Serra’s Mark Black: Draft chances ‘all out of my control’
By JOSE NEGRON
jnegron@yourmvi.com
Mark Black’s plans for this evening are pretty simple.
The Serra Catholic senior intends to sit by his phone while watching day two of the 2020 Major League Baseball Draft from the luxury of his Churchill home.
He’ll tune in with great interest as he has a chance to be selected in the later rounds of the five-round draft. The first round concluded Wednesday, while teams will make second through fifth round selections beginning at 5 p.m.
“I talked to my advisor (Jeff Randazzo) and he said I’m sort of on the bubble and that it will just shake out to who teams want to take,” said Black, the reigning two-time Mon Valley Independent-Aul Bat Co. Player of the Year.
“It’s really all out of my control now. I did what I could last summer at all the big events, now I just have to wait and see.
“I definitely hope a team wants to take a chance on me.”
The uncertainty surrounding Black’s draft status is primarily due to the MLB’s decision to cut the draft from 40 rounds to five amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Black would have undoubtedly been selected had the draft remained at 40 rounds. All indications pointed to him being selected within the first 10 rounds.
Instead, he’s forced to wait and see how things unfold.
“It’s weird to think that you can be considered ‘on the bubble,’ but you could be a fourth- or fifth-round guy potentially,” Black said. “It’s been a dream of mine since I was very young to play professional baseball, but at the same time, this is only the first step.”
While the global pandemic pulled the plug on Black’s senior season at Serra Catholic, he’s given scouts plenty to see over the last few years.
Black has taken part in showcases, suited up for travel teams such as Team All-American and played at major league parks such as Truist Park in Atlanta, Wrigley Field in Chicago and Fenway Park in Boston.
A 5-11, 215-pound catcher who threw out 66% of base stealers during his high school career, Black finished his time at Serra as one of the WPIAL’s top power hitters. In three seasons, he set school records with 24 career home runs, 127 RBIs, 101 runs scored and 115 hits.
Black, who closed his career 12 home runs shy of tying the WPIAL record, hit .507 with a WPIAL-leading 14 home runs and 44 RBIs as a junior last fall.
“The dedication he gave to the Serra baseball program was unparalleled and unmatched,” Serra Catholic head coach Brian Dzurenda said. “He went 100% and didn’t take his foot off the gas for three and a half years with us. If you are going to outwork everybody and have the athleticism to go with it, you are going to be one of the best and that is what he has proven.”
A few teams have gone to great lengths to scout Black, including three organizations from the American League East.
Scouts from the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays have seen the 18-year-old play, while a scout from the Boston Red Sox traveled to Pullman Park in Butler a few months ago to watch Black perform in a scrimmage against Our Lady of Sacred Heart.
“Whatever happens, I am so proud of Mark,” Dzurenda said. “He has been well educated on the process by different people and for all of us, we would just have overwhelming joy to see him realize his dream of playing professionally.”
Black heads into Thursday’s draft festivities with a positive perspective. If he gets drafted, he’ll be thrilled to realize his dream. If he doesn’t, he’ll be content knowing he could still one day make his professional baseball dreams come true.
“I’m really going in and hoping for the best,” Black said. “I don’t have any regrets and I don’t feel like I could have done anything else, so we’ll just wait and see.”
