Top-caliber competition

Four innings and five earned runs later, Bryce Johnson walked off the mound.

Although he wasn’t thrilled with the result, his coach was pleased that the right-hander from Sedalia had contained an elite offense.

“It was another good outing for Bryce,” said Ben Margalski, Johnson’s coach this summer. “I thought he threw a lot of strikes. He threw a lot of close pitches, let’s say. He pitched against a great hitting ballclub. It’s one of the best baseball teams you’ll see in the Midwest area.”

You see, this level of baseball is different from what most high school juniors get to experience, and people don’t understand how good the play is if they haven’t seen it with their own eyes.

“These are all the guys that are going to be playing at the next level,” Margalski said. “When you’re talking about college scouts coming out to watch, this is who they want to see them compete against is someone who they’re going to face at the next level. ... It’s just a little bit different.

Everyone here is a little bit bigger. Everyone here is a little bit stronger.”

Johnson is spending the summer traveling across the United States and playing against elite talent in Premier Baseball. The Smith-Cotton pitcher and quarterback is a member of the 17-and-under Rawlings Prospects team and is spending every Thursday through Sunday playing on college fields in front of college and professional scouts.

On June 28, Johnson took the mound at the University of Missouri against the 18-and-under Rawlings Prospect team. That squad is considered one of the top teams in the Midwest and features a lineup that includes eight Division I hitters.

“That’s the best team in the tournament,” Johnson said. “I’m glad I kind of got it done now before my next four weekends where we’re traveling playing big teams because I’m not going to see many better teams than that. I know what to expect now and I can go out and throw and get better every weekend.”

He was struggling to locate his breaking ball, but Johnson nonetheless held the older Prospects in check. His numbers could have been better, but his center fielder and shortstop misplayed balls that led to a few extra runs in the first and second innings.

It didn’t take much time sitting in the stands at Simmons Field to realize I was watching something way better than Legion ball. I’m not trying to take anything away from Legion, but it’s a simple truth.

The game I watched had at least 15 Division I-caliber players on the field. Most Legion games will have one, at best.

Some here have muttered that Johnson should spend his summers representing Sedalia instead of playing traveling ball.

My response is simple: He is representing Sedalia and he’s doing that on one of the best stages he can find.

“Obviously, you’re going to see a little better competition,” Johnson said. “All over the place, (you’re facing) D-I’s. In high school, you may have one or two D-I’s on a team, so it’s like you’re facing No. 3 hitters every time all the way through the lineup and in high school, your one through five hitters are your best hitters. But here, it’s one through nine.”

In Columbia, which was one of the smaller tournaments of the summer, I saw more than a handful of college scouts sitting behind home plate taking notes.

That kind of exposure could take Johnson to a quality college to play baseball, and Sedalians should support his efforts.

The Major League Baseball All-Star game is Tuesday, but Sedalia’s Johnson is playing in what amounts to a high school all-star game every night he takes the field for the Prospects.