Lehigh RHP Mason Black Joins The Baseball America College Podcast
Image credit: Lehigh righthander Mason Black (Photo courtesy of Lehigh/Lisa Stamford)
On this episode of the Baseball America College Podcast, presented by Rapsodo, Teddy Cahill and Joe Healy are joined by Lehigh righthander Mason Black, a highly-touted prospect for the 2021 draft.
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Black is coming off of a standout summer spent in the South Florida Collegiate League. With Boca Raton, he went 3-0 with a 0.64 ERA, 42 strikeouts and just 10 hits allowed in 28 innings. There must be something about summer ball for Black, as he had a similarly successful summer in 2019 with Brewster in the Cape Cod League, going 3-0 with a 1.47 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 36.2 innings.
The next step for Black is serving as a true workhorse for Lehigh in the spring. As a freshman, he threw 33 innings over 10 appearances, five of which were starts. In 2020, he was on track to be that type of top-of-the-rotation starter, striking out 29 and holding opponents to a .207 batting average in 22 innings over four starts, but the season cancellation stopped him in his tracks.
Given what he has already accomplished, and assuming he takes a step forward in 2021, the expectation is that Black will follow in the footsteps of former teammate Levi Stoudt and become the second high draft pick in three years to come out of the Lehigh rotation.
Among the topics discussed on this episode are:
- How the opportunity for Black in the South Florida Collegiate League came to be
- Black’s keys to success this summer
- How he has increased his velocity up to 98 mph
- How he has thrived in the last two summer ball seasons
- How he settled on bioengineering as his major and what he plans to do with the degree in the future
- The restaurant Black’s mom owns in his hometown
