Cedar Rapids native A.J. Puk a top MLB draft pick, perhaps the top pick

CEDAR RAPIDS — The house he lives in on campus at the University of Florida isn't nearly big enough, so A.J. Puk has made alternative plans for the biggest night of his life.

The former Cedar Rapids Washington prep has secured the back room of a restaurant in Gainesville, Fla., where he, teammate Buddy Reed and several others will watch the first round of the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft unfold. It'll be televised live by MLB Network beginning at 5 p.m. (Iowa time).

'I'm really excited about it,' Puk said Wednesday. 'My whole family is here with me, as well as some friends. The house was just too small to fit everybody.'

Puk was invited by MLB to travel to New York City for the draft but politely declined. He and his Florida Gators have a huge best-of-three NCAA super regional to play this weekend against rival Florida State, with the winner moving on to the College World Series.

So his mom and dad (Chris and Dave), brother, two sisters and others made the trip to Florida to be with him and celebrate. The 6-foot-7 left-handed junior pitcher is a guaranteed early first-round pick, very possibly the first-overall selection.

As of late Wednesday afternoon, national reports had the Philadelphia Phillies strongly considering Puk and about three or four others. The Cincinnati Reds pick second, followed by the Atlanta Braves, Colorado Rockies and Milwaukee Brewers.

No player from Iowa ever has been drafted first overall. Marshalltown's Jeff Clement was taken third overall by the Seattle Mariners in 2005 after a great college career at Southern California.

'It'd be great for Iowa. I think it proves all you need to get is an opportunity,' Puk said. 'I have no idea what's going to happen. We'll see tomorrow. I'm not too worried about it. I'm just trying to enjoy the moment.'

'To be honest, it's kind of a surreal feeling,' Chris Puk said last week. 'A.J. has dreamed of this for a long time. We're trying not to think too much about it right now. It's out there, we know it, but we're trying to keep it all in perspective right now.'

How did a kid from little old Cedar Rapids, Iowa, get to the point where he's MLB's possible first-overall draft pick?

Start with genes. Chris Puk was an outstanding gymnast, Dave Puk a good overall athlete who played fullback at the University of Minnesota.

The Puk name has been synonymous with football. A.J.'s uncle J.J. was a linebacker for the Iowa Hawkeyes and his uncle Kevin played at Stanford.

A.J. was Washington's starting varsity quarterback as a freshman, but it was baseball he ultimately chose to pursue exclusively. A rare eighth-grade varsity player, he was known just as much for his hitting as his pitching in high school.

Many thought he was a possible top five-round draft pick in 2013, but he told scouts he was intent on going to college. The Detroit Tigers made him a cursory 35th-round selection.

'One of the reasons I decided to come here was my development, helping me get to this point,' Puk said.

Puk was a two-way player as a freshman at Florida, but it all came together for him last season on the mound. As he began to physically fill his big frame, his fastball began consistently hitting the mid-90s, reaching the upper-90s. His slider developed bite.

He became a big-time pro prospect. This season has been up and down, as back spasms sabotaged him and his overall statistics for Florida declined some.

But a 6-7, 230-pound lefty with his stuff has scouts thinking about the next Randy Johnson.

'Honestly, I don't think he's done growing, yet, either,' said Travis Mueller, who tutored Puk at Perfect Game USA from age 10 through his high-school years. 'He didn't throw a lot of innings as a kid, and that has really helped him. There's not a lot of mileage on his arm.'

Mueller and Ron Benich, Puk's main hitting tutor growing up, both pointed out Puk's desire to become the best player he could be.

'A.J.'s just a humble kid,' said Benich, an assistant coach at Kirkwood Community College. 'He doesn't invite the spotlight. He just wants to do his thing.'

'When he was a young kid, did I see him getting to this point? Absolutely not. You can never think something like that,' Mueller said. 'But he's so coachable, has always had a level head. As a coach, you can tell within the first five minutes if a kid is going to listen to you. A.J. was a sponge. He wanted to learn the game the right way ... Was A.J. good? Yeah. But he has busted his butt to get where he is.'

Where he's at is on the verge of being a 21-year-old millionaire. Major League Baseball puts dollar values on its early round picks, and No. 1 overall is worth $9 milion.

The fifth-overall pick is valued at a little over $4 million. That's some serious scratch.

'I hope people in the community understand just how big this story is,' Benich said.

'I'm just focusing on our team right now,' Puk said. 'Then I'll be excited about going professional and getting better.'

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