Los Gatos Weekly Times

Los Gatos grad Tommy Troy selected 12th overall in MLB Draft

Stanford infielder a first-round pick by the Arizona Diamondbac­ks

- By Phil Jensen

When former Los Gatos baseball coach Justin Oliver watched Tommy Troy on the field before his freshman season for the Wildcats, Oliver could see the future.

Also a Major League Baseball scout at the time, Oliver immediatel­y recognized Troy's talent.

“I told my boss, you have to keep an eye on that guy. (Troy) was only 14, but you could just see it. When someone's special, the game comes easy to him,” said Oliver, who was Los Gatos' head coach Troy's senior season and an assistant for the previous three years. “I knew as a freshman that Tommy had the tools. I said if he stays healthy, he will get drafted one day.”

On Sunday, after an outstandin­g collegiate career at Stanford, Troy was selected 12th overall by the Arizona Diamondbac­ks in the MLB Draft.

“I would always love going to Diamondbac­ks games and watching them play,” Troy told mlb.com's Steve Gilbert on Sunday.

Troy had a chance to see Diamondbac­ks games when he played in travel tournament­s growing up: “And then they're obviously having an awesome season this year, so I really love the program and I'm so excited to be a part of this.”

Troy, a 5-foot-10, 197-pound infielder, describes hitting high-velocity fastballs as one of his skills.

“I feel like that's just a product of my approach,” Troy said. “I like to be aggressive to the fastball and adjust otherwise. I feel like I'm not really affected by high velocities very much, so I think that's what makes me confident in the adjustment into pro ball — that I'll be able to handle velocity just fine.”

Troy was a national recruit before he even started high school, as he competed in the 2016 USA Baseball 14-under National Team Developmen­t Program.

He made the varsity team at Los Gatos as a freshman, but really hit his stride his sophomore season. In 2018, he led the Wildcats in batting average (.367), home runs (four), RBI (26), doubles (10), triples (three), stolen bases (15), hits (36) and slugging percentage (.653), as the Wildcats reached the Central Coast Section Open Division championsh­ip game.

“He's a magician with the bat. … He had a way to find barrel,” Oliver said. “I've never coached anyone who worked as hard as Tommy Troy. He is a workhorse. He is taking 200 ground balls before practice, 200 after.”

Troy continued to stand out for the Wildcats his junior season. In 2019, he led the team in eight offensive statistics, including batting average (.381), home runs (five), runs (30), hits (32), doubles (seven) and stolen bases (16).

His eventual last game as a Wildcat, on March 10, 2020, showcased Troy's considerab­le skills. Troy went 2 for 3 with two home runs, five RBIS and three runs scored in a 13-4 nonleague win over Leland.

“He hit a ball about 420 feet at Leland,” said Oliver about that game. “Tommy comes up to me and said `Skip, was I on my front foot?' He's never satisfied. That's what makes him who

he is today.”

But the rest of Troy's high school senior season

was lost to the coronaviru­s pandemic.

“To project what he

would have done, we would have seen records set at Los Gatos,” Oliver said.

Troy headed to Stanford and continued to excel.

After a freshman season in which had 10 home runs and 28 RBIS, Troy started 46 games as a sophomore in 2022, batting .339 with 34 runs scored, 23 RBIS, 15 doubles, seven home runs, three triples and five stolen bases.

This season, he was named third-team Allamerica­n by Baseball America after leading the Cardinal in batting average (.394) while also scoring 76 runs, hitting 17 home runs with 58 RBIS. Troy won the Pac-12 batting title (.404) during the regular season.

“It's incredible what he's done. It couldn't happen to a better person,” Oliver said. “Just a high-character individual. The person he is stood out to me more than the player … He's humble, he's never had a big ego.”

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 ?? NHAT V. MEYER — STAFF ARCHIVES ?? Stanford's Tommy Troy was named third-team All-american by Baseball America after leading the Cardinal in batting average (.394) while also scoring 76runs, hitting 17home runs with 58RBIS. Troy won the Pac-12batting title (.404) during the regular season.
NHAT V. MEYER — STAFF ARCHIVES Stanford's Tommy Troy was named third-team All-american by Baseball America after leading the Cardinal in batting average (.394) while also scoring 76runs, hitting 17home runs with 58RBIS. Troy won the Pac-12batting title (.404) during the regular season.
 ?? LIPO CHING — STAFF ARCHIVES ?? Los Gatos grad Tommy Troy (13) went 12th overall to the Arizona Diamondbac­ks in Sunday's first round of the MLB Draft.
LIPO CHING — STAFF ARCHIVES Los Gatos grad Tommy Troy (13) went 12th overall to the Arizona Diamondbac­ks in Sunday's first round of the MLB Draft.

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