big leaguers who are draft-eligible: Triston Casas (Gavin); Matt McLain (Nick); A.J. Puk (Owen); Colten Brewer (Hoss); MJ Melendez (Jayden); Ryan McGuire (Conner); Nate Michey (Kobe); Will Klein (Sam); Michael Toglia (Zach); Joe Boyle (Nick); Nick Vespi (Benjamin).

There are the cousins and nephews of big leaguers: Ken Caminiti’s second cousin (Cam Caminiti); Alex Cobb’s nephew (Mavrick Rizy); Whitey Ford’s great nephew (Mike Sirota); Ben Zobrist’s nephew (Luke Heefner); Jon Duplantier’s cousin (Andre Duplantier); Andrew Susac’s cousin (Anthony Susac) Nate Eaton’s cousin (Konnor Eaton); Jason Thompson’s nephew (Bennett Thompson); Matt Cepicky’s nephew (C.J. Cepicky); Chris Sampson’s cousin (Jackson Dannelly); Kohl Stewart’s cousin (Joshua); and Luis Jimenez’s cousin (Tommy Tavarez).

Pressure of high expectations

Many of these high school and collegiate draft-eligible players hung around major-league clubhouses, taking batting practice or pitching on major-league fields, while getting instruction and advice from some of the greatest players in the world.

Yet, being the sons of major-league players could be a burden, too, with pressures none of their peers faced.

“There’s a lot of pressure being the sons of ex-players because everyone’s expecting so much,” Gary Sheffield says. “Those kids go through a lot. The thing they deal with that other kids don’t is because they’re related to that famous name. I didn’t know the magnitude of it until my kids told me about it.

“Hey, I went through it, too, being Dwight Gooden’s nephew, a Cy Young winner, and everything else. It comes with unnecessary stuff. Everyone wants to be the guy to strike you out or hit a homer off you because of your name.”

Andruw Jones, Atlanta’s 10-time Gold Glove center fielder, knows his 20-year-old son, Druw, goes through the same pressure. He was the second pick in the 2022 draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He has played in only 111 games due to injuries, and is still at Class A, while everyone keeps waiting for him to play like his father.

“He had a lot of people talk stuff that’s not necessary,” Andruw Jones says. “It wasn’t just kids talking about it, but grown people talking about it … I’m so proud of him but I noticed there’s some pressure. But he knows how to handle those things. But as I remind him, ‘Just be yourself. Don’t worry about what anyone else says.’

“People like to put expectations on you. Even when I was coming up, people were like, ‘Oh, you might be the next Willie Mays or the next Ken Griffey.’ I would never be those guys. I would like to idolize those guys, and be similar to them, but I’ll never be those guys.

“So I tell him, ‘Just be yourself. Go out there and enjoy the game. You have the talent, take advantage of it.'”

Still, it’s easier said than done, with Justin Crawford, son of All-Star outfielder Carl Crawford, remembering the taunting from opposing teams, and, yes, the self-inflicted pressure, too.

“When I was younger, I definitely put that pressure on myself,” Justin Crawford says. “I used to feel like I kind of had to play exactly like him, try to stand like him, run like him, everything like him. As I got older, I was able to kind of find myself and just being authentic. That’s the best for me.”

Adrian Beltre Jr., who’s in town with his dad for the All-Star festivities and will be in Cooperstown with him next weekend, knows that the comparisons will be inevitable and there will always be pressure – but he wouldn’t change a thing.

“I know I’m going to have big shoes to fill,” Beltre says. “And I know how hard it will be to do that. But I’m going to enjoy it. Believe me, it’s a blessing to have him as a role model.”

Talent vs. stats

These former players, like All-Star third baseman Dave Hollins, scratch their heads and want to scream toward the heavens about the way some of these players are evaluated today. Hollins believes that his son, Beau, who has a scholarship to South Carolina, could be a future All-Star. He’s more developed than Hollins at that age. He’s bigger. He’s stronger. He may even have a more fiery demeanor than Hollins had during his career.

So, pardon Dave Hollins’ reaction when a team recently started talking to him about his son and expressed concerned about his exit velocity.

“Here he is, hitting the second-most homers in the country, 6-foot-4 ½, 225 pounds, the bloodlines, the work ethic, and you want to talk about exit velocity,” says Hollins, who also was a longtime Phillies scout. “How do you have a serious conversation about that? Are you kidding me?”

Staying connected to the game

Certainly, every former player in the draft is hoping that their sons have a greater career than they enjoyed, with a few wondering what their own lives will look like once their sons start playing.

Dave Hollins says it was a blessing when the Phillies cut their budget during COVID and let him go, enabling him to watch virtually every game his son played in high school and travel tournaments. Brett Myers is grateful that he will not only get to watch his son, Colt, play in college or the pros, he still has a 12-year-old son who has the same desire to follow in his dad’s footsteps.

“For me, I’m happy my sons and older boys are keeping me around the game this long,” Myers says. “I probably wouldn’t know what to do if I didn’t have boys playing. I don’t know much more than baseball and hunting.’’

