Lamar King Jr. not often sees his father cry. But when the Calvert Hall baseball standout heard his identify known as within the fourth spherical of the 2022 MLB draft by the San Diego Padres, even Lamar King Sr. shed tears.
The Baltimore Sun first-team All-Metro catcher is dedicated to Georgia Tech, however King instructed The Baltimore Sun that he plans to signal with the Padres after they chose him with the one hundred and twentieth general choose.
“Everything that I’ve done came to pay off,” King mentioned. “I wasn’t shocked. My family was crying and everything. A few tears came from my eyes cause I was just so excited. It’s probably the greatest feeling I’ve ever had.”
King is the son of former Seattle Seahawks defensive finish Lamar King Sr., who was chosen within the first spherical of the 1999 NFL draft and performed 5 years within the league.
His son has an analogous construct, standing 6-foot-3 at 215 kilos, even when most of that body is crouched behind the plate more often than not. That may not be the normal body for a catcher, however King has confirmed himself behind the plate, and the Padres purchased in.
“I think they get a hard-working power hitter, a big-sized player,” mentioned longtime Calvert Hall coach Lou Eckerl, who retired on the finish of the college 12 months after 20 years of teaching. “But he gets extremely low when he catches. He’s got soft hands, he’s got a powerful arm. I think they got a great player and a hard-working kid who will do whatever he needs to do to be successful.”
King was ranked because the No. 102 prospect in ESPN baseball analyst Kiley McDaniel’s record of the Top 300 prospects for the 2022 draft. The one hundred and twentieth choice within the draft has an anticipated slot worth of $502,600, probably swaying King away from Georgia Tech.
With a dad who has gone by way of the draft-day preparation earlier than — albeit in a special sport — King felt a stable base beneath him coming into the second day of the draft.
“I look up to [my dad] a lot,” King mentioned. “He’s taught me so much on the mental side and the physical side. From a young age, he always told me what it takes, and I’ve always followed it, and it put me in the position I am right now.”
The Padres had chosen all pitchers to start their draft earlier than nabbing King, including him to a company that has one other Baltimore-area native within the pipeline. San Diego chosen former Severna Park star Jackson Merrill with the twenty seventh general choose within the first spherical final 12 months, and the shortstop now ranks No. 87 in Baseball America’s prime 100 prospects record.
King mentioned he plans to succeed in out to Merrill, and he’s excited to hitch a company with stars resembling shortstop Fernando Tatís Jr.
A pair of Baltimore-area highschool alums have been taken within the third spherical of the 2021 draft, with former Calvert Hall infielder Jose Torres going to the Cincinnati Reds and Gilman right-hander Peter Heubeck taken by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
King batted .506 with 14 dwelling runs and 38 RBIs for Calvert Hall, serving to lead the Cardinals to a 17-6 report in Eckerl’s ultimate season. Now he’ll head to the Padres’ group.
“I’m just extremely happy for him, for all the hard work and effort that he put in, to have this happen,” Eckerl mentioned. “And it worked for him.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com