FRANKLIN TWP. - Delsea senior lefthander Frank Cairone threw his first pitch and immediately, the assembled group behind him hurriedly recorded the results.
This happened each and every time Cairone threw the ball. The fact that these were warmup pitches about 20 minutes before Delsea’s home opener against Highland didn’t matter.
Every move Cairone made, from stretching to long-tossing in the outfield, to the bullpen session before the game, was studiously analyzed by the horde of Major League Baseball scouts in attendance.
There is no telling at this point whether the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Cairone will hear his name called during the MLB draft from July 13-15.
What is definite is that MLB teams are at least doing their due diligence, to see whether Cairone warrants a selection.
In his first start of the year on April 2, an estimated 12 MLB scouts were in attendance, with their radar guns, their computers and notepads. Every movement, every pitch was recorded.
This is draft season, but it really began in the winter when several MLB teams met with the Cairone family either in person or via a Zoom interview. Teams often do this, trying to get to know the player and the family.
These days, there is so much that goes into scouting a player. Whether a team selects the player or not, they will have as much intel on not only his playing ability, but his attitude, his character and his dedication to the sport.
No stone is left unturned.
A memorable home opener
It’s very easy to get overwhelmed by the situation, seeing so many radar guns recording every pitch. The scouts are situated behind home plate.
Some may suggest that a player being scouted should blurt out the scouts and only concentrate on the game. Easier said than done.
“Obviously I notice it, but it doesn’t change anything,” Cairone said after pitching three hitless innings and striking out 10 (that’s right 10 in three innings) on 59 pitches in a 3-0 victory over Highland. “It’s just other people watching, it’s like my parents’ friends.”
Even Cairone ever so briefly, allows himself to briefly enjoy the attention of the scouts.
“It’s cool to see,” he said.
That is about excited as he gets about the situation. For Cairone, what he thinks is cooler is being able to mow down hitters one after another.
If only his father could be so cool about all the events.
Frank Cairone Jr. (his son is Frank Cairone III) says his son is handling all the hullabaloo much better than he is. Upon seeing all the scouts on opening day, the elder Cairone was floored.
“This is nothing I expected, you think your kid is good, but this is kind of overwhelming,” he said. “Seeing the number of scouts at the game was overwhelming, to be ...