Picking the right sport

The strangest part about all of these sons, nephews and cousins of former big leaguers is that they insist that no one pushed them toward baseball.

Ken Griffey Jr.’s two sons, Trey and Tevin, each played college football, with Trey at the University of Arizona and Tevin now at Boise State.

Shane Larkin, the son of Hall of Famer Barry Larkin, played in the NBA and now is in the Turkish Basketball Super League and EuroLeague. Justin Minaya, the son of former Expos and Mets GM Omar Minaya, plays for the Portland Trail Blazers.

So why no baseball?

“My sons are adrenaline junkies like their mama,” Griffey says. “Motocross. You name it. I always said, ‘I can’t choose what you love, I can only help you get to a certain point. I can get you the right coaches, the right equipment, but eventually you’re going to have to do it yourself.’

“My brother (Craig) played college football so my dad never forced me to play baseball. I just loved the game. But my boys, they stopped playing at 11.”

Tom Candiotti, one of the game’s finest knuckleball pitchers, who led the American League with 17 complete games in 1986, didn’t let Clark, a fifth-year senior out of the University of Arizona, even play football.

“My parents didn’t let me play because she thought I’d get hurt,” said Candiotti, who went to St. Mary’s College on a tennis scholarship. “I would have gotten killed in football. I did the same for my boys. There are too many injuries that are going to happen. If you’re really serious about baseball and stuff, let’s do something different. So he was always into the other individual sports. Golf. Bowling. Tennis. All of that stuff.

“He was pissed off at me for awhile, but it was just one of those parental things.

“I think it’s going to work out just fine for him.”

The long wait

So on Sunday, the fathers and sons will all gather, from Lexington, South Carolina, to Scottsdale, Arizona, to Louisville to St. Augustine, Florida, to Webster, Wisconsin, watching the draft on TV, hoping to hear the phone ring, see their son’s name comes across the screen, and be there to celebrate or sympathize.

Hey, that’s what dads are for, right?

“It’s not like we’re waiting on pins and needles,” said Jarrod Washburn, the 18-game winner who led the Angels to the 2002 World Series, on his two sons playing at Texas Tech. “It’s been great. I’ve been proud of them to see what they accomplished. It’s been an awful fun ride watching them.

“It’s been pretty cool having them grow up in the clubhouse, be around the game, loving the game, and watching to be around Dad.

“What more could a dad want, right?

Around the basepaths

– The Miami Marlins have been hoping they could trade center fielder Jazz Chisholm all season, with the Seattle Mariners emerging as the favorites to land him.

The Kansas City Royals also have expressed interest in Chisholm, but the Philadelphia Phillies have zero interest in him.

– Enough with the silly Tarik Skubal trade rumors. The Detroit Tigers are not trading him.

– The San Diego Padres recently made an offer for Chicago White Sox ace Garrett Crochet, but it was quickly dismissed.

While rival GMs are uncertain now whether Crochet will be dealt, the White Sox still fully intend to move him.

– The White Sox, who were uncertain that oft-injured center fielder Luis Robert would have high enough trade value to move, now are cautiously optimistic they can trade him.

They still are open to moving anyone and everyone, believing that starter Erick Fedde should bring in a nice return, too.

– GMs are openly wondering whether this could be a rather dull trade deadline. There could be plenty of names, but not a real impact player on this year’s playoff races now that the New York Mets, Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers suddenly are playing better and may not sell.

– The Mets have quietly placed left-hander Joey Lucchesi on waivers, hoping someone claims him and his remaining $1.65 million salary.

_ It could be quite the week for Jim Leyland, who will be inducted next Sunday into Cooperstown, with Pirates ace Paul Skenes and Tigers ace Tarik Skubal potentially facing one another as the starting pitchers in the All-Star Game.

Leyland managed 11 years for the Pirates and eight years with the Tigers, for whom he works as a special assistant.

– If Atlanta’s Chris Sale were not starting Sunday, making him ineligible to pitch in the All-Star Game, he may have been their choice to start for the NL, D-backs coaches say.

Yet, it’s likely MLB would have overruled manager Torey Lovullo and made Skenes the starter, anyway.

Skenes was going to be the starter even before his seven no-hit innings in his last start Wednesday against the Milwaukee Brewers.

– The free-falling Blue Jays will soon start their fire sale, while keeping Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Rival GMs say the only player who will bring a significant return is starter Yusei Kikuchi. The Blue Jays’ bright future suddenly looks quite murky.

– The Chicago Cubs have expressed interest in Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen.

– Baseball executives are starting to believe that Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins, Padres GM A.J. Preller, and Farhan Zaidi, Giants president of baseball operations, all may have to make the playoffs to assure they keep their jobs.

Atkins appears to be in the most danger.

– Can you spare a starter? The Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros and Atlanta are all seeking at least one more starter for the stretch run.

– The White Sox are insisting on Yankees prized prospect Spencer Jones in a deal for Crochet.

“Things happen that are outside of our control,’’ Jones said. “We’ll see.’’

Crochet says he’s flattered the White Sox and other teams keep asking him for him.

– The Colorado Rockies are making catcher Elias Diaz and starting pitchers Austin Gomber and Cal Quntrill available at the deadline, but infielder Ryan McMahon is staying put.

– Teams would love to have Tigers starter Jack Flaherty, but they also remember his struggles (1-3, 6.75 ERA) after being traded at the deadline last year to the Baltimore Orioles.

– If the San Francisco Giants sell at the trade deadline, teams will pounce on 27-year-old closer Camilo Doval, despite his struggles.

– Could the most electrifying closer in baseball one day be a starter again?

Oakland A’s reliever Mason Miller, who has hit 100-mph on the radar gun on 278 of his pitches, striking out 68 batters in 38⅔ innings, says he’s open to returning to the starting rotation one day if the A’s desire.

“I don’t think I want to close that opportunity,” Miller tells USA TODAY Sports. “If the opportunity presents itself, maybe, but with the success I’ve had [as a closer], I think it’s a difficult decision to say I want to get away from that.”

So could the A’s convert him back to being a starter one day after seeing the success that former relievers Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox and Jordan Hicks of the San Francisco Giants have had this year?

“I don’t know,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay says. “I don’t want to rule that out. But in terms of the arm and what we’re trying to accomplish this full season, we’ll have to evaluate it when we get to that point and see whether the stress and the workload of a starter would be in his line of future. …

“There’s more value there in the innings, but obviously there’s more impact with the opportunity for us to win a game at the back end with him being the closer.’’

– The struggling Brewers may need the All-Star break more than any first-place club. They entered Saturday having lost six of their last eight games.

“I think we’re a little disconnected, to be quite honest,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy told reporters.

– Can you imagine where the Padres could be today had they just held onto their minor-league prospects in recent years?

They have traded: Trea Turner, Max Fried, Emmanuel Clase, Josh Naylor, Andres Muñoz, Ty France, Matt Strahm, Brent Rooker, James Wood, C.J. Abrams and MacKenzie Gore, among others.

– The Yankees, who led the Red Sox by 13 games in the loss column on June 15, only to watch it be reduced to just three games entering Sunday, have a brutal schedule after the trade deadline.

They will open the second half with four games against the Rays, two games against the Mets, three at Boston – and end the month with three in Philadelphia.

– While speculation swirls around where Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora could wind up once he hits free agency after the season, the only Red Sox manager who went onto manage the Yankees was Bucky Harris, who won the 1947 World Series.

– This year’s Home Run Derby may be the dullest in the sense of star power with Mets first baseman Pete Alonso as the headliner.

Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Elly De La Cruz all rejected invitations.

– Three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer of the Rangers told “Foul Territory” that he will not waive his no-trade clause for the third time in four years.

– The Marlins are willing to eat virtually the entirety of first baseman Josh Bell’s $16 million contract for fringe prospects.

– How good is Atlanta’s bullpen?

They are 40-3 when they lead after six innings, 41-2 when leading after seven, and 45-2 when they’re ahead after eight.

– The Dodgers may have one of the best injured pitching staffs in baseball history: Clayton Kershaw, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Walker Buehler, Dustin May, Bobby Miller, Tony Gonsolin and Emmet Sheehan.

– Former Dodgers All-Star right fielder Raul Mondesi’s 6-year, 9-month prison term for corruption as mayor of San Cristobal, has been satisfied, according to a Dominican court, because of his time spent under house arrest.

– Will Royals catcher Salvador Perez end up in Cooperstown? He’s one of seven catchers in baseball history with at least 1,500 hits, 260 home runs and nine All-Star selections.

The other six are in the Hall of Fame.

– It’s stunning that Giants center fielder Heliot Ramos is their first homegrown outfielder to make the All-Star team since Chili Davis in 1986.

– If MLB wants to really market its game with all of its fabulous young players, the Futures Game should be in prime time and not buried in the afternoon on Saturday . Why not prime time Sunday night before the All-Star festivities or Wednesday night after the All-Star Game?

– The Arizona Diamondbacks, who climbed over .500 on Friday for the first time since April 3, could be the most dangerous NL wild-card team if they reach the playoffs, just like a year ago, with a starting rotation of Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Jordan Montgomery, Eduardo Rodriguez and Brandon Pfaadt. Kelly, Montgomery and Rodriguez are all expected to return from the IL in July and early August.

– Hilarious story from Cubs manager Craig Counsell, who played for Hall of Fame manager Jim Leyland with the Florida Marlins:

“When I got traded to the Marlins,’’ Counsell told reporters this week. “It was my first day there and I came out to take early batting practice, because I’m a rookie and I want to work hard and all that stuff.

“After I took early batting practice out there, (Leyland) said, ‘Don’t ever do that again. If I have to watch you hit every day, you will never play.'”

– The St. Petersburg City Council finally is scheduled to decide Thursday on a proposed $6.5 billion redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District that would include a new ballpark for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

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