Every little kid who gets a baseball and bat dreams about someday putting on a Major League Baseball uniform. For Aaron Blair that dream came true Thursday night when he was selected by 36th overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Blair’s journey to professional baseball has taken him from Las Vegas, NV to Huntington, W.Va. to Cape Cod and back to Huntington again.
The 6-foot-5, 220-pound pitcher was drafted coming out of high school in the 21st round of the 2010 draft by the Houston Astros. Blair opted instead travel halfway across the country to Marshall University where he made seven starts in 2011 and appeared in 12 games as a freshman. He struck out 34 batters in 36.1 innings of work that season but the best was yet to come.
In 2012, Blair posted a 3.98 ERA and 82 strikeouts with The Herd and earned him a invite to compete against the best collegiate baseball players in the country in the Cape Cod League. His performance that summer left an impression on big league scouts that helped solidify him as a top 50 prospect.
Blair went 6-0 with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox with a 1.17 ERA. He was 2-0 in the playoffs and struck out 60 batters in 51.1 innings of summer ball. He had proved not only could he dominate hitters in C-USA but also he could baffle some of the best in the nation.
The success on the mound continued into the 2013 season. Blair was named to the All-Conference first team, was named pitcher of the week twice and averaged a little better than a strikeout per inning. Blair even carried a no-hitter in the sixth inning against West Virginia back on March 19th at a frigid Appalachian Power Park.
Now Blair’s journey to the majors continues. Unlike the NFL or NBA we won’t see Blair in the big leagues next season. He’ll spend the next few seasons learning how to be Major League pitcher and given his success at every other level there’s no reason to think it won’t continue at the next level.