Gavin Grahovac being his own person on way to MLB draft
ORANGE, Calif. (BVM) 鈥� For Gavin Grahovac, baseball is a family tradition.
His father, Mike, was a fourth-round draft pick by the San Francisco Giants and has been a longtime coach at both the high school and college levels. His cousin is Garrett Mitchell, an outfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers.聽
If Gavin had any type of baseball question growing up, he had quite the panel to get expertise from.
鈥淔rom a young age, I wanted to play in MLB,鈥� Gavin said. 鈥淚鈥檝e kind of leaned on them.鈥�
Now, Grahovac is not too far away from that goal.聽
According to , the Villa Park High School shortstop is the No. 62 prospect in this year鈥檚 MLB draft class. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound standout has unique power for someone his age which was on display as he slugged at a .680 clip as a junior and a .747 clip as a sophomore.
Starting this one off with a bang as Gavin Grahovac () smacks this double deep to center. (CA) 2023 鈥� signee
Profile:
— Five Tool California (@FiveToolCA)
But he had put himself on the map even before this, receiving attention from colleges by the end of his seventh-grade year. While that type of situation could be a lot for someone that age, Grahovac viewed it differently.
鈥淚 looked at it in a fun way and realized that I had an opportunity to play at the next level,鈥� Grahovac said. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 something I needed to stress out about.鈥�
Heading into his junior year, he announced his commitment to Texas A&M.
鈥淭he culture and coaching staff experience is quite literally second-to-none,鈥� Grahovac said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just something I wanted to be a part of.鈥�
Come July鈥檚 MLB draft, Grahovac will have to make a decision on his baseball future on whether he wants to start his professional career or play college ball. But in the meantime, he is enjoying the present.
Gavin Grahovac (2023 Orange, CA) found multiple barrels on the day. The offensive upside is vast. This is a fast-slow view.
— Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting)
鈥淚鈥檓 super excited for what鈥檚 to come, but I just try to leave it be and play my game in high school,鈥� Grahovac said.
While Grahovac鈥檚 father may have the baseball pedigree, he is not the only one in Gavin鈥檚 corner that is helping him in his current situation, as his mother has been just as helpful off the field.
鈥淢y mom is always checking in on me making sure I鈥檓 okay,鈥� Grahovac said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 played a huge role throughout this process keeping me mentally strong throughout all this.鈥�
As Grahovac finishes up his high school career, the Spartans鈥� games are littered with scouts. Despite that, Grahovac knows if he stays within himself, the rest will go to plan.
鈥�23 INF Gavin Grahovac with a hustle play to take second on a hard hit ball through the left side.
Has made two strong plays – one ranging deep behind the 2nd base bag – at short.
— 饾悘饾悜饾悇饾悘 饾悂饾悁饾悞饾悇饾悂饾悁饾悑饾悑 饾悅饾悁饾悑饾悎饾悈饾悗饾悜饾悕饾悎饾悁 (@PrepBaseballCA)
鈥淚 feel like I don鈥檛 need to prove myself to anyone besides myself,鈥� Grahovac said. 鈥淚f I play my own game, be my own person and be the team guy that I am, those are my biggest goals for me because I want to win a CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) ring before anything else happens.鈥