Lehigh's pitching duo latest to pursue shared dream
7/8/2021 3:49:00 PM | Baseball, Features
By: Josh Liddick, Lehigh Sports Communications
By the time they hear their names called in the 2021 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft either Sunday, Monday or Tuesday evening, junior Mason Black and senior Matt Svanson will become the 15th and 16th players from the Lehigh Baseball program drafted to a big-league franchise.
Perhaps even more impressively, they will join three other Lehigh alumni playing minor league ball currently, bringing that number to five active professional players, something that has never happened in the 135-plus year history of the baseball program.
Needless to say, the pitching duo that dominated Patriot League batting in 2021 is ready for this next challenge, the next step in their promising baseball careers.
"The fact that the draft is next week hasn't really hit me yet," said Black. "I think I'm still in that mindset where it's kind of far away when in reality, it's next week so I better get on top of stuff there.
"But it is exciting and a little bit nerve wracking. So I try to keep that same mindset from the whole year, just taking it day by day. I know Matt and I had a FaceTime the other day about it, where we were just like, 'What is going to happen?' But obviously it's just so exciting in the end."
Black has had the scouts in his sights behind the backstop for the majority of his collegiate career, especially since heading to the Cape Cod League the summer before his sophomore year and starting the All-Star Game. He went into the 2021 season with high expectations and lived up to those, garnering Lehigh's first Patriot League Pitcher of the Year honor since 2002.
At this point, despite the scouts knowing pretty much all there is to know about Black, he went out and pitched like he did all season at the inaugural MLB Draft Combine in Cary, N.C. on June 24. For the final time competing unattached, Black showcased his abilities to why he's considered one of the best right-handers on the east coast.
"I think the goal was to go out and be myself for the most part," Black said. "I'm not going to be the guy that's going to try and light up the radar gun and throw a hundred miles an hour. That's not who I am.
"So the game plan was to pretty much just do what I've tried to do all year and pound my fastball, show a good mix of my pitches and remind them in the time that I've had off that I'm still the of pitcher and the person that they scouted."
Unlike his teammate, Svanson didn't have the luxury of showcasing his abilities one more time for the scouts in the combine setting, however, in some ways he didn't have to be there to show the kind of pitcher he is.
Svanson shoved in his final career outing for the Mountain Hawks, going eight strong innings without allowing an earned run and led his team to a winner-take-all Game 3 against Army West Point in the Patriot League Championship Series. And playing in the Cape with and against many big-league ready prospects for the first time in his career this summer, he had two scoreless outings with Wareham Gatemen. Svanson struck out six in his first appearance and four in his second before being released to focus on preparations for the draft.
"I've been in two completely different mindsets in the way I've pitched this year," Svanson said. "During the championship, we knew that we had to win or go home. But with whoever I play for, I've tried to put that team on my back every time I step out on that mound.
"I've done everything I can to be competitive, but up at the Cape, I just enjoyed being able to play baseball. I went up there, I went up there more to have a good time than anything else. I was supposed to go last year but it was canceled for COVID. So just going up there, having a good time and going out on the mound to have fun has been my mindset."
Both Black and Svanson went into the offseason back in 2020 looking to work on specific things to improve their crafts. While both are talented pitchers on the diamond, both are also attentive students of the game and will likely continue to learn new things for the remainder of their careers in the sport. Black went on record last summer looking to enhance his secondary pitches to team up with his sharp fastball, while Svanson knew that he wanted to focus on his off-speed arsenal.
"The main thing I've been working on for the past year or so has been my off-speed pitches," said Svanson. "I've definitely come a long way, because my off-speed pitches used to be awful, but now they're gaining more towards being mediocre which is a great progress for me. I used to be, even up until summer ball last season, a fastball-only pitcher.
"But in the Cape this summer, I've thrown all three of my pitches for strikes in every single count. I have so much confidence in them. That's the biggest thing. If you are timid throwing the pitch and not having conviction, it's not going to do what you want it to do."
Pitch-wise, Black knew what he had going into this summer, but working on his body was something he made a priority before life got crazy in mid-July.
"I've been really focusing on getting back into the gym and getting a reset on my body which was a big thing for me," said Black. "For me, I've just been trying to clean up some things mechanically and continued throwing as much as I could.
"I've had a couple workout things to go to and that has kept me busy. But I'm continuing to refine my off-speed pitches and eventually work on that in a pitching lab with a professional team so I can hit the ground running next year."
There have been plenty of talented players picked up by major league franchises over the years, which fulfills a dream for many. But getting called up to the Show has been something that has eluded many of them.
So far, Matt McBride '07 is the only player in head coach Sean Leary's 26-year tenure to make his major league debut. Black and Svanson will join Mark Washington, Levi Stoudt and Jason Reynolds at the next level next week, who are all looking to become the next Mountain Hawk to play on the big stage.
"To me I think it's awesome seeing these guys have success at the next level," Black said. "I've coining the phrase 'pitcher farm' at Lehigh just because of how passionate we are about it. Just seeing them lay the stones and the foundation and have Matt and I follow them in their footsteps and hopefully make the Show one day is just super exciting.
