Michael Zunino thought he had it all figured out. His dad is an area scout for the Cincinnati Reds, so the Cape Coral Mariner High School catcher knows how the draft process works for high school player.
That is until he went through it himself.
“It’s been very eventful,” Zunino said. “I’ve known the whole process and what everyone goes through, but it’s completely different when it’s you going through it. We thought we knew what to expect but then everything just comes at you. It’s nothing like I expected, but I’m enjoying it.”
It’s actually turned into a chess match of sorts for the Zunino family. They haven’t gotten the normal feedback that other high school prospects hear from scouts, mostly because of his dad’s position.
“You get to the point where you don’t know what other teams are thinking,” Zunino said. “My Dad doesn’t hear as much because I’m in the draft and some teams don’t want to say what they actually think of me because if he figures out, he may be able to come back and tell his team. Dad is on both sides of the fence and has to watch what he does. He’s having a good time with it, though.”
Scouts that Zunino knows though his father, whose territory in Florida is from Gainesville to Naples, now frequent his games to scout him. The pressure of multiple scouts at every game didn’t get to him, and he admits that probably had something to do with him being around scouts for his entire life.
“It wasn’t really different for me,” Zunino said. “I’ve known a lot of these guys because of Dad. I’m actually good friends with some of them. I’ve talked to them for a while about baseball and everything. It’s not added pressure. There were a couple of days when there were about 20 scouts there, and it was just like ‘Wow.’ It was good experience to have all that.”
His senior season was about as successful as he could have hoped. Zunino had a .464 batting average with 11 home runs and 37 RBI. He boasted an on-base percentage of .531 and a slugging percentage of .918. Zunino was already seen as one of the top high school players in the state, and his senior campaign only solidified that.
“Here in a couple weeks I’ll see how well that senior year really did for me,” Zunino said.
That will come on June 9 when the Major League Baseball draft starts. It begins a two-month period during which Florida baseball fans will sweat out whether or not many of their signees will actually attend college or sign professionally.
Zunino has been focused on playing for the Gators since he originally committed to Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan during the summer of 2007, but he will listen to what professional teams have to say.
“My mindset is I’m going to June 9 as a Gator, but if something changes it, that’s what happens,” Zunino said. “The one thing I strived so hard for was to get a scholarship. I got a scholarship to the school that I wanted to attend. If the draft comes and a team gives me what I’m asking for, then that’s something I’ve got to take. It goes with my goal of playing professional baseball. But right now I’m going in as a Florida Gator, and if it changes, then that’s what happens.”
If Zunino does make it to Gainesville this fall, he will learn from a head coach who spends most of his time with the pitchers and catchers. O’Sullivan was a catcher during his playing career at Virginia, so Zunino knows he will be able to learn a lot from him.
“Knowing that he’s a very pitcher-catcher-oriented guy benefited me going in,” Zunino said. “To know that you’ll be working with the head coach as a catcher helps a lot. Some schools have a head coach who is more oriented to the outfielders or hitters, but to know I’m going to get one-on-one time with Sully to fine-tune my game made a big difference.”
Regardless of which 2009 signee you talk to, most of them will give you the same reason for why they committed to Florida: Kevin O’Sullivan. Zunino is another one of those players, pegging the head coach’s passion for the game as the reason players want to compete for him.
“It’s his enthusiasm,” Zunino said. “He’s a guy that you want to come play for every day and give everything you have. He’s been ready to go every day. He’s real close with his players and to know that a guy cares and wants the best for you is really what makes you want to play for him.”
The relationship between the 2009 signees is what has Zunino thinking about leading the Gators to the College World Series. He knows a lot of the signees from playing together, but Patrick Schuster is his closest friend. Zunino estimates he has caught Schuster “probably 100-150 times.” He has also played with Bobby Borchering since he was eight.
He also has met Cocoa Beach High School left-hander Brian Johnson last year, and the two have gotten close lately. Zunino said Johnson is a player who will bring fire and passion to the Gators when they suit up next spring.
Regardless of which signee Zunino talks to, the goal is always the same: They want to help the Gators get to Omaha, Neb., to play for a national championship in the College World Series.
“The guys I talk to, that’s what we talk about,” Zunino said. “It wouldn’t even be just the guys coming in, but combine us with the guys that (O’Sullivan) has already. It’s an amazing team and we know that we would have something special if some of us made it to campus. Sully is excited for it, too.”
Whichever road Michael Zunino ends up choosing, his future looks bright, too.