Brady Cerkownyk got the phone call after he landed at an airport in Boston.
“What are you doing?” his advisor asked.
“I’m just about to get on the bus to go to the Cape,” Cerkownyk said.
It was July 11 — a Tuesday and the third day of the MLB draft — and Cerkownyk was heading to Cape Cod to play baseball this summer. He figured he had lost his chance to be selected. About 15 teams were interested in him but his “number” — the bonus amount it would take for him to go pro, in baseball parlance — was high. He was sticking to it, even when some teams tried to lowball him.
Had he priced himself out of the draft?
“Don’t get on that bus,” his advisor said.
A short while later, Cerkownyk was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 15th round.
“It’s amazing,” Cerkownyk told the Free Press. “I’ve wanted this my whole life, to get drafted, to get a chance; and I’m really excited. Can’t wait to start.”
He agreed to a $400,000 deal, according to MLB Pipeline, which holds the slot-value equivalent to being drafted in the middle of the fifth round.
That says so many things:
- It shows how much the Tigers value this 20-year-old catcher from Connors State College, a junior college in a small town in Oklahoma
- It offers a small window into how the Tigers were able to maneuver through this draft with a focus on the big picture, saving money on some deals by signing players to under-slot terms, which allowed them to be able to have the money in later rounds to snag somebody such as Cerkownyk. For instance, they went under slot for top pick Max Clark to be able to work magic later
- Even though Cerkownyk was taken on the third day, he is one of the Tigers’ most intriguing picks
The Tigers got an athletic catcher who can hit for power and average, controls the strike zone and doesn’t strike out much for somebody with this kind of home-run potential.
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Hmm. Does that sound like the mantra of Scott Harris, the Tigers’ president of baseball operations, or what?
“Steve Taylor is the area scout, and he did a tremendous job identifying him,” Tigers scouting director Mark Conner said. “We had some other guys go in there and see him. We were scouting him all the way up through the Draft League. He’s an exciting player. He can defend and stay behind the plate, shows you a plus arm. And then he’s got emerging power coming and puts up a quality at-bat. The season he put together was just unbelievable.”
Friendship behind the pick
The story of how Cerkownyk was identified by the Tigers begins with an old friendship.
Cerkownyk was coached by Perry Keith, a legendary figure in junior college baseball. Keith has coached for 38 years — with more than 1,800 wins, more than 130 players drafted and 14 MLB players — and has been inducted into the NJCAA Baseball Hall of Fame.
Keith has a 30-year friendship with Taylor, the Tigers’ area scout. It’s a relationship built on honesty. Sure, they might argue about a player. But they trust each other.
So when Keith said: “You gotta check out my catcher.” Taylor didn’t hesitate. He saw him at least a dozen times over the past 12 months, starting last fall.
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“Steve and I have been friends for over 30 years,” Keith said. “I mean, Steve is what college baseball coaches and professional scouts should be; we’re friends but we are honest with each other. We trust each other. We’re both looking out for the welfare of young men.”
Cerkownyk had a magical season, nearly winning the junior college Triple Crown. He finished second in the nation in batting average (.470), second in home runs (27), first in RBIs (107) and first with a .985 slugging percentage.
“He’s got great power,” Keith said. “And he doesn’t swing and miss much for a guy with that much power. He’s a whole package. He can catch and throw. He’s a good hitter. He’s got power the other way. He’s got lightning in that bat, and he hits good pitching.”
Named to USA Baseball’s 2023 Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List, Cerkownyk was also honored as an academic All-American.
“He’s a sharp kid, a smart kid, a baseball rat,” Keith said. “But he’s got just enough goofiness to him to make him a good baseball player. He doesn’t get pressured up. Stuff doesn’t bother him.”
After the season, he played 12 games for the Frederick Keys in the MLB Draft League and hit .243 with three doubles, and he had five walks and 10 strikeouts.
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Before the draft, Cerkownyk interviewed with more than a dozen teams.
The Houston Astros brought him to Minute Maid Park and he hit four homers up on the train tracks during batting practice.
“It felt really nice, hitting in a big-league park, hitting where only a few guys hit the ball,” Cerkownyk said.
Cerkownyk (6 feet and 195 pounds) is also athletic.
Born and raised in Toronto, he played Triple-A hockey his entire life — “I was more of a grinder, not a huge goal scorer,” he said — and didn’t hang up his skates until COVID-19 hit; then he started focusing exclusively on baseball.
So, even though he played travel ball all over the U.S., he doesn’t have the vast experience of some young players. He can still improve and still has lots to learn. Especially as a catcher.
Cerkownyk is extremely familiar with Detroit. He has traveled to Michigan countless times, for hockey tournaments, baseball games and to watch the Tigers and Red Wings.
Ironically, the Tigers didn’t bring him in for a workout.
They had already seen enough.
Heading to Lakeland
On Monday night, Perry called Cerkownyk because Taylor — and the Tigers — wanted to know what it would take to sign him.
What’s your number?
Taylor kept fighting for him.
“I know three or four teams kind of fought over him a little bit in the end, but I don’t think they thought to negotiate like the Tigers did,” Keith said. “Steve Taylor wouldn’t let it go. He kept working, and Mark Connor, too. I told Brady, ‘Hey, these guys want you. That’s important.’
“Steve didn’t give up. And the Tigers didn’t give up. The Tigers were very easy to work with, very forthright.”
Cerkownyk plans to sign his deal on Thursday in Lakeland, Fla. Then, he said, he needs to wait about 10 days for a work visa.
“Then, I’m gonna get right down to business,” Cerkownyk said. “Our goal is to make it up to the big leagues in three, four or five years.”
Yes, Tigers fans might be skeptical. They have heard countless draft picks say something similar.
But Keith has been around forever, and he knows what a future MLB player looks like — he has coached more than a dozen of them.
“I’d really be shocked if Brady’s not in the big leagues in three or four years,” Keith said. “If this guy can stay healthy and everything falls right, I think he’s got a chance to be pretty special.”
Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @seideljeff.