"It means a lot for not only ourselves, but the way that Coach Leary recruits for the program moving forward."
In 2020, the draft consisted of five rounds and this year for the first time, the event is 20 rounds and like pretty much every season, the teams interested in Black and Svanson are largely unknown. Despite being die-hard fans of the Phillies and Red Sox, respectively, the duo aren't concerned with which team they get picked to in a matter of days.
"It seemed like every team that interviewed me during this process asked me who my favorite team was," said Black. "I just told them it was 'whoever picks me.' I've just kept it as you could still root for someone up until you become an employee of that team. But I'd take anyone at this point, it'll be fun either way."
Svanson's whole family is comprised of the Red Sox fandom, despite growing up outside of Chicago. What if the Bronx Bombers were in his future?
"My family was asking me what I would do if the Yankees drafted me," Svanson laughed. "It's become a running joke. But all jokes aside, whatever team I go to is the one I'll support. I'll always have a special place in my heart for the organization that drafted me. I want to go to an organization that will help me develop and get up to the next level. Maybe down the road, I can stay with that one team and become one of their guys. That's the dream."
As Black and Svanson prepare to go their separate ways in professional baseball, the duo have learned a ton from one another, looking to bring that expertise to the next chapter of their lives.
"I think seeing Matt pitch from his freshman year all the way to now, you can see such a confidence about him, it's unreal the change that I've seen," Black said. "It's something that I've tried to take from him, to have the confidence to throw any pitch I want wherever I want it to go.
"I've been blessed to have Matt beside me, training me this entire past year and seeing that confidence, trying to emulate that myself."
On the flip side, Svanson couldn't choose just one thing of Mason that he's looked up to the past three years.
"There's multiple things that I've seen out of Mason that have impressed me," said Svanson. "The way he carries himself on the mound is inspiring. I'm competitive and tend to show it when I pitch, but Mason 'washes it out' when something bad happens on the field. I looked up to Jason [Reynolds] a lot before he left after his junior year and kind of just gravitated towards Mason after that.
"A lot of the way I train, eat and stuff like that has been learned from Mason. I'm still trying to learn his slider the last few years," he joked. "Haven't figured that one out yet."
Surrounded by friends and family, Black and Svanson will learn their fate when the MLB Draft kicks off with the first round Sunday night at 7 p.m. on MLB Network. Day 2 starts at 1 p.m. Monday and Day 3 begins at noon Tuesday, both streamed on MLB.com.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
By the time they hear their names called in the 2021 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft either Sunday, Monday or Tuesday evening, junior Mason Black and senior Matt Svanson will become the 15th and 16th players from the Lehigh Baseball program drafted to a big-league franchise.
Perhaps even more impressively, they will join three other Lehigh alumni playing minor league ball currently, bringing that number to five active professional players, something that has never happened in the 135-plus year history of the baseball program.
Needless to say, the pitching duo that dominated Patriot League batting in 2021 is ready for this next challenge, the next step in their promising baseball careers.
"The fact that the draft is next week hasn't really hit me yet," said Black. "I think I'm still in that mindset where it's kind of far away when in reality, it's next week so I better get on top of stuff there.
"But it is exciting and a little bit nerve wracking. So I try to keep that same mindset from the whole year, just taking it day by day. I know Matt and I had a FaceTime the other day about it, where we were just like, 'What is going to happen?' But obviously it's just so exciting in the end."
Black has had the scouts in his sights behind the backstop for the majority of his collegiate career, especially since heading to the Cape Cod League the summer before his sophomore year and starting the All-Star Game. He went into the 2021 season with high expectations and lived up to those, garnering Lehigh's first Patriot League Pitcher of the Year honor since 2002.
At this point, despite the scouts knowing pretty much all there is to know about Black, he went out and pitched like he did all season at the inaugural MLB Draft Combine in Cary, N.C. on June 24. For the final time competing unattached, Black showcased his abilities to why he's considered one of the best right-handers on the east coast.
"I think the goal was to go out and be myself for the most part," Black said. "I'm not going to be the guy that's going to try and light up the radar gun and throw a hundred miles an hour. That's not who I am.
"So the game plan was to pretty much just do what I've tried to do all year and pound my fastball, show a good mix of my pitches and remind them in the time that I've had off that I'm still the of pitcher and the person that they scouted."
Unlike his teammate, Svanson didn't have the luxury of showcasing his abilities one more time for the scouts in the combine setting, however, in some ways he didn't have to be there to show the kind of pitcher he is.
Svanson shoved in his final career outing for the Mountain Hawks, going eight strong innings without allowing an earned run and led his team to a winner-take-all Game 3 against Army West Point in the Patriot League Championship Series. And playing in the Cape with and against many big-league ready prospects for the first time in his career this summer, he had two scoreless outings with Wareham Gatemen. Svanson struck out six in his first appearance and four in his second before being released to focus on preparations for the draft.
