Mitch Brown didn't always want to play baseball. In fact, it used to be merely a way to pass the time each summer.
As a kid, Brown played five different sports but dreamed of one day playing in the NFL. He also wrestled from nearly the time he could walk until his sophomore year at Rochester (Minn.) Century High School. That's when he fractured his left hand and decided to walk away from the mat.
Though his wrestling days are over, Brown still takes the tough mentality of a wrestler onto the pitcher's mound for Century. That bulldog approach is one of many reasons why Brown is the top-rated high school baseball player in the state of Minnesota and an all-but-certain lock to be taken in the first few rounds of Major League Baseball's draft early next month.
"I would say I'm very aggressive. I don't really like to goof around too much and waste too many pitches when I don't have to," said the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Brown. "… A lot of pitching is standing up and having that hard-nosed feeling and personality. I really do think wrestling has brought me a long way in not only baseball but in all aspects of life."
Baseball America ranks Brown as the No. 44 prospect for the 2012 draft, including high school and college players. He's one of the top prospects to come out of the state of Minnesota in a long time, perhaps back to when the Minnesota Twins used their No. 1 overall pick in 2001 to select a Cretin-Derham Hall catcher by the name of Joe Mauer.
"I've been coaching for over 30 years and I've had 18 or so players who have been drafted and played professionally," said Keith Kangas, Brown's coach at Rochester Century, who also coached former Twins second-round pick Michael Restovich. "(Mitch) is right there with the very top. Part of it is because he has outstanding talent. Part of it is he has an outstanding work ethic. He's a team player. He does all the intangibles."
What has scouts licking their chops is Browns' fastball, which has been clocked at 95 mph this season. It's a pitch Brown consistently throws 91-92 mph, said Justin Musil of Elite Sports Advising, but he has a good mix of a few other pitches to complement the heater.
"The thing about Mitch that makes him really special too is he's got power stuff and he obviously has a lot of velocity on his fastball, but he's got good movement and he locates really well," said Musil, who also works as an independent scout in Minnesota and Wisconsin. "I think that kind of separates him from a lot of kids that are just fireballers that maybe don't locate as well. …
"He's very physically mature. His pitches are there. He's got three, four plus-pitches. He's just ready."
Last season, Brown put together a stellar junior campaign in which he was 11-1 with 113 strikeouts in 67 innings. His coming-out party was the Class AAA state tournament, as he pitched Century to a 3-0 victory over Eden Prairie in the first round. The Panthers went on to lose their next game to Burnsville, but Brown was named to the all-tournament team.
Since then, Brown's pitching credentials have continued to grow, and many people have taken notice. Brown has become accustomed to seeing scouts in the bleachers or behind the chain link fence at his team's games, armed with radar guns and clipboards. Kangas said as many as 40 scouts have been in attendance at a Century game this year, and they all came to see Mitch Brown.
"He's definitely the best pitcher that I've seen," Musil said.
Added Kangas: "There's more radar guns and sunglasses than there are people (in the stands) sometimes."
Yet as the draft approaches, the interview requests have become intensified. Brown has made his way through the gauntlet of local TV, radio and newspapers as everyone is looking to showcase Minnesota's top young baseball talent.
The scouts haven't shied away, either, now that Brown and his Panthers teammates are in the postseason. On Tuesday, Twins general manager Terry Ryan made the trip down to southern Minnesota to see Brown pitch against Century's in-town rival, Rochester Mayo.
"I'd say in the last week it's probably worn on him a little bit," Kangas said of the constant attention Brown has received. "… When you're a big boy, you've got to do what the big boys do. I think he's handled it very well."
When Brown is eventually drafted on June 4 (when the first round and compensation round will be held) or June 5 (rounds 2-15), he'll have a tough decision to make. Brown is already committed to play college baseball next season at the University of San Diego, a school he said he chose for its "great weather, a great education, competitive baseball and just a great atmosphere." But what happens if he's taken in the second round? Will the allure of professional baseball and a lucrative signing bonus be too great to pass up?
Brown's honest answer: he has no clue yet.
"I'm still not decided on anything like that," he admits. "Obviously a college education is really valuable and it is important to my family and I. But if the circumstances are right, we will consider a pro contract. I actually have no idea what I'll be doing. …
"I really don't know what to expect. I'm not going to bank on anything yet. Hopefully the draft just works itself out."
There's a chance the team that selects Brown could be his hometown Twins. Minnesota will draft 32nd overall in the compensation round and then at No. 42 later in that round. They also have the third selection in the second round, 63rd overall.
"That would be an awesome experience," Brown said. "Obviously playing for your hometown team is every little kid's dream. You play catch in the back yard with your dad, hoping some day maybe you'll be a Twin."
Whichever team does land Brown will be getting the best player to come out of Minnesota in years. He's a dominating pitcher who is also one of Century's best hitters. Musil and Kangas both agree that Brown could have played Division I baseball as an infielder. He's that talented.
But the pitcher's mound is where Brown belongs. Now it's up to him if he feels he already belongs in the professional ranks.
"I think when the time comes," Kangas said, "he'll make the decision that's right for Mitch."
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