DEEP RUN — Grant Tyndall’s biggest dream has come true — he has the opportunity to play professional baseball.
Tyndall, a South Lenoir alum considered a five-tool prospect, was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 26th round of Major League Baseball’s 2013 first-year player draft late Saturday afternoon, hours after he walked across the stage at his own graduation.
The selection — he was the 779th player taken overall in this year’s draft — is not only a dream come true, but it makes him the first from South Lenoir to be drafted professionally.
“It was unreal and it was exciting,” Tyndall said before taking the field Sunday for Kinston Post 43 at Jones County Post 154. “I had kind of an idea that I might (get drafted) but I really didn’t know. And then when it happened it was great. My whole family was excited.”
Tyndall, a centerfielder who is crazy fast in the field and on the bases, hit a team-best .362 for the Blue Devils this season and went 16-for-17 in stolen base attempts.
He said he and his family were sitting outside their home by their pool when they saw his name flash across the computer screen while following the draft online. Moments later a Pirates regional scout called Tyndall, he said, to tell him the news.
“(The scout) just said that he was excited,” Tyndall said. “He said he’s going to come watch me play and then they’ll make me an offer.”
Now that the anticipation of being drafted is over, the hardest part of being drafted out of high school is yet to come.
Tyndall must decide on whether to sign a contract and turn pro, or keep his commitment to play baseball at Mount Olive College.
Such decisions are never easy. There’s the money aspect — in terms of a signing bonus — and then there’s the risk of turning down this one sure professional opportunity for perhaps another one in three years, which might not come.
While Tyndall mulls it over, he’ll continue to play for Post 43, but added that as of right now he’s sticking with Mount Olive until the Pirates make an offer.
“As of right now I’m going to go to Mount Olive, unless they give me good money, then I’m going to go (pro),” he said. “It all depends on how much money they give me because that’s a job. You’ve got to live off what they give you this year. That’s what you’ve got to make your living on.
“It’s going to be nerve-wracking, but it’s going to be exciting at the same time. Like I said I’ve always wanted to do it, now it’s finally here.”
First-year South Lenoir baseball coach David Combs is excited for Tyndall, and is glad to have had one year with the player before he was drafted.
“He’s definitely athletic and has a knowledge for the game,” Combs said. “He’s worked so hard, and to see it pay off. He doesn’t have to sit there and worry about (being drafted) anymore, I know it was a relief to him, and I’m just overall proud.”
Combs also feels the draft pick shows that South Lenoir High School is more than just a school in a small town — it has big-time athletes waiting to be discovered.
“It’s great,” he said. “It shows people that South Lenoir isn’t just a school down in Deep Run that nobody knows about. Grant getting drafted and all of the scouts that have been out this year and college coaches, have all been thoroughly impressed with our program.”
If Tyndall decides to forego the Pirates’ offer and doesn’t sign before the July 15th deadline — moved up from August in 2012 — he won’t be eligible to be drafted again until either the completion of his junior year of college, or after he turns 21.
Tyndall is the first from Lenoir County to be drafted since Carter Capps was taken by the Seattle Mariners in the third round in the 2011 draft. Capps, a North Lenoir product, was drafted out of Mount Olive College.
Tyndall’s selection straight out of high school is the first for Lenoir County since Stihl Sowers of North Lenoir was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 2007.
According to the historical baseball database website Baseball-Reference.com, Tyndall is the sixth Lenoir County native to be drafted out of high school since the inaugural first-year player draft was held in 1965. Eddie Palat (Grainger High, 1966), Marvin Hines (NL, 1969), Kevin Battle (NL, 1981), Ben Lanier (Kinston, 2004) and Sowers were also taken out of high school, according to the site.
Ryan Herman can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Ryan.Herman@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KFPSports.
Local MLB draftees taken out of high school
Year Name School Round Team
1966 Eddie Palat Grainger 14 Mets
1969 Marvin Hines N. Lenoir 19 Orioles
1981 Kevin Battle N. Lenoir 8 Pirates
2004 Ben Lanier Kinston 47 Devil Rays
2007 Stihl Sowers N. Lenoir 22 Indians
2013 Grant Tyndall S. Lenoir 26 Pirates
Note: The first MLB first-year player draft was held in 1965
Source: Baseball-Reference.com