GOING, GOING, GONE
Local products Liberatore, Gorman selected in top 20 of MLB draft
Glendale Mountain Ridge pitcher Matthew Liberatore waited it out in his home with family, teammates and friends nearby Monday.
A few miles away, Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor third baseman Nolan Gorman did the same.
Finally, after nearly two hours, Liberatore was chosen No. 16 overall by the Tampa Bay Rays. He embraced his father, Anthony, sharing the moment. His mother quickly put a Rays hat on his head before an interview on MLB Network.
“It’s been fun so far,” Liberatore told MLB Network. “I really enjoy the process. I’m super happy to be here and be in this position.”
Three picks later, Gorman, a power-hitting, lefthanded hitter and Liberatore’s best friend since childhood, was chosen by the St. Louis Cardinals. What a relief.
Both were projected to go higher in the always unpredictable MLB draft, but it turned out to be a good day for both.
“The strangeness of the draft affected a ton of high prospects, so it made the wait easier,” O’Connor coach Jeff Baumgartner said in a text message. “(The Gorman) family was overwhelmed with joy about going to a quality organization.”
Liberatore and Gorman may be the first two Arizona high school players in the same year to be picked among the first 20 players in the draft.
They grew up dreaming of being bigleague players. They played on the same teams growing up until they reached high school and went to rival schools.
Gorman hit better than .400 with 10 home runs and 46 walks, leading O’Connor to its first 6A state baseball championship. It came against Mountain Ridge, but Liberatore, 6-foot-5, 200 pounds, wasn’t able to pitch in the final after he had met the pitch limit a few days earlier in a semifinal victory.
Gorman, a plus-power hitter from the left side who won three national home run derby contests last summer, was predicted to go No. 12 by Baseball America. He hit .419 for his varsity career with 32 home runs and 118 RBIs.
Liberatore, whose fastball was clocked anywhere from 89 to 96 mph, developed a fourth pitch – a slider – last season, increasing his draft stock even more.
He also kept batters off balance with an occasional quick-pitch delivery. Some baseball experts felt he was the most polished high school pitcher in the draft.
He struck out 104 batters in 60 1/3 innings, going 8-1 with a 0.93 ERA, last season.
In the only meeting between Liberatore and Gorman, Liberatore got Gorman out in each of his three plate appearances, including a strikeout, in a 2-1 victory.
According to MLB.com, the draft values at Nos. 16 and 19 are $3.6 million and $3.2 million, respectively.
Both had committed during their sophomore year to play at the University of Arizona.
They teamed up last summer with the USA Baseball 18U national team to beat Korea for the gold medal in the Junior World championships. Liberatore pitched six scoreless innings in the 8-0 championship game.
Anthony Liberatore said in a text that it was too early to know if his son will sign soon with the Rays.