Stoneman Douglas star Mayo motivated by his fallen classmates
Baseball star Coby Mayo’s high school years have been incredibly tumultuous.
As a Stoneman Douglas sophomore, Mayo was on campus when a shooter murdered 14 fellow students and three members of the school’s staff, breaking the nation’s collective heart.
“You can’t look back on that day without praying for all those families,” Mayo said. “We were all devastated.
“[But] God was looking over me that day, and I’m grateful.”
This year has been a difficult one for Mayo. Rather than complete his final prep season, make a run toward a possible state championship, enjoy senior prom and then graduate in front of friends and family, none of those things happened. Instead, the coronavirus pandemic shut down the global economy, claiming more than 100,000 American lives and counting.
It is against that backdrop — and the fatal arrest of George Floyd that has sparked nationwide protests against police brutality — that Mayo, 18, prepares for this year’s MLB Draft, set for Wednesday and Thursday.
Mayo, mature for his age, said Douglas coach Todd Fitz-Gerald’s words after the shooting have stuck with him.
“He told us we could either crawl into a hole or play for those who didn’t make it,” Mayo said. “[The victims] are my motivation.”
Added Fitz-Gerald: “It’s been a rough three years for this senior class. But I tell Coby and his teammates to keep moving forward. It’s about perseverance.”
Besides the inner strength Mayo has used to get past the tragic times he has lived through, he has some other noteworthy traits.
At 6-5 and 215 pounds, Mayo is a well-built third baseman with massive arm strength and home run power.
A three-year starter ranked as the nation’s 78th-best prospect as rated by Baseball America, Mayo had a career .387 batting average to go with 11 doubles, one triple, 13 homers and 62 runs scored in 163 at-bats.
Those are monster numbers — as are his .539 onbase percentage and a 1,245 OPS — and he is also a force defensively.
“He probably has the best throwing arm of any infielder in the nation,” Fitz-Gerald said of Mayo, whose fastball off the mound has been clocked at 94 mph. “He’s very projectable.”
Fitz-Gerald compares Mayo to another former Broward County star: Nick
Castellanos, who led the American League in triples in 2017 and is now the Cincinnati Reds’ right fielder.
Mayo, a projected second-round pick, has signed with the Florida Gators and could end up at UF if the pro team that drafts him doesn’t offer what he feels is the right signing bonus.
Fitz-Gerald often played Mayo at shortstop the past two years to help the prospect improve his agility, footwork and hands. But Mayo’s future position is an open question.
“I don’t know that [Mayo] sticks at third base,” Fitz-Gerald said. “I would say he ends up in the outfield, and he’s athletic enough to do it.”
Mayo, the youngest of four brothers, is OK with the infield/outfield conjecture.
“If people had a perfect [scouting report] on me, there wouldn’t be much to write about,” Mayo reasoned. “But I take it as fire
Douglas’ Coby Mayo under me.
“I think I will stick at third base. I don’t see it as a problem. Playing at shortstop the past two years has been great for my mobility.”
THIS AND THAT
This year’s draft figures to be a tough task for scouts, given the fact that the college and prep seasons were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic.
As Baseball America points out in its latest edition, had the 2019 college baseball season lasted just four weeks as it did this year, then a player such as former Missouri outfielder Kameron Misner might have been a top-10 pick.
Misner, now with the Marlins, hit .393 with five homers, 20 walks and just 10 strikeouts in the first four weeks of 2019. But when he slumped a bit in SEC play, he slipped to selection No. 35.
By cutting the draft back from 40 rounds to just five this year, each major-league team figures to save about $2.7 million.