"I've been in two completely different mindsets in the way I've pitched this year," Svanson said. "During the championship, we knew that we had to win or go home. But with whoever I play for, I've tried to put that team on my back every time I step out on that mound.
"I've done everything I can to be competitive, but up at the Cape, I just enjoyed being able to play baseball. I went up there, I went up there more to have a good time than anything else. I was supposed to go last year but it was canceled for COVID. So just going up there, having a good time and going out on the mound to have fun has been my mindset."
Both Black and Svanson went into the offseason back in 2020 looking to work on specific things to improve their crafts. While both are talented pitchers on the diamond, both are also attentive students of the game and will likely continue to learn new things for the remainder of their careers in the sport. Black went on record last summer looking to enhance his secondary pitches to team up with his sharp fastball, while Svanson knew that he wanted to focus on his off-speed arsenal.
"The main thing I've been working on for the past year or so has been my off-speed pitches," said Svanson. "I've definitely come a long way, because my off-speed pitches used to be awful, but now they're gaining more towards being mediocre which is a great progress for me. I used to be, even up until summer ball last season, a fastball-only pitcher.
"But in the Cape this summer, I've thrown all three of my pitches for strikes in every single count. I have so much confidence in them. That's the biggest thing. If you are timid throwing the pitch and not having conviction, it's not going to do what you want it to do."
Pitch-wise, Black knew what he had going into this summer, but working on his body was something he made a priority before life got crazy in mid-July.
"I've been really focusing on getting back into the gym and getting a reset on my body which was a big thing for me," said Black. "For me, I've just been trying to clean up some things mechanically and continued throwing as much as I could.
"I've had a couple workout things to go to and that has kept me busy. But I'm continuing to refine my off-speed pitches and eventually work on that in a pitching lab with a professional team so I can hit the ground running next year."
There have been plenty of talented players picked up by major league franchises over the years, which fulfills a dream for many. But getting called up to the Show has been something that has eluded many of them.
So far, Matt McBride '07 is the only player in head coach Sean Leary's 26-year tenure to make his major league debut. Black and Svanson will join Mark Washington, Levi Stoudt and Jason Reynolds at the next level next week, who are all looking to become the next Mountain Hawk to play on the big stage.
"To me I think it's awesome seeing these guys have success at the next level," Black said. "I've coining the phrase 'pitcher farm' at Lehigh just because of how passionate we are about it. Just seeing them lay the stones and the foundation and have Matt and I follow them in their footsteps and hopefully make the Show one day is just super exciting.
"It means a lot for not only ourselves, but the way that Coach Leary recruits for the program moving forward."
In 2020, the draft consisted of five rounds and this year for the first time, the event is 20 rounds and like pretty much every season, the teams interested in Black and Svanson are largely unknown. Despite being die-hard fans of the Phillies and Red Sox, respectively, the duo aren't concerned with which team they get picked to in a matter of days.
"It seemed like every team that interviewed me during this process asked me who my favorite team was," said Black. "I just told them it was 'whoever picks me.' I've just kept it as you could still root for someone up until you become an employee of that team. But I'd take anyone at this point, it'll be fun either way."
Svanson's whole family is comprised of the Red Sox fandom, despite growing up outside of Chicago. What if the Bronx Bombers were in his future?
"My family was asking me what I would do if the Yankees drafted me," Svanson laughed. "It's become a running joke. But all jokes aside, whatever team I go to is the one I'll support. I'll always have a special place in my heart for the organization that drafted me. I want to go to an organization that will help me develop and get up to the next level. Maybe down the road, I can stay with that one team and become one of their guys. That's the dream."
As Black and Svanson prepare to go their separate ways in professional baseball, the duo have learned a ton from one another, looking to bring that expertise to the next chapter of their lives.
"I think seeing Matt pitch from his freshman year all the way to now, you can see such a confidence about him, it's unreal the change that I've seen," Black said. "It's something that I've tried to take from him, to have the confidence to throw any pitch I want wherever I want it to go.
"I've been blessed to have Matt beside me, training me this entire past year and seeing that confidence, trying to emulate that myself."
On the flip side, Svanson couldn't choose just one thing of Mason that he's looked up to the past three years.
"There's multiple things that I've seen out of Mason that have impressed me," said Svanson. "The way he carries himself on the mound is inspiring. I'm competitive and tend to show it when I pitch, but Mason 'washes it out' when something bad happens on the field. I looked up to Jason [Reynolds] a lot before he left after his junior year and kind of just gravitated towards Mason after that.
"A lot of the way I train, eat and stuff like that has been learned from Mason. I'm still trying to learn his slider the last few years," he joked. "Haven't figured that one out yet."
Surrounded by friends and family, Black and Svanson will learn their fate when the MLB Draft kicks off with the first round Sunday night at 7 p.m. on MLB Network. Day 2 starts at 1 p.m. Monday and Day 3 begins at noon Tuesday, both streamed on MLB.com.
Like Lehigh Baseball on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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