Josh Timmerman (Ohio State, Milwaukee Brewers) minutes after he received the call that he’s been drafted in the 15th round of the MLB Draft. Photo credit Sadie Parker.
by Eamonn Ryan
BREWSTER—Josh Timmerman (Ohio State) turns around and walks out of the woods just beyond Stony Brook Field’s left-field foul pole with a huge grin on his face.
As he puts his phone in his back pocket, Timmerman is greeted with a sea of smiling faces and cheers for the call he just received: the Milwaukee Brewers selected him in the 15th round of the MLB Draft.
“It’s kind of happening so fast,” Timmerman said. “I’m just gonna try and be in the moment and go along with it.”
Timmerman is one of 22 current or former Whitecaps who were selected in the 2023 MLB Draft. He joined fellow 2023 Whitecaps teammates Trevor Werner (7th round, Kansas City Royals), Julian Brock (8th round, Texas Rangers), Ernie Day (14th round, Seattle Mariners), Kyle Scott (15th round, Cleveland Guardians) and Weston Eberly (16th round, Chicago White Sox).
For these players, they might view this as the pinnacle of their baseball careers, but Whitecaps manager Jamie Shevchik always reminds players that getting drafted is not the end, but rather the start of their next chapter.
“The goal should never be just to get drafted,” Shevchik said. “The goal should be to play Major League Baseball for a career and make a career out of it.”
That goal is still a ways away for many of these players, as those who sign will begin at the minor league level. The journey typically includes long bus rides to inglorious locations and mascots that sound like they were sprung from the imagination of a 10-year-old.
“Minor League Baseball is playing in front of very few fans and not the greatest facilities,” Shevchik said. “And if you can’t handle it here, you’re never going to handle it in pro ball.”
The 2023 Whitecaps who were selected certainly showed they could handle it here in the Cape Cod Baseball League.
After a shortened season at Ohio State, Timmerman pitched magnificently, posting a 2.00 ERA in 18 innings with 22 strikeouts to go along with it.
On the offensive side, Trevor Werner came in and raked at the plate, hitting .343 in 10 games, racking up 11 RBI which included a grand slam. He earned Cape League Player of the Week honor in the season’s third week. The professionalism and mindset he displayed were also well-received by the Brewster coaching staff and dugout.
“He’s a little bit of a unicorn because he didn’t get drafted last year,” Shevchik said. “Out here for two years, I got to witness the best Trevor Warner has to offer and the numbers show it.”
Ernie Day showed off on the mound, as he started two games and allowed just one run through 8.1 innings pitched, striking out 14 hitters with his mid-90s fastball and filthy cutter.
The summer stats are not as meaningful anymore, however, as the former Whitecap players focus on their future careers as professional baseball players. Nevertheless, Shevchik wants them to remember these times too and the relationships they built spending summers on Cape Cod.
“Hopefully we get a chance to run into the guys who got drafted somewhere down the road in the minor leagues and hopefully the big leagues, but I’m happy for all of them,” Shevchik said. “This is why they’re here. They’re in this league to play professional baseball.”
Whitecaps 2023 draftees:
Ryan Lasko (2022) — Round 2, Pick 41 — Oakland Athletics
Grant Taylor (2022) — Round 2, Pick 51 — Chicago White Sox
Cade Kuehler (2022) — Round 2, Pick 70 — Atlanta Braves
Teddy McGraw (2021, 2022) — Round 3, Pick 92 — Seattle Mariners
Hunter Owen (2021, 2022) — Round 4, Pick 106 — Kansas City Royals
Cam Fisher (2022) — Round 4, Pick 131 — Houston Astros
Trevor Werner (2022, 2023) — Round 7, Pick 199 — Kansas City Royals
Justin Storm (2023) — Round 7, Pick 203 — Miami Marlins
Patrick Copen (2022) — Round 7, Pick 220 — Los Angeles Dodgers
Julian Brock (2023) — Round 8, Pick 231 — Texas Rangers
Nick Lorusso (2022) — Round 9, Pick 276 — New York Mets
Christian Pregent (2021) — Round 10, Pick 306 — New York Mets
Ernie Day (2023) — Round 14, Pick 427 — Seattle Mariners
Zane Morehouse (2022) — Round 14, Pick 428 — Cleveland Guardians
Jackson Nezuh (2022) — Round 14, Pick 434 — Houston Astros
Will Simpson (2021) — Round 15, Pick 436 — Oakland Athletics
Dylan Simmons (2021) — Round 15, Pick 438 — Cincinnati Reds
Kyle Scott (2023) — Round 15, Pick 458 — Cleveland Guardians
Weston Eberly (2023) — Round 16, Pick 479 — Chicago White Sox
Josh Timmerman (2023) — Round 16, Pick 482 — Milwaukee Brewers
Troy Butler (2022) — Round 20, Pick 592 — Colorado Rockies