Hartsville's Lyles has had rapid rise to top of MLB draft

Long bus rides often can be tedious and mind-numbing for any high school baseball player.

But the Hartsville Red Foxes have found a way to pass the time in recent years.

“Man those kids, they love to hear those stories about playing in the minors,” Hartsville coach Jacob Shumate said. “They always want you to talk about who you played with, who you saw and what it was like playing baseball for a living.”

Shumate was a 1994 first-round selection by the Atlanta Braves and spent nearly eight years working his way through the minors before a shoulder injury sidelined him for good.

Now, 14 years later, another Hartsville standout is hoping to follow a similar path — and have stories of his own to tell one day.

Hartsville’s standout right-hander Jordan Lyles was selected 38th overall by the Houston Astros on Thursday, the highest a Red Fox has been taken since Shumate.

Needless to say, the pick surprised plenty of people — including Lyles.

“I had no idea I was going that high,” Lyles said. “I wasn’t by my phone and didn’t get a call or anything. I was actually going to my room to get some sleep before graduation, walked by the TV and saw my name.

“I had to look twice to make sure it was me.”

Rapid rise

No one event sparked Lyles’ climb up the prospect list, but rather a two-year body of work.

And, according to Shumate, it probably all started at the 2007 Southeastern Baseball Classic.

Pitching against Paul VI, a nationally ranked team from Fairfax, Va., Lyles allowed only one baserunner, a solo home run, in a 1-0 defeat.

“Jordan had been working on developing a cutter — a cut fastball — and that was the game he really seemed to get command of it,” Shumate said. “Since then, it’s pretty much been lights out when he’s on the mound.”

The Red Foxes’ state championship in ’07 also brought more notoriety Lyles’ way after he pitched the deciding game, a three-hit shutout as the Red Foxes blanked North Augusta 6-0. By the time his senior season rolled around, scouts could be seen at nearly all of Lyles’ games.

A mid-March matchup against Region 6-4A foe Sumter pitted Lyles against the Gamecocks’ Matt Price, another highly touted pitching prospect.

“Naturally, there was a lot of interest in the game,” Lyles’ agent Lee Long said. “There were about eight or nine (scouts) from various teams in the audience, and that was the night Jordan started to show some progression in his velocity.”

Lyles’ fastball normally was in the 87-89 mph range, but on a cold night in Sumter, he hit 91 on the radar gun more than hit 88, Long said.

“I just felt really good that night, and my arm was a lot looser than it normally was,” Lyles said. “My fastball just had a little more zip to it.”

From Hartsville to Houston

The Sumter game probably was what put him on the Astros’ radar, Lyles said.

“They started talking to (Lee) a little more and came to see me pitch a lot after that,” Lyles said.

And so did a lot of other scouts.

“At Jordan’s next start in Hartsville, there were probably 31 scouts compared to eight the game before,” Long said.

A handful of teams showed interest, but the Astros, Dodgers, Braves, Phillies and the Royals showed the most interest, Long said.

Beginning Monday, May 19, Lyles began a three-week trek that took him to Georgia three times and finally to Houston.

On June 1, less than four days before the draft, Lyles pitched in front of a number of Houston’s top scouts.

“We were actually afraid we were going to miss our flight back,” Long, who traveled with Lyles, said. “They were obviously looking at a lot of different guys.”

But Lyles was allowed to pitch first, and at 17 years old, took the mound at Minute Maid Park.

Lyles faced four batters, also potential top draft picks, and struck out all four.

“My major concern was just getting loose,” Lyles said. “After that, I didn’t really think too much about the situation, I just went out there and pitched.”

Lyles’ calm demeanor and performance on the mound caught the scouts’ eyes, Long said.

“Jordan’s always had that ability to not let errors or hits or anything else bother him on the mound, ” Long said. “Houston was able to see that, see a tall, lean kid with a smooth pitching motion and good command of four pitches.”

Houston’s director of amateur scouting, Bobby Heck, thanked Lyles and said he hoped to talk with him on Thursday.

“That really let us know that the interest was there,” Long said.

The showing helped elevate Lyles into the first round and probably was worth a $200,000 bump in signing bonus money too, Lyles said.

Future considerations

No one knows what the future will hold for Lyles, and no one knows that better than Shumate.

Since last season, Shumate has helped guide Lyles on what to expect in the upcoming months and years.

“I was in his exact same situation 14 years ago, and not too much has changed since then,” Shumate said. “But Jordan knows what I went through, and I think he knows a good bit about what to expect. Some things he’ll have to learn on his own, but I think he’s got a good head start.”

One of the things Shumate talked to Lyles about was the difference between playing in high school and playing professionally.

“When you’re in high school, games are all about fun and being with your friends,” Shumate said. “That’s not the case anymore. If you don’t feel well or don’t feel like pitching or working out, tough. High school is fun, but the minors are serious, and you have to approach it like a career.

“How far he goes will depend on the amount of time and effort he puts in to making himself a better pitcher. Listening to his coaches, putting in extra work on the side, learning things every time out, it’s all up to him.”

Making sound investments for the future also is key, Shumate said.

“I was fortunate to have good people around me that encouraged me to invest my money wisely and make sure I would be taken care of after baseball,” Shumate said. “Having the provision to be able to go back to college and get my teaching degree has allowed me to stay in the game.

“I think Jordan has good people around him, too, and they’ll guide him in the right direction.”

Lyles will report to Class A Greenville, Tenn., a shortseason affiliate of the Astros, within the next week.

“It’s definitely something I’m looking forward to,” Lyles said. “Being able to play baseball and compete against the top talent in the world is a great opportunity.”

While there is no specific timetable, Lyles said he would like to be in the majors within four or five years.

“Hopefully, one day he’ll have better stories to tell than me,” Shumate said.