Drew Rerick
Devils Lake saw firsthand what Drew Rerick is capable of.
The fireballer from Fargo Davies came to town last week and utterly dominated the Firebirds’ offense. He struck out 14 over 7 2/3 innings, allowing just four hits. Devils Lake took a tough-luck loss despite the efforts of Mason Palmer, who delivered an outstanding pitching performance in his own right.
Firebirds head coach Brent Luehring made it clear to his group that most hitters in North Dakota would look bad against Rerick. They had nothing to be ashamed of after a heck of a fight against him.
Rerick is just that good.
In the latest MLB draft prospect ranking released by scout Joe Doyle and the Future Star Series staff, Rerick came in at No. 155 in the country. He rose a whopping 109 spots from the previous list. Before the season, Prospects Live ranked Rerick the No. 84 high school prospect in the country — which, notably, doesn’t include the plethora of otherworldly college talents the nation has to offer. So to be No. 155 overall is a huge jump.
Rerick has entered the national radar as a legitimate MLB draft prospect, and he’s only getting better.
“I want to play Major League Baseball,” he said after his dominance of the Firebirds. “And I want to stay there for years, and just enjoy it.”
Rerick’s success is particularly noteworthy, given the relative lack of draft prospects in North Dakota compared to other states. In fact, Rerick is the only North Dakotan in the Future Star Series’ top 500. The first line of his scouting report even reads “rare find out of the great state of North Dakota.”
It’s something he takes pride in.
“It’s been special,” Rerick said. “Being from Fargo, North Dakota — just North Dakota in general — putting myself and the city and state on the map is pretty special.”
Being a North Dakota kid, he naturally played hockey as well growing up. The skills in the different sports complemented each other, specifically regarding his quick footwork that’s given him a solid pickoff move.
But during his sophomore year of high school, he had to give up hockey to focus solely on baseball.
“That was a hard decision for me, but it ultimately worked out in my favor,” Rerick said. “It was kind of hard leaving all my friends who I’d grown up with playing hockey, and I really enjoyed hockey, but overall it helped me a lot on the baseball field.”
One of the first major baseball experiences for him was playing in the Little League World Series. That was only six years ago, in 2018. A quick Google search of his name will bring up a video of him dominating Iowa in the Midwest Regional, when he struck out 13 in a complete-game victory.
“It was really cool because that was the first time I got to really play a lot of the better teams in other states,” Rerick said. “And the first time I played on ESPN. So that was just a really special moment.”
In the years since, Rerick has developed into a hulking 6-foot-5, 230-pound presence on the mound. His physicality is what got him here, but refining his secondary pitches and committing to building velocity have soared him to even greater heights.
With a fastball now sitting in the mid 90s, Rerick has even been reported to reach as high as 98 mph. His velocity has progressively trended upward. To already be nearing 100 mph in high school is extremely impressive, especially considering he still has time to add even more ticks to his fastball. He only recently turned 18 years old.
But another thing Rerick has continued to improve on — as the Firebirds are certainly aware — is his breaking stuff. A concern in some earlier scouting reports of Rerick was that his secondary pitches didn’t have enough consistent bite. This year, he’s worked on sharpening both his curveball and slider, in addition to the sinking changeup that Future Star Series said might be his best secondary pitch. That changeup was on display against Devils Lake; it’s just cruel given that he can pump it into the high 90s on the very next pitch.
“I added a slider that helps keep the hitters off balance even more,” Rerick said. “And a new curveball too. So everything with my secondaries has gotten a lot better this year, and it just helps me overall a lot.”
His slider is a short, sharp pitch that might not quite be a true modern sweeper, but it still has strong bite. His curveball is much more of the 12-6 variety, and has an effective arc while still getting in on a hitter’s hands surprisingly quickly for a curve. Luehring was taken aback by how fast even Rerick’s breaking pitches were, and that includes his curveball, which reaches the 80s on the speed gun.
The improvements have really transformed Rerick from a good pitching prospect to a great one; now, in addition to throwing heat, he can spin the ball from multiple angles at multiple speeds. And, as Luehring noticed, he’s not afraid to throw any pitch in any count.
Luehring said he could just see the confidence oozing out of Rerick on the mound.
And with his draft stock rising, scouts have been all over him. A few even made the trip out to Devils Lake to watch him pitch. Rerick was recruited hard by multiple top universities, and eventually settled on a commitment to Texas A&M, which has been ranked as high as No. 1 in the country this season.
“It came down to their pitching coach, their fans, their stadium and everything,” Rerick said of his decision. “It was just really cool down there, and they really care about their players. And they have a really good vibe on the team.”
Rerick may have a tough choice to make in the mid-July draft, though. He’s committed to an elite college baseball program, but at this point, it’s highly likely he’ll get selected on Day 2 of the draft. Draft rankings can only be used as a very rough estimator, but being the No. 155 prospect could mean he gets picked near the fifth round.
If he does get picked that high, or in a similar spot, and depending how substantial his signing bonus is, it might be worth going pro right out of high school. Rerick isn’t quite in the camp of the guaranteed first-rounders who essentially have no chance of fulfilling their college commitments, but he’s ranked high enough that there could be a real opportunity to be had in bypassing school. He’s firmly in the middle within the realm of top draft prospects.
Either way, Rerick said he’ll be satisfied with whichever scenario plays out.
“I’m gonna go to a top-five college program, or I go to play Major League Baseball,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s a win-win situation, and I’m happy with both.”
And, no matter what Rerick ultimately chooses, it’s nearly a guarantee that his name is going to be read during the upcoming MLB draft in July. That’s an accomplishment in its own right. The words “Fargo Davies High School” are going to be read out loud on a national stage. The Peace Garden State is going to have one more athlete of its own to watch at a higher level.
North Dakota stood up for Grant Nelson, and now it’s going to stand up for Drew Rerick.
