The No. 1 European prospect is the Czech Republic’s bullpen weapon

The Czech Republic’s World Baseball Classic hopes all rested on the arm of a willowy 18-year-old with a fireballing proper arm and a intestine of metal. After shedding its first recreation, 21-7, to Spain, yet another loss would ship them dwelling — one other match would have handed by with out the small central European nation collaborating. So, after coming from behind after an early 3-0 deficit to Germany, the CR held a slim 7-4 lead within the prime of the fifth inning.

Starter Daniel Padyšák had settled down after that tough first body, however with the bases loaded supervisor Pavel Chadim made the decision: He was going to Perfect Game’s No. 1 European prospect, Michal Kovala.

It may have been a dangerous determination. The destiny of the Czech Republic’s World Baseball Classic hopes rested on a child who was nonetheless in highschool.

But Kovala wasn’t anxious: He had really predicted the entire thing earlier than the sport began.

“I told [Padyšák] before the game, ‘If you got runners on with no outs, I got you,'” Kovala stated.

Kovala induced a groundout, then obtained a swinging strikeout to finish the body. He pitched 4 extra scoreless innings, ending the sport on a ground-ball double-play straight again to the mound from former massive leaguer Bruce Maxwell. There was by no means a second of doubt within the teenager’s thoughts — though this was the primary match he had competed in with the nationwide crew.

“He’s not scared,” Czech Republic pitching coach John Hussey stated. “It wouldn’t matter if it’s a big league hitter or a guy that’s new to baseball to him. It’s the same guy in the box. It’s easy to coach with somebody like that.”

A couple of days later, the Czech crew upset Spain to qualify for its first World Baseball Classic. It should not be shocking that Kovala is not shook. Seemingly born with an impish grin and the form of self-belief everybody ought to aspire to, Kovala is prepared for something when the Czech Republic begins Pool B play in Tokyo later this week.

“I really enjoy pressure,” Kovala stated. “I go in and I just pitch.”

Before the upcoming World Baseball Classic and lengthy earlier than Perfect Game named him the No. 1 European prospect, Kovala was like most children studying from their household. Kovala’s father had performed for the Czech nationwide crew and his older brother performed within the Czech Baseball Extraliga.

“The first time I got to practice, they showed me the glove and I put it on the wrong hand — obviously,” Kovala stated with fun. “And then they told me to put it on the left because you throw with your better hand.”

But Kovala wasn’t some child rising up in Texas or the Dominican Republic. He was born in Ostrava — a small mining metropolis within the Czech Republic’s northeast nook. Even with the Czech baseball crew having not too long ago made historical past, baseball trails far behind hockey and soccer. Only 10,000 individuals within the nation even play the game.

“Not everybody knows about baseball. When you walk around and you’re like, ‘Oh, I’m going to the World Baseball Classic,’ people in Czech are like, ‘Uhhh …'” Kovala jokes.

The teenager with a giant arm rapidly caught coach’s eyes, although. A member of the Ostrava Arrows youth baseball crew, they rapidly promoted him far past his age. He was the Doogie Howser of the diamond, the younger phenom dominating in opposition to anybody and everybody within the league.

“I played for under-12, under-15s, under-18s,” Kovala stated. “At one time, I think I was 16, I was playing for the under-18 team, on their U-23 team and the men’s league, too. I was on three teams at one time.”

He earned an invitation to MLB’s European camps, the place massive league coaches attend to offer instruction and look to assist improvement of the game across the globe. A two-way participant on the time, Kovala confronted off one of the best gamers from Italy, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands — international locations that traditionally have had extra spectacular nationwide applications than the Czech Republic’s.

“They were all bigger and taller than me,” Kovala stated. “I was like, ‘Dang, I’ve got a lot of work to do.'”

While he could have the stuff of a star, Kovala stands simply 5-foot-10 and weighs simply 175 lbs — and that is after years of devoted focus. Earlier in his profession he was mild sufficient {that a} sturdy sufficient breeze would possibly knock him off the mound. He got here to the United States in 2020 and enrolled at Combine Academy in North Carolina, weighing in at a whopping 135 kilos.

“My pitching coach was like, ‘You need to give up hitting and [being a] position player. You need to gain about 40 pounds, then you’re gonna throw 90-plus and you’re gonna dominate on the mound.”

He’s bulked up significantly and added an additional 5 ticks on his fastball earlier than Perfect Game launched its rankings final March. While he is been unable to eat his mom’s svíčková, a standard Czech consolation meals that includes beef, a creamy brown sauce, cranberries and potato dumplings, he has helped himself to the south’s cult favourite quick meals restaurant, Cook Out.

“I was eating literally everything, getting about two Cook Outs a day,” Kovala stated, a smile spreading throughout his face. ” A couple milkshakes, couple protein shakes. There’s a lot of calories per day.”

He’s additionally watched Major Leaguers with related builds, discovering consolation in figuring out that you do not should be a towering large to succeed on the game’s highest stage.

“I just love [Marcus] Stroman,” Kovala stated, paying shut consideration to him after watching him pitch within the 2017 Classic. “I started following his Twitter and he was always talking about how it’s your heart, not about your size. That just inspired me to keep working because I used to always be the smallest guy everywhere I went. That inspired me to pursue my passion.”

Kovala will be part of Georgia Tech within the fall and he hopes he can proceed to shock individuals all the best way to the professionals. He desires that sooner or later, younger youngsters from the Czech Republic will see him pitch on a giant league mound and know that they, too, can attain the Major Leagues.

“I had a couple of kids text me like, ‘I want to go to America, too.’ And that just puts a smile on my face because I know I’m that stepping stone.”