ATTLEBORO, MASS. — The game had already been decided. Bishop Feehan High School 2, Attleboro High School 1, with the Shamrocks winning in walk-off fashion.
Players, coaches and parents celebrated on the field, basking in a season that has brought more attention to Bishop Feehan baseball than at any point in the program's history. But the real reason for attention stood near his domain on the mound — Brody Bumila.
The tool used to compact the clay looked almost toy-like in the hands of the 6-foot-9 left-hander, whose massive frame distorts perspective much like his high-powered 101 mph fastball.
A Season to Remember
Bumila didn't pitch that day. He didn't need to. His presence still filled the ballpark.
The buzz surrounding Bishop Feehan this spring was largely his doing. The life coursing through the program had been amplified by what Bumila accomplished on the mound, including a 20-strikeout no-hitter that only further fueled the attention.
Draft Projection
He's committed to Texas, but few inside the game expect him to ever throw a pitch in Austin.
The 6-foot-9 left-hander is widely projected to be a first-round pick in July's MLB Draft (projected as the No. 21 overall pick in CBS Sports' first Mock Draft), cementing himself as perhaps the most coveted high school player Massachusetts has ever produced.
"It would be so cool to be a first-round draft pick because that's my dream," he said. "But that's the first step of the dream."
His high school coach, Joe Breen, took it a step further: "He wants to be round No. 1, pick No. 1. He wants a Cy Young, World Series. He wants it all."
High Risk, High Reward
There is an industry-wide reluctance to spend first-round picks on high school pitchers. The reasons are understandable — teenagers are still growing into their bodies. The jump from pitching once a week in high school to the demandingSchedule of professional baseball can be difficult to predict.
"The Bumila kid, he's got everything you want to see," said a former MLB executive who has watched Bumila this spring. "He's got arm strength. You could tell there's aptitude there. He's gonna get a better feel for a breaking ball and changeup."
But the executive understands the volatility attached to projecting teenage pitchers. Of the 53 high school pitchers drafted in the first round between 2013 and 2022, 30% (16) failed to reach the majors.
"Yet despite all of that," he continued, "he can go out there to the minor leagues and never get out of A-ball."
Focused on Development
In Bumila's case, his high-powered fastball and size are the hook. Standing next to him, it's easy to forget he's only 18.
The projected first-round pick deleted his social media accounts to tune out the chatter surrounding his future and spend his final high school season doing what most seniors want to do: enjoy it with his friends.
But talent of this caliber comes with scrutiny. As one league executive put it: "Bumila has an elite fastball, solid life, good extension, but the rest of his mix needs development."
Overpowering high school hitters in Massachusetts, where the competition isn't viewed through the same lens as baseball hotbeds in the South or West, can only tell evaluators so much.
"They are so difficult to evaluate," added another executive. "How is Brody's stuff going to evolve?"