As Jonathan Santucci gets set to make just his fifth professional appearance for the High-A Brooklyn Cyclones on Saturday afternoon, it’s hard not to think about the path he took to get to this point.
Now 22, Santucci was one of the more heralded two-way prep players coming up in the 2021 MLB Draft class and was deservingly one of the darlings of the amateur circuit, including a stop with the New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series at 2020 International Week.
A late add to an event that was held not far from his Leominster, Mass. home at Fenway Park, Santucci was thrust onto a stage with names like Cam Collier, Braden Montgomery and others and more than held his own, reaching base in three of his five plate appearances and recording two strikeouts in two innings of work on the mound.
“I always thought that whatever field I was on, and no matter who was on the field, that I belonged with them, that I was just as good if not better,” Santucci told FSS Plus in a recent one-on-one interview.
“Having that mindset was really important, because 90 percent of baseball is mental. Having that confidence that you can execute pitch after pitch or at-bat after at-bat, so being in environments where you’re facing the best of the best week after week at the young level kind of sets you up for success down the road. It’s professional baseball, everyone’s here for the same reason and everyone has the same aspirations of being a big leaguer and fighting for that. I think that really sets you up on that competitive level moving forward, taking the best out of each pitch and becoming the best version of yourself.”
Part of doing that, at least back then, was ignoring paying any attention to who said what about who was supposedly better.
“I didn’t really look at rankings,” he said. “Just let your talent and play speak for itself, that’s really all you control. Obviously some people get more attention than others, but it ultimately comes down to what you show that really matters. I learned that from a young age, and continued with that. That always allowed me to have that confidence in myself, and that success against that top competition at a younger level kind of growing up with those kids and facing them over and over again, it made me feel like I belong and kept pushing me to higher and higher levels.”
With that said, Santucci elected to push himself and go the college route, joining Duke as a two-way player in 2022. But, it was apparent where he’d ultimately end up, with just 13 at-bats in his freshman year compared to 20 appearances on the mound. Surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow shortly into his second year on campus ultimately made the decision for him.
“During my sophomore year of college when I got hurt in March and missed the rest of the year, and had surgery, I took that entire summer to rehab and obviously the following year was my Draft year, so it seemed like a good time to transition to just pitching,” he said. “Realizing that my future was most likely on the mound, I wanted to put ally my focus towards that, and I think that paid really good dividends of finding that routine that works for me heading into that first full year as a pitcher only. That was a good stepping stone leading up to pro ball and using that to lead to where I am now.”
It was, Santucci says, “definitely difficult” to give up the two-way element of his game, recalling that growing up, he considered himself more of a hitter than anything else.
Ultimately, it’s clear he chose the proper path.
Santucci’s name shot up and down draft rankings throughout his junior year, with that status affected by a rib injury that limited him to just 13 starts, albeit a stretch in which he went 6-1 with a 3.41 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 58 innings of work. The New York Mets came calling with the 46th overall pick of the 2024 MLB Draft and $2.031M signing bonus that accompanies it.
“Getting drafted by the Mets was a dream come true,” he said. “Playing professional baseball has been a dream of mine since I could pick up a bat and a ball. But, the draft is something you don’t have control of, and I think that’s something I learned that throughout the year. You go out there and control what you can control, and I was lucky enough to get picked by the Mets. I couldn’t be more thankful and excited about what’s ahead of me.”
Santucci was shut down after being drafted and didn’t make his pro debut until this season, skipping Low-A St. Lucie entirely and heading straight to High-A Brooklyn, where he’s struck out 14 batters in his first 12 innings of work using a mid-90’s fastball, slider, curveball and changeup as he makes the adjustment to professional baseball.
FSS was in the house at @BKCyclones yesterday for @JonathanSantuc5’s pro debut, and here’s a look at the full sequence on his first career strikeout. #LGM @MetsPlayerDev pic.twitter.com/BYGcMfHQVM
— New Balance ?????? ????? ?????? (@ftrstarsseries) April 10, 2025
“I’m excited to see how things progress, start after start,” Santucci said. “I’m learning. Being in college, being a starter is different than being a professional starting pitcher. In college, the coach picks what pitch to throw, so this is the first time I have to sink into reading the swing and stuff like that, so it’s definitely a learning curve. But that’s what I like about pitching. It’s been exciting, and I’m excited to keep learning week after week.”
Since 2003, he has covered multiple World Series and has worked high-profile events ranging from the MLB All-Star Game to the World Baseball Classic. In addition to his role working for the Future Stars Series that he's held since 2017, Ashmore currently serves as the beat writer of the Double-A New York Yankees affiliate, the Somerset Patriots, as well as national hockey writer and New York Jets game day beat reporter for The Trentonian.
A regular contributor to Baseball America, Ashmore has worked seven Super Bowls, 11 Stanley Cup Finals, the 4 Nations Face-Off, the NBA Playoffs, College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Frozen Four, Daytona 500, major UFC events and much more as he approaches 3,200 games covered in his career.
An avid card collector and sim racer, he lives with his wife, Sarah, their son William, and their beloved dog, Bailey, and cat, Smokey.
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