The only time McDonogh coach Ian Hendricks was forced to give star pitcher Joe Yermal a stern talking to, he left the pitchers mound with a smirk on his face.
“It?s a weird situation, standing on top of the mound, mind you, looking up to the guy, pointing my finger in his chest,” Hendricks said with a smile. “And I?m thinking, how weird does this look, with me looking up at him. Even at 6-foot, this guy has me feeling like a munchkin.”
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While some of his teammates looked through the chain-link fence in front of the McDonogh bench at John Carroll Monday, Yermal simply peered over it.
It?s partially due to that physical advantage that the 6-foot-6 Yermal has drawn the attention of college and professional scouts for his work on the mound.
“Scouts have been out, as you can imagine, to most of the games he?s pitched,” said Hendricks who has yet to put a radar gun on Yermal. Scouts, however, have said he consistently throws in the high-80s, occasionally touching the low-90s.
He can also hit, evident with an opposite-field home run against John Carroll Monday that went about 380 feet to right-center.
“Normally when I come here I don?t hit well,” said Yermal, who grew up in Bel Air, not too far from John Carroll. “It was exciting when the ball went over the fence.”
Yermal is committed to UNC-Charlotte, but should a major league team come knocking, he might be forced to consider his options ? much like current Orioles prospect Brandon Erbe, who spurned a scholarship to Miami when his hometown team drafted him out of McDonogh in 2005.
“It depends, but right now I want to go pro,” Yermal said. “It?s been my goal since I started playing baseball. If I get a good offer, I?ll have to reconsider.”
He called Erbe his mentor, having played with the O?s prospect when Erbe was a senior and Yermal was a sophomore.
“He?s listened and absorbed some of the stuff that Brandon taught him,” Hendricks said. “Even now, they?re good friends.”
Yermal is a strong basketball player, too, earning a place in Sunday?s Charm City Challenge game as a member of the Baltimore team. Yermal hit a three-pointer in the game for his only points, helping the Baltimore All-Stars to a 116-113 win over the U.S. All-Stars.
“It was exciting. It was kind of my last hurrah in basketball,” said Yermal, who scored his 1,000th point this season. “Just playing with all those guys one more time was special for me. It was a good time.”
