Lakewood Ranch’s Seth McGarry bracing for first chance to play at LECOM Park

During his time at Lakewood Ranch High, Seth McGarry never had a chance to play a baseball game at McKechnie Field, now named LECOM Park.

McGarry is expected to get his chance to play at the historic Bradenton venue as part of the 2017 Bradenton Marauders, the advanced Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“It’s really cool, especially if some of the older coaches that I’ve had growing up being able to come out and watch me,” McGarry said. “I wouldn’t be out here without them, so it’d be nice to play in front of them for a season.”

The Meet the Marauders event to announce this year’s team is scheduled for Tuesday at LECOM Park.

The event is 5:30-8 p.m. with the team’s official roster being unveiled at 6:45 p.m. There are games, music, a photo booth, open concession stands and ticket offices scheduled for the festivities.

Fans can also stick around following the roster announcement for autographs with the players.

The home opener is set for Saturday, and that could be the first chance McGarry has to pitch in a game at LECOM Park.

And that will be with a different arsenal than he had at his disposal when he toed the rubber for Lakewood Ranch.

The slurve is gone. The sinker and a traditional curve ball are in.

It’s added up to inducing more ground balls, and he’s only allowed six home runs in two pro seasons since Pittsburgh drafted him in the eighth round in 2015.

“The sinker’s just a good way to get early contact to allow you to throw less pitches and throw more innings,” McGarry said.

McGarry has also transitioned into a reliever. He performed that role as a junior at Florida Atlantic University, but he began his pro career with Pittsburgh as a starter in rookie ball. Last year was his first season throwing exclusively out of the bullpen in the Pirates’ organization. He tallied an 8.9 K/9 rate, which ranked 33rd among South Atlantic League pitchers.

Teammates Mitch Keller, whom McGarry roomed with on the road for half a season and was a key to Bradenton’s FSL championship in ’16, and J.T. Brubaker were the only other Pittsburgh prospects in the SALLY to post a better strikeout rate than McGarry, who racked up nine saves en route to rank fifth among Pittsburgh farmhands in that category.

“Mitch has unbelievable stuff and he’s also extremely young, which is also good because he has more time to develop,” McGarry said. “He doesn’t have much to develop. It’s more getting reps and playing full seasons and just facing more hitters.”

Being around a top prospect like Keller isn’t anything new to McGarry.

McGarry saw the hoopla surrounding a potential baseball prospect when he was a freshman at Lakewood Ranch High.

At that time McGarry wasn’t on anyone’s radar, but teammate Michael Ohlman was. The latter, a catching prospect with a superb arm, bat and defense, produced a buzz with scouts. Ultimately, Ohlman began his career with the Baltimore Orioles and is still playing pro ball in the Toronto Blue Jays organization.

“He was very cool and calm about everything,” McGarry said. “Pretty stoic, so it was definitely I needed to do that a lot more in high school where I developed more and become less of an emotional player on the mound. And more under control.”

McGarry, though, didn’t follow Ohlman’s path by eschewing college baseball for the pros. Instead, he headed to Florida Atlantic University.

There, he met another older player: Southeast High alumnus Michael Suchy.

Suchy played last season with the Bradenton Marauders and helped McGarry adjust to life with the Pirates.

“He just made sure I was doing the right things,” said McGarry, who lives five minutes from Suchy. “Whether it was curfew or making sure I was getting to places on time, making sure I was checking the board. He’s always kind of looking out for me.”

The two faced each other in college when Suchy was at Florida Gulf Coast University.

“He’s 0-for-2, but hit a ball really hard,” McGarry said. “So I’m technically winning. But when you look at it from a hitting standpoint, he got out once and the other time he got out he smoked a ball, which is .500 in quality at-bats. He’s kind of winning a little bit.”

Joining the M’s is the next step in McGarry’s path through the organization, and he’ll get a familiar face with Keller, who received a late season promotion to Bradenton, beginning the year with the Marauders, too.

Last season produced Bradenton’s first FSL championship.

Time will tell if a repeat is in the cards.

“It’s a new group of guys, it’s kind of establishing our own identity and sticking with that,” McGarry said. “Playing for one another, which ultimately helps you play for more of a championship-caliber team.”

This story was originally published April 3, 2017 at 5:59 PM with the headline "Lakewood Ranch’s Seth McGarry bracing for first chance to play at LECOM Park."