Trejyn Fletcher’s season debut with the Deering High baseball team drew 21 professional scouts to Hadlock Field, and on Wednesday they watched one of the nation’s top high school prospects go 2 for 3 and display speed and instincts on the bases.
Marshwood showed it was the significantly more prepared team, winning 20-4 in five innings.
Fletcher is one of the top high school prospects in the country. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior outfielder, who throws over 90 mph, is also a potential first-round draft pick in the Major League entry draft on June 4. He’s seen and talked to plenty of scouts.
“I’m used to it. A lot of the events I had last summer, they were also a big presence there,” Fletcher said.
But being professionally critiqued in front of family and former middle school friends is different. The last time Fletcher played high school baseball in southern Maine, he was a freshman at Cheverus. He spent the past two seasons at Trinity-Pawling, a private boarding school in New York.
“I wasn’t really nervous, but it’s definitely pretty cool,” Fletcher said. “This is more of a personal level now. This is where I live, and they’re making their way up here to come see me play.”
Because he repeated his freshman year at Trinity-Pawling, Fletcher had been set to graduate next spring and had risen to No. 1 in scouting service Perfect Game’s class of 2020 rankings. When Fletcher transferred to Deering in February, he reclassified as a senior, thus becoming eligible for the draft upon graduating from high school.
Major league organizations were already well aware of Fletcher’s special combination of speed, power bat and arm strength, said San Diego Padres scout Jake Koenig, a South Carolina resident. But multiple scouting visits are essential because at the top of the draft, “You want to make sure you take the right guy,” Koenig said.
After the game, Fletcher took batting practice. After he switched to a wooden bat, Fletcher hit one home run into the netting above Hadlock’s left-field wall.
Fletcher is committed to Vanderbilt, currently ranked No. 5 in the NCAA coaches’ poll. Fletcher confirmed he can enroll at Vanderbilt in the fall.
“Vanderbilt is still an option. It’s still my number one option. I mean the draft is also another option,” Fletcher said.
Fletcher’s hardest hit ball was his first, a top-spinning two-hopper that exploded off the glove of Marshwood third baseman Jonah Place for an error. The right-handed hitter with a slightly open stance also hooked an outside pitch to left field for a solid single and used his speed to beat out an infield dribbler between the mound and first base.
Marshwood scored eight runs in the first inning and six in the second, drew 15 walks from four Deering pitchers, stole nine bases and scored on a combination of six wild pitches and passed balls.
Deering’s only previous time outdoors was a brief infield session and scrimmage last Friday.
“We weren’t quite ready for today,” said Deering Coach Josh Stowell. “Even though we haven’t been outside, there was some stuff we probably should have addressed indoors that we could have.”
Place (winning pitcher, 2 for 3 with three RBI) said Marshwood knew about the scouts but focused on the game.
“We came here to win more than anything,” said Place. “That was a priority over everything.”
Connor Caverly, a junior catcher committed to Maine, was 1 for 2 with a double, three walks and three runs scored. Trevor Chase and Quinn McDaniel each had two of the Hawks’ 12 hits.
Steve Craig can be reached at 791-6413 or:
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