STROUDSBURG, Pa. — When the Stroudsburg High School baseball team pulled out a dramatic playoff win over Emmaus in extra innings Wednesday, it kept alive its season. It also ensured that one of the nation’s top players would have at least one more game to play in his impressive high school career.
Mike Nikorak is a strapping senior right-hander with a ton of potential. He throws a fastball in the low- to mid-90s, with a reported top speed of 97. Major-league scouts are so enamored with his talent that Nikorak is projected to be a top-20 pick in the MLB draft, which begins June 8. That date is four days before Nikorak is scheduled to graduate from high school.
Baseball scouts have flocked to Nikorak's games this season. His coach is impressed with the way the youngster has handled the pressure. Soon, Nikorak will face the challenge of being new to the pro game. He says he’s excited about learning from coaches that can help him achieve an even bigger goal: becoming a major-league pitcher.
"Whether I get picked around here or I get picked across the United States, it doesn't matter to me — I'll be fortunate wherever I get picked," Nikorak said to Comcast SportsNet on Wednesday. "I want to eventually make it to the big leagues. I think that's every kid's dream, but I know it's not an easy path going there and that I'm going to have some work to do."
When Nikorak was 3 years old, his father died. Nikorak's recollections of his dad have come by way of home recordings. Thankfully, Nikorak's uncle — his father’s brother — stepped into the gap and helped raise the children left behind. Throughout Nikorak's high school career, Uncle Gary has been there as an assistant coach on the Stroudsburg baseball team.
That incredible family support is partly why Nikorak dreams of being drafted by a team that is close to home. The Phillies fit that description, as does Nikorak's favorite team, the Yankees. As Nikorak envisions his future, he says he wants to be the kind of pro player that makes his hometown proud. His head coach, Phil Stokes, says he’s already done that.
"He's really been phenomenal about his work ethic in the way that he's handled the situation with so many people showing up to the [games], talking to him, visiting," Stokes said. "I think every ballclub in Major League Baseball has been in to see him."
MLB
For now, his own team’s success is keeping Nikorak from having to pay full attention to his baseball future. Soon that future will come rushing forward with life-changing opportunities.
Yes, graduation day is coming soon for Mike Nikorak. In more ways than one.