Athlete of the Week: Finley’s fast rise partly fueled by one summer day
Drew Finley rolled out of bed before 6 a.m. on the final day of the 18U National Team tryouts in late August. The Rancho Bernardo High senior slipped on his USA jersey to do an interview with MLB.com.
It was the end of a phenomenal summer by the 6-foot-3, 200-pound, right-handed pitcher, who led all the top prospective hurlers in just about every statistical category.
His fastball was sitting around 90-91 mph and was often touching 93. His curveball was deemed major-league status. And his control was improving with each day.
Things got even better when he went from the alternate list to the trial list of the 18U National Team. That meant he would get his shot at making the team.
He landed in Houston in late August. On the morning of his interview with MLB.com, Finley was feeling pretty good about his performance over the week.
“I had a pretty good trial,” Finley said. “I established all three of my pitches and I felt good.”
But, after the taping and a little more baseball, the bad news came. Finley was cut, just missing out on making the 20-man roster that would go on to play in the 18U COPABE Pan American Championship in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
“I talked with the coaches and they said I was one of the last kids to get cut,” Finley said. “That put a chip on my shoulder to get better. It might have been a blessing in disguise.”
Judging by his performance this spring, it most certainly was.
Finley has been masterful for the Broncos. Entering this week, he carries a 5-0 record with a 0.64 earned run average. He has three complete games and a shutout. But most impressive is his strikeout to walk ratio, 57 to four.
“He has really taken a different approach mentally this year,” longtime Broncos’ pitching coach Mark Furtak said. “He works on a schedule and has a routine. He has to ask me what time it is 10 times. He has to do everything on time. He has his routine and that is a good thing.”
Finley opened the season projected to be a top-five round pick in the draft. But on ESPN’s Keith Law’s latest list, he was ranked as the 22nd best prospect.
“I try to stay away from that kind of stuff,” Finley said. “But when you see that from a top-caliber guy at ESPN it gets you happy. But you have to stay humble and it doesn’t matter if you are No. 22 or No. 122, you have to finish the year right.”
He is not having much trouble with that thus far. His 20 strikeout performance against Ramona last week earned him national headlines. It set the San Diego Section large-school record in a seven inning game (national record is 24).
“Coming out of the bullpen before the game, I didn’t think it was going to be my day,” Finley said of the record-breaking outing. “Then I started striking people out and I knew there was a lot, but I didn’t know how many. I was focused on winning because it was a 2-1 game.”
It was the kind of outing that gets you selected early in the draft. And with that comes the kind of money that convinces you to skip out on USC and go straight to the pros. But that will be a decision Finley thinks about later.
“Pro ball is my biggest dream,” he said. “But then USC would be a great education and it is a top-10 program. It is a really big decision. I will be with my family on draft day and then make the decision based on whatever fits best.”