A man once hit the ball from one end of his side yard to the other. To the point where the neighbors started to complain, because as he got older, he was hitting their home across the street.

One was buried in a national tourist club and gave up six games when he first played. He was proposed to come back in the next game and get a round. He got two-knocked down five of the six batters he faced.

Someone once threw something so hard in a folding metal garage that it reverberated in the parking lot of the local baseball stadium. It sounded like a sledgehammer hitting a metal nail. Now, every time he pitches, he attracts a large group of people, including a group of major league scouts with radar guns.

Lonnie White Jr. of Malvern Prep, Anthony Solometo of Bishop Eustace and Chase Petty of the Mainland are completely different. Although on Sunday, July 11, they may have one thing in common: everyone can be selected in the first round of the 2021 Major League Baseball Players Draft.

In many people’s memories, as many as three Philadelphia area players were selected in the first round of the MLB draft, which will be unprecedented.

“I think this illustrates how the rest of the country sees this area now,” said Ben Davis, One of the color analysts of the Philadelphians, and the second overall pick of the San Diego Padres from the Malvern Reserve in 1995. Davis is the highest of all regional players in the draft.

Davis said: “At the time, no one in the Northeast was selected that high.” “When I played, I played in Malvern and Brookhaven senior Babe Ruth, and we might play twice a week. Games.

“Now there are training facilities everywhere. In December I had to shovel snow so I could hit my backyard in the batting cage made by my father (laughs). In general, the level of baseball in this area is better. Much. These guys play all year round and they play for these national travel teams. These exhibition areas have children’s venues, which I didn’t see until I was in the AA class.

“The feedback I got from scouts said that the children in these three regions are the real deal-and the numbers don’t lie. This is the number these scouts are looking for.”

White, Solometo, and Petty are all 18 years old-they will be looking at their future in the next few weeks.

Little Lonnie White

Little Lonnie White has an interesting dilemma-a win-win dilemma. He will receive a football scholarship to Penn State University, although White is also a 6-foot-3, 210-pound muscular outfielder. Before becoming an excellent wide receiver, his first love was baseball.

He used to play for countless hours in the side yard of his house. He would throw the ball up to hit the ball, then walk to catch the ball, and then hit the ball back. After a while, White began to attack the house across the street—when he was 8 years old. He is also meticulous, even in football, he is waiting for the match movie to correct what he did wrong. He asked his mother to record his batting swing so he could see the position of his hand.

Davis, a Malvern graduate in 1995, called White “High School Dave Winfield”, Baseball Hall of Fame member He was selected by MLB, NFL and NBA teams.

“Everyone at Penn State University told me to follow my heart. I discussed this with coach (James) Franklin (head coach of Penn State University) and he wanted me to do the best thing for me,” White said , He completed his senior year batting. 395 had 11 doubles, 5 home runs and 25 RBIs. “I started playing baseball for the first time. I just like to play games and play outside by myself.”

White tries not to watch mock drafts, but he is expected to enter the second half of the first round. For those who questioned his commitment to baseball, White initially promised to play football in Clemson, but when they said that White could play football and baseball there, they turned to Pennsylvania State University.

For those who might doubt his power, in last year’s Area code games, White hit a 421-foot home run to knock Indiana’s Luke Hayden out of midfield.

An ESPN mock draft sent White to the Minnesota Twins at No. 26, and another respected mock draft sent him to the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers at No. 29.

Many experts call White one of the most physically gifted athletes in the draft.

If he goes to Pennsylvania State University, he may one day enter the NFL. If he is selected by a major league team and the life-changing money he receives is enough to prevent him from participating in college football games, then he will become a juvenile millionaire and one day may enter the major leagues.

White has been compared to Dodgers outfielder Justin Upton and San Diego Padres’ Tommy Fan.

“There are many things to consider,” White said. “I can choose either way. My goal is to play in the NFL or the Grand Slam, whichever one. I want to get an education, which is important to me and my family. I like playing football and baseball. I admit, I I like playing baseball. I have always liked it.

“I heard the first and second rounds of some people. I talked with the Phillies scouts (they chose No. 13). I’m accepting all this and trying to enjoy this moment. It also makes People are frustrated. There are a lot of things to do and a lot of things to consider.”

Anthony Solometo

A few years ago, on a Friday in the area code game, Anthony Solometo might think all this was impossible. He has just been bombarded on the national stage. He should be closed, and he gave up six base runs and was pulled down before the end of the inning. Everyone looked at him as if he had just died on the court-they would never see him again.

They are wrong.

Solometo came to the dugout, where his manager asked him a question he already knew the answer-whether he wanted to go back and pitch again on Monday. Solometo was not sullen. In the next two days, he let his teammates take root and returned on Monday.

It was then that he knocked down five of the six batsmen he faced and defeated one batsman who reached the base.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound, left-handed North Carolina state promised that this changed everything. This shows that he belongs to him.

“I remember driving back to the hotel after being bombarded, I remember I didn’t say anything and hated what happened,” Solometo recalled, who beat Pennsauken’s You 5-0 last season. Bishop Stas. He has 64 strikeouts, only 5 walks in 32 2/3 innings, and has a staggering 0.21 ERA. “After returning to the hotel, I told myself I belonged to me. The next time I pitched, it convinced me.

“I want to be the best. I say that there is no problem. You work hard, you invest time, you have the ability, and anyone wants to be the best in what they do. You have to believe in yourself.”

As a Gloucester Catholic who moved to Eustace in his junior year, Solometo is expected to be selected 13th in a mock draft by the Phillies, and MLB’s most recent mock draft made Solometo Selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in 19th place. “Some teams think Solometo is the best left-handed player.”

In addition to ability, it is his character that should push Solometo to the top.

“Anthony has been with us for the past two years and I knew he was outstanding before he came to us, winning the state championship at the Gloucester Catholic Church,” said Eustace’s senior baseball coach Sam Tropiano. . “I’ve heard from every (MLB) team. He throws at 94 mph, 95 mph, and he can get the ball in and out. What makes Anthony different is his major league calmness.

“He sits at the end of the dugout, completely focused on what he has to do. He doesn’t talk to anyone, and no one talks to Anthony when he pitches because he usually doesn’t hit and no one wants to talk to him. But I have to include this-when Anthony is not pitching, he is the loudest kid on the bench and loses his voice when cheering everyone at the end of the game.

“He’s just a great kid. If he ends up in North Carolina, that’s great. But he will never go to North Carolina. Also no one weighs his character.”

When Eustace’s second baseman Danny Obermeier broke his thumb and ended his season, Solometo asked before the game to change his jersey number to Obermeier’s To commemorate his teammates. When Eustace Batman, 12-year-old Franco lost his father to pancreatic cancer, Solometo summoned his high school teammates to participate in a regional competition for Franco.

“Anthony is a good guy who happens to be a baseball star. Many times a superstar, whether it is a high school, college or professional player, is not like that,” Tropiano said. “Anthony understands, you have stars, grown men, they don’t.”

Chase Petty

When Chase Petty was 8 years old, the ball was as big as his hand. His father Bob would roll down the metal garage of the facility building next to their field and let Chase throw a ball at it. What damage can an 8-year-old kid do to a metal garage door, right?

The dent is still inside.

Chase Petty has been jetting since he was born. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound right-handed pitcher is located in Linwood near the Jersey Shore and has a speed of 102 mph-this is not a typo.

He is considered the first high school pitcher to exceed 100 mph. When he was 12 years old, he threw in the mid-70s. When he was 14 years old, he was in the 80s. At the age of 15, his grades reached 88 years old. By the age of 16, his throwing speed was between 92-94 mph. He reached 100 points and 17 points in the area code game.

Before it bites you, it attacks the batter like a hissing snake.

As we all know, Petty used his power to break something.

“It’s weird to throw 100 points because I have been throwing hard since I was 12 years old and it always feels the same,” said Petty, a player from Florida who was rated as a national athletic ability by the American Baseball Association. The second highest high school pitcher. This year’s draft and may go to the Dodgers. “At first, it was a little weird when someone came to see me. Over time, I got used to it. This summer, I saw every game.

“I know it’s there, but it doesn’t affect me anymore.”

After Petty had a bullpen meeting Carpenter cup Last week, Petty had a race with someone. This is him, this is part of his competitive nature.

Petty said: “I accepted this because it’s what any kid who plays baseball wants, and it’s great to make it a reality.” “I love Florida. I’m glad I chose to go there. Major Leagues The team let me know that they like me and I approach it in the same way as major league teams approach it.

“I am waiting for it anxiously and I am very happy about it. I think it is a win-win situation for me. If I go to Florida, I will win. This is a great school with great Courses. If I am selected in the first round, I sign, and I win there. I take a peek at the (mock) draft and I like to see where people put me.

“I looked at it, and then I was over. When the ball released my hand, I knew there was something behind it.”

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Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sports writer in the Philadelphia area. He has been writing for PhillyVoice since its establishment in 2015 and is the president of the American Boxing Writers Association. He can follow on Twitter: @JSantoliquito.