Orchard Lake St. Mary's Brock Porter named Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year

Brock Porter may go down as the most dominant high school baseball player in the history of the state of Michigan and on Tuesday, he got some hardware to back up that claim.

Porter, the Orchard Lake St. Mary's standout, has been named the 2022 Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year. He is just the second player from the state to win the award in its 37-year history, joining Brighton's Drew Henson in 1997-98.

On Tuesday, New York Mets star Francisco Lindor met virtually with Porter to present him the honor of being the nation's top baseball player.

"Yeah I had no idea this was happening," Porter said via zoom Tuesday afternoon. "All of a sudden I see Lindor on the screen and people walking in with a big trophy and it was a huge surprise to me, I had no idea anything was going to happen."

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The 6-foot-4, 215-pound right-hander is committed to Clemson and expected to be a first-round pick in next month's MLB draft. Some analysts believe he will be the first pitcher taken.

The award "recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Porter as the nation's best high school baseball player."

When selected earlier this month, Porter had a 6-0 record on the mound with a 0.17 ERA and 87 strikeouts compared to just 17 walks in 42 innings.

He posted a WHIP of 0.476 while opponents hit a microscopic .024 against him — Porter said it was the development of a new breaking ball that really took his game to the next level.

"My slider has gotten a lot better, that's kind of a newer pitch for me and I think all my pitches have just grown so much since my freshman year," he said. "Continuing to get them better and have them work in the games has been really nice."

He was also a force at the plate, hitting .517 with four home runs, 17 RBIs and a 1.528 OPS in 29 at-bats. Porter is ranked the No. 7 prospect in the nation by Perfect Game and No. 12 by Baseball America.

“Brock Porter is such a deserving winner of the Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year Award,” said Jim Callis, senior writer for MLB Pipeline. “He's the best high school pitcher in the country, potentially the first pitcher to be selected in the 2022 draft, and a driving force on one of the best high school teams in the nation."

The Eaglets, who won Division 2 state championships in 2019 and 2021 (there was no 2020 season due to COVID-19) have advanced to the state semifinals in Division 1 this year, are undefeated and are ranked the No. 1 team in America.

OLSM is 112-1 in its last  113 games.

"I think it's everything I pretty much hoped for," Porter said of his high school career that has one final weekend left. "All the hard work I put it over the years, it's all kind of paying off now and hopefully it continues to pay off.

"I think I just need to keep working hard and getting better and good things will happen."

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Porter previously served as student council president and vice president at St. Mary’s, is an altar server at the Holy Spirit Church and is a student representative for his school with the Michigan High School Athletic Association Student Advisory Committee, according to an award news release.

He also has volunteered at the Pickens Baseball Academy and donated time on behalf of St. Williams Church and the Miracle League while maintaining a 4.24 GPA.

Gatorade National Baseball Players of the Year have combined for four MLB MVP awards, 42 All-Star appearances and 27 MLB first-round draft picks.

Among the most notable names on the list: Gary Sheffield, Alex Rodriguez, Zack Greinke, Justin Upton, Clayton Kershaw, Rick Porcello, Lance McCullers Jr. and Bobby Witt Jr.

"I was just told some of the names that were on it and I didn't know before," he said. "It means the absolute world to me and juts to have my name eon that is a completely prestigious award and I'm super excited and honored to be named."

Current Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch won the award while playing in Midwest City, Oklahoma, in 1991-92.

Porter cited his "brothers" as the key to the success. He said they're not just teammates on the field, but support one another off the field as a close-knit group, a vibe he says that doesn't exist on every team.

"Our team is like brothers, I would invite anyone of them to my house and we're all just best friends," he said. "We go bowling, golfing, eat a bunch of candy in the dugout, we mess with each other all the time and hang out together.

"I think that brotherhood that we have here is just different than anywhere else and that's what's been helping us win these games, not only the talent, but the brotherhood and friendships we have with each other."

Contact Tony Garcia at apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @realtonygarcia.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: OLSM's Brock Porter: Gatorade National Baseball Player of Year