Even in Hilo baseball circles, Edgar Barclay had been somewhat off the radar.
Barclay never played BIIF ball, graduating high school ahead of his time before bouncing around to three colleges before finding the right fit.
On Wednesday, the left-handed pitcher was poised to join the sport’s most acclaimed franchise.
One journey closes as another opens for Barclay, who said he’s primed to turn pro after being selected by the New York Yankees in the 15th round (No. 465 overall) on the final day of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
“I was listening to the draft in the living room with my family and was very relieved, excited and grateful to hear my name called,” Barclay, a St. Joseph grad, texted to the Tribune-Herald. “Right now, I plan on going and playing pro ball.”
The 21-year-old earned the attention of scouts during a junior season at Cal State Bakersfield in which he went 6-4 with a 3.69 ERA, striking out a Western Athletic Conference-best 111 batters in 90 1/3 innings. Utilizing an improved curveball, Barclay delivered two shutouts, including a one-hit, 10-strikeout gem March 17 against Hawaii in Honolulu.
While Barclay could opt to return to the Roadrunners to improve his draft stock during his senior season, he holds greater negotiating leverage now because of it.
He said he expects to find out his minor league destination within the week and is set to become Hilo’s seventh member of a affiliated minor league team.
“I have a long way to go but couldn’t have done it without everyone who supported and continue to support me,” he said. “Finding the right mentors and coaches to help push me in the right direction (were key). It makes it easier when you have someone who can push you in the right direction.”
Barclay was the third player with Hawaii ties to be drafted this year, and his selection marks the seventh consecutive draft in which a player with Hilo ties has been taken.
Barclay, the first St. Joe alum to be drafted, undoubtedly took the most unlikely route.
He was one of the heroes for a Hilo team coached by Eric Kurosawa during its run to the 2013 PONY World Series (ages 13-14), tossing a 20-strikeout no-hitter in a 3-1 loss to Virginia.
After skipping two grades, Barclay never wavered from attending St. Joseph, despite the fact the Cardinals no longer had a program.
“I thought about transferring to Hilo High to play baseball but would have had to give up the two years I skipped and repeated the grades, so we decided not to,” Barclay said.
He said he stayed sharp in high school by playing in Kaha Wong’s leagues and with the Waiakea Pirates, but upon graduating in 2014 as a 16-year-old, “I went to UH-Hilo part time before going to (Central Arizona College) in order to train for a year,” he said, “since I was still very young.”
His second college stop was GateWay Community College in Phoenix.
If and when he signs with the Yankees, his next stop could be Staten Island, N.Y., home of the Yankees’ Class A short season affiliate, or rookie league teams in either Florida or Florida.
“I always believed it didn’t matter if I went to a big name school or not, as long as I put in the work and improved enough I would be seen anywhere,” he said.
Among the Big Island MLB draft hopefuls who didn’t hear their names called the past three days are a pair of recent high school graduates, pitcher Tai Atkins (Kamehameha) and infielder Stone Miyao (Waiakea), as well as UH-Hilo senior Dylan Spain. Atkins and Miyao are both set to play for Hawaii and will re-enter the draft pool again in 2022, while Spain has one more season of eligibility with the Vulcans. Miyao and Spain were among the players with Hawaii ties listed on MLB.com’s tracker entering the draft.
Waiakea senior Kalai Rosario is likely to be the top-rated Big Islander entering the 2020 draft.
Any and all can learn a lesson from Barclay’s journey.
“Being honest with my own abilities and having a plan to improve,” he said. “I would say it was important to go somewhere that pushed development and also where I could get playing time to get better.”
Feeling a draft around here
A player with Hilo ties has been selected in seven consecutive MLB drafts
Year Player School Rnd Team
2013 Kean Wong Waiakea 4th Rays
2014 Kodi Medeiros Waiakea 1st Brewers
2014 Jodd Carter Hilo 24th Indians
2015 Quintin Torres-Costa UH (Waiakea) 35th Brewers
2016 Jordan Kurokawa UHH 28th Phillies
2017 Joey Jarneski Hilo 12th Rangers
2018 Micah Bello Hilo 2nd Brewers
2019 Edgar Barclay St. Joe (CSBU) 15th Yankees