Venice's Marek Houston displays his baseball skills at MLB Draft Combine
Marek Houston’s senior season on the baseball diamond did not start with a bang.
He was struck with a pitch on his wrist in a preseason game which caused the Venice High senior shortstop and captain to miss the first 11 games of the season.
During that time Venice endured a seven-game losing streak that coincidently ended with Houston’s return to the lineup against Riverview High.
All-Area Baseball: Herald-Tribune's 2022 All-Area Baseball Team
Keep your eye on this guy: The next big thing on the baseball diamond?
Clyde Metcalf: A common theme: Sarasota's Clyde Metcalf was a winner
Venice won six of its next seven games with Houston in the lineup and anchoring the infield, but it certainly was not the type of season he had hoped for.
Still, Houston was one of more than 250 draft-eligible players and the only high school player from the area — former Venice High pitcher and current University of South Florida right-hander Orion Kerkering also was selected — to take part in the Major League Baseball Draft Combine June 15-18 at Petco Park in San Diego.
Hello, San Diego
Flying Delta with a stop in Atlanta on June 13, Houston touched down in San Diego and was transported to the Grand Hyatt Hotel, his living quarters for the week.
Houston went through some medical tests which were followed by plenty of workouts, drills and games.
He got to hit batting practice pitches from former major league catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and he felt he made a pretty good impression while at the same time being humbled by the experience.
“I thought I did pretty good," Houston said. "It’s hard to tell with that many kids there. I did what I could, I’m happy with it. It humbles you a little bit, seeing all the great players from around the country. It kind of puts you in your place. It shows there is a lot of talent out there and you have to work harder than other people.”
When he was not on the field, Houston spent time walking around San Diego since it was his first visit to the city — “It was a pretty cool experience,” he said.
Ironically, Houston was paired with Blake Cyr as a roommate for the week. It was Cyr’s Windermere team that defeated Venice, 1-0, in the regional quarterfinals, ending Venice’s season and Houston’s high school career.
High school memories
While In the starting lineup at second base as a freshman, Houston helped Venice win its most recent state baseball championship in 2019 by knocking in the winning run in a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Doral Academy out of Miami.
After shortstop Kevin Dubrule graduated, Houston moved to the other side of second base where he played for three years, when healthy.
As a junior, Houston hit .384 with four doubles, four triples, a home run, 23 runs scored and 16 runs batted in. There were plenty of reasons to expect a big season as a senior.
But one pitch in a preseason game derailed those thoughts.
"Even though he got hurt and struggled to bounce back from that, I know that was a difficult and disappointing thing for him to have so many people excited about it,' Venice High baseball coach Craig Faulkner said. "And then all of a sudden he gets hurt."
Prior to the season, Houston was named one of the team captains. "He did a nice job with it," Faulkner said. "It was neat to see how he handled that and how he still tried to lead our team. Even with a cast on his hand, he was still trying to lead and make a difference for our high school team."
Even when Houston returned to the lineup after missing 11 games, there was an adjustment period.
“It still kind of irritated me,” he said. “It was healed. It was just getting used to hitting and hitting with the wrist.
"I wish I would have played the whole season. Even coming back it was still tough getting back in the swing of things.”
However, the fact that the team went on a winning streak upon his return was a little consolation. “The highlight was the end of the season,” Houston said. “We were struggling for a good portion of the season and at the end we kind of picked it up. If we ended up winning that last game, we could have made it pretty far.”
"We needed that piece," Faulkner said. "Even though it was a slow start coming back from an injury like that. It takes a while. Even though he may not have made a huge impact in the lineup as far as base hits and things like that, he made a huge impact for us defensively and just put people back in their real roles. It was just more of a comfortable feeling with him out there."
The impact of his presence in the lineup and on the field was eye-opening for not only Houston but also the rest of the Venice players.
"It's really a different year when you have a player like Marek that attracts so many scouts and big-league guys," Faulkner said. "It just changes the atmosphere.
"It's kind of a dream for a high school player to come to the field and see 12 guys sitting there with stopwatches. It's almost like a movie, almost like a dream. But it's a pretty neat thing in baseball that happens sometimes. In that sense it was pretty neat for the kids to see that."
On the gridiron
Prior to joining the baseball team, Houston was the punter for the Venice football team. He picked up his second state championship in the fall, when Venice defeated Apopka, 35-7, to win the Class 8A state title.
Averaging just more than one punt per game for 14-1 Venice, Houston punted 16 times for a 41.8 average. His final punt came in the championship game for 43 yards, pinning the Blue Darters at their own 13-yard line. Three plays later, Damon Wilson picked off a pass on his own deflection in the end zone for a touchdown giving Venice a 21-7 lead.
Venice football coach John Peacock believes Houston could be a college punter. "He was pretty good," Peacock said. "We did not punt much last year."
While he has not punted since, Houston has not slammed the door on punting. “I wouldn’t mind it,” he said. “Maybe one day I’ll go out and do it.
“It could be if I maybe get a tryout at Wake Forest. Or if something doesn’t work out, I think I could maybe find a spot somewhere. I really didn’t try to get recruited in football.”
It's off to Winston-Salem
On July 5, Houston heads to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to enroll at Wake Forest University for summer school.
"He could play for a really good coach and a great team," Faulkner said of Demon Deacons coach Tom Walter. "Wake Forest is a good program. He's gonna be challenged if he chooses to go the college route. They're gonna have great players there.
"When you go to a school like that, there's always going to be someone pushing on you. There's always the next good player coming in. That's what makes you a great player ... when you've got a lot of competition and you've got to rise to it."
He plans to return to Nokomis just before the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft scheduled for July 17-19.
The right-handed hitter did not get an indication of where he could be drafted while in San Diego.
“Everyone doesn’t really know,” he said. “The scouts don’t really tell you that much because there are different people in different levels that have to make decisions. It’s kind of a mystery. I wish I could get some information about that. But I guess you never know.”
However, Houston’s Plant City-based advisor told him he could be selected between the second and eighth round.
In the meantime, Houston plans to keep working out at Positive Sports Lab in Sarasota in an effort to add some muscle to his 6-foot-3, 181-pound frame, while not doing many baseball activities.
“I would like to put on some more pounds and muscle, kind of even out the height and weight,” he said.
Faulkner thinks Houston has the type of skills to be a shortstop in professional baseball.
"He's definitely got the arm that's strong enough," Faulkner said. "He's a very accurate thrower of the baseball. He can throw off balance. He can throw on the run. He covers a lot of ground. He's very quick with his first step.
"As big as he is, he moves very, very well. He can backhand. He can forehand. He's got very soft hands. Even the really tough hop he catches most of the time. He could easily be a third baseman as well. But I think he'll get a shot at shortstop because he can play there."
If nothing else, Marek Houston has plenty of options in front of him with college, professional baseball and possibly even football.
2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft
WHEN: July 17-19
WHERE: Los Angeles, California
TV: MLB Network
SELECTIONS: 616 draft picks over 20 rounds
Dennis Maffezzoli is the deputy sports editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and chief reporter for Sarasota Herald-Tribune and HTpreps covering Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties. Support local journalism by subscribing.
Follow @maffsports on Twitter
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Venice's Marek Houston displays his baseball skills at MLB Draft Combine
