Slawinski's small town toughness starts in Johnson City
JOHNSON CITY, Texas (KXAN) -- As the MLB Draft quickly nears on July 13 and 14, there are a lot of high school prospects expected to be selected early. Most of them are from hotbeds of baseball, like southern California or big schools in the southeastern United States.
There are some outliers. Maybe none quite like Johnny Slawinski.
"We have the worst playing surface possible, probably," said Slawinski as he looks out on the high school field where he played.
That field is one Slawinski loves, despite its shortcomings. It's in a town where he grew up, that he also cares for deeply.
"It's kind of a boring place to grow up, but I mean it's an awesome place to live."
Johnson City is a small town in central Texas with a population around 2,000. They don't have tall buildings or a turf baseball field, but they do have an incredible left-handed pitcher.
MLB.com has Slawinski as the 68th overall prospect in the draft, including college players. Johnson City has never had a player drafted into Major League Baseball.
"Just kind of being a quiet competitor. Kind of have a quiet swagger with me. Just have a lot of confidence on the field," Slawinski said.
That confidence is well-earned. Slawinski is committed to Texas A&M baseball. If he elects to stay in College Station instead of heading to the pro ranks, he can expect a few more fans than he may be used to at his home high school park.
There may be a similar amount of school pride, though. And maroon.
"We fill up pretty good. The bleachers fill up," Slawinksi said. "And we have a bunch of vehicles park in the outfield. And then with the scouts this year, there was a lot more."
A small set of bleachers on either side of home plate sit at McKinney Feld in Johnson City. It's a humble place for one of the best pitchers in the country.
"You look at other guys in the draft class and just where they live and what they play on, it's just a completely different feeling [here]," he said.
In Johnson City, the bullpen is a mound of a dirt with a turf cover. The infield doesn't make things easy, either.
"The worst part is probably sliding. I mean you get cut up every single time you slide," Slawinski said. "I think my knees were bleeding every single time I slid this year. The dirt is definitely super hard, and there's big lips."
Despite the things McKinney Field doesn't have, Slawinski appreciates it and cherishes the memories made on the diamond.
"There's a lot of errors," he said. "It definitely makes you more mentally tough and really a warrior out here because it's hot. Balls take bad bounces. It just makes you a different breed of baseball player."
As Slawinski is set for the approaching draft, he is unsure of whether that will be his route, or if college baseball in College Station will be the choice. Either way, he knows he's appreciative of his upbringing.
"The guys in Johnson City are awesome. It's kind of like one big family," he said. "And just super thankful for that. And super proud to say I'm from Johnson City."