York Community High School star pitcher Ryan Sloan could be headed for MLB Draft
BENSENVILLE, Ill. (CBS) -- Ryan Sloan recently finished a stellar career at York Community High School in Elmhurst—and was named Gatorade Player of the Year for Illinois.
Sloan, one of the top pitching prospects in country, is now busy preparing for the next level—and could likely hear his name called in the first round of the MLB Draft
Sloan finished his senior season at York with a .30 ERA. The 6-foot 4-inch right-hander gave up 2 earned runs and struck out 90 batters through 46 innings with five walks—stats that could be credited in part to his even-keel attitude.
"You know, I always thought like you can't get too high or too low," Sloan said. "Like, you've just got to stay on an even line, and eventually, you know, over time, you'll end up going up. You know, you can't give into, like, all the curves."
It is a mentality that, much like his velocity, is ahead of his years.
"I work with pro guys that don't do that till the middle of April. He's in here just cruising at 97 [mph] in high school, and that was when I knew, it was like, OK, this is really going to be something special," said Logan Schmitt, director of pitching at BSF Sports Performance Bensenville with whom Sloan practices. "And now it's just like, let's keep him on this path, and steer clear of anything crazy."
Obviously, what Sloan does on the mound is something you don't see every day. But what is really impressive is his work ethic.
"From the day he walked in, he was just all business. You know, what's great about Ryan is he can come in and hang out with all the guys, and be a kid," said BSF Bensenville director of sports performance James Young, "and then when it's time to work, he can really flip that switch and get to work."
Sloan's coaches said his work ethic is well above and beyond the average 18-year-old athlete.
"He'll have an outing and be like, 'Hey I really felt this today,'" said Schmitt. "That's awesome. Like, you're 18. Like, the fact that that's what you're thinking about as soon as you finished your outing—not like what you're going to go eat, or who you're going to hang out with—is really cool to me, and part of the reason why he's going to get called when he is."
Sloan helped lead York to back-to-back fourth-place finishes in the state.
After practices, he would also work with instructors at BSF Performance—but he enjoys every minute of getting better.
"On my one off day, like, I don't know what to do with myself, you know, because I don't play a lot of video games anymore, like, I kind of bore myself—especially if my buddies can't go play pickleball or something," Sloan said in his interview at BSF Bensenville. "But I have a really good group of people here."
Would Sloan say he's addicted to working?
"I would say so," he said.
Sloan said he went from 180 to 230 pounds in three years. The consensus number-one ranked player in state has even surprised himself with his pitches at times, along the way.
"I picked up a changeup last year. I'll throw it sometimes, and I'm just like… I don't know how it's doing that, because I'm not putting spin on it or anything. It just dives off. I'm like, OK that looks pretty good to me. My catcher is like going to reach to catch it," Sloan said. "I just built some confident with that."
Now. the Wake Forest commit awaits his fate in next month's MLB draft as a top 20 prospect. but like his demeanor on the hill, Sloan is calm and confident about the future.
"I like to call it a win-win. Like, no matter what happens, like, if I go to college and play at Wake Forest, I get a good degree and get to play for a really good baseball program, or, you know, you get to live out everyone's dream try to go make it to the big show."
Sloan went to the MLB Draft Combine in Phoenix and interviewed with teams, did not throw.
He is no doubt making his family proud, as his dad, David, was a starting pitcher for York's state champion team in 1993.
