BASEBALL: Ex-Bandys left-hander Deal to sign free agent contract with Braves

By CHRIS HOBBS

HobbsDailyReport.com

CATAWBA – When Hayden Deal had thrown nine or 10 pitches on Tuesday back at his old stomping grounds, the scout had seen enough.

“He said ‘I’ve seen all I need to see,’” Deal said Wednesday, a day after scout Billy Best watched him throw at the baseball field at Bandys High, his alma mater.

After Best made a phone call, he offered Deal– a 6-foot-4 left-hander who pitched four seasons at Presbyterian College – a free agent contract with the Atlanta Braves.

Deal leaves on Thursday morning for Orlando, Fla., takes his physical on Friday prior to signing his contract, and then waits for his first minor-league assignment. He anticipates first playing in the short-season Gulf Coast League.

Deal arrived at Bandys on Tuesday expecting to throw at least 20 pitches. And when Best said he’d seen enough, Deal said he didn’t know what to think at first.

“At first, I had no idea,” Deal said. “Then he got on the phone. … and then said ‘Congrats, you’re a Brave’ and I just started smiling.”

It was a good Tuesday, Deal said, with former big-league pitcher Bryan Harvey, former Major League Baseball Draft pick Kris Harvey, Bandys head coach Frank Porter and Bandys assistant coach Brian Ballard all there with him.

Deal is a second-generation athlete at Bandys. His dad, David, played basketball and football and his uncle, Lee, played basketball.

Hayden Deal had hoped to be drafted last week, but when the 40 rounds were over his name had not been called. He then entertained pitching in an independent league in Washington, Pa., after throwing last week for the Kansas City Royals in Burlington, N.C.

The Royals told Deal their minor league rosters were virtually full, so he discussed the spot in Pennsylvania after the Royals workout.

Bryan Harvey helped arrange for Best to give Deal a look-see this week, Deal said.

“I knew Bryan knew Billy really well… but I’d never talked to them (the Braves),” Deal said.

Bryan Harvey’s own path to the big leagues began with a similar by-chance look-see from a pro baseball scout.

After he had been called by some friends to pitch in a semi-pro game in Mount Ulla – where the then-California Angels scout was attending to watch former Mooresville High catcher Brian Meadows – the scout asked Harvey to throw for him on a vacant field in Mooresville.

Harvey threw about 10 pitches, hitting in the mid- to high 90s on a radar gun – and was offered a $2,500 contract on the spot (1985). By 1987, he made his major league debut. By early the next season, the Angels called him up for good.

In signing Deal, the Braves are getting a pitcher who made big strides while at Presbyterian. He signed with the Blue Hose in 2013 after four seasons as a starting pitcher at Bandys who often played outfield when Hunter Harvey — Bryan’s son and a first-round MLB Draft pick in 2013 by the Baltimore Orioles — pitched.

“When I got there (college), I sorta worked (toward) making a name for myself,” said Deal, who at the time had a fastball, curveball and change-up he could throw for strikes. “My coaches began helping me to learn how to pitch and how to get people out.”

Deal’s first goal was to be a weekend college starter, and he reached it. By his sophomore year, he had added a cutter to his pitching arsenal and then – with new pitching coach Parker Bangs working with him – he added a two-seamer.

“(As a freshman), I went out and threw as hard as I could to try to get people out,” said Deal, who noted he later began to get his entire body and pitching motion smoother.

“I learned how to pitch better,” he said.

Deal said his fastball is in the 89-91 mph range.

He has pitched in multiple roles while in college.

As a freshman, he was a spot starter. The next year, he made 29 appearances. As a junior, he led the Big South Conference in appearances (31) and had seven saves.

Last season, when Presbyterian went 32-29 (15-9 Big South), Deal went 4-4 in 13 starts, threw 78 1/3 innings, had 78 strikeouts versus 34 walks and opponents hit just .233 against him.

All that, and a chance to throw this week at a familiar place, puts him behind the wheel early Thursday morning for a drive of about 8 ½ hours.

He’s going back to the same location he visited a week or so ago with some college baseball buddies who took a senior trip to Orlando together.

“I was about five minutes away,” from the Braves training facility, Deal said.

HAYDEN DEAL AT PRESBYTERIAN

Years	App/starts	IP	Record	ERA	Ks	BB	Opp. average
Freshman	13/5	30	0-3	5.70	27	18	.305
Sophomore	29/2	43.2	2-3	4.53	43	26	.242
Junior	31/0	30.2	2-1	6.16	34	15	.254
Senior	14/13	78.1	4-4	3.56	78	34	.233
Totals	87/20	182.2	8-11	4.58	182	93	.261

Notes: Deal had three saves as a sophomore and seven as a junior, when his 31 appearances led the Big South Conference.

SOURCE: Presbyterian baseball stats