PHOENIX — The MLB draft combine continued Wednesday at Chase Field in Downtown Phoenix with more than 300 of baseball's top prospects all in one place.
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Many of the players opted out of the on-field workouts but the interview process with all 30 MLB teams can be a mental workout in and of itself. Dan Otero, a former big leaguer who now works as the Senior Director of On-Field Operations for MLB, says executives value these one-on-one meetings before investing in a young athlete.
“The organization’s just trying to get a feel for who they are as people which I think they really value,” Otero said. “They get to know who they are on a personal level a little bit more because they've all done their homework on who they are between the white lines.”
This is a golden opportunity for baseball's decision makers to learn what makes these talented athletes tick. While the questions could be geared toward a player’s interests and hobbies outside of baseball, some questions could come out of left field. For example, one of the questions Otero heard asked in meetings this week is “Are you a lion or a bear?”
For Saguaro High School product and Arizona’s Gatorade Player of the Year, Cam Caminiti, the MLB Draft Combine marks another big step in his baseball career. The 17-year-old LSU commit is poised to become the next big baseball star out of Arizona and having the Combine happening in his own backyard makes this process even more special.
“When I was like five years old, that's what I dreamed of. Being here and being in this stadium, being on this field, it's incredible,” Caminiti said. “This is what I’ve prepared for my whole life. I'm ready for this, either college or the draft, one of the two. I've got a great opportunity in front of me.”
The MLB Draft begins July 14 at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth.
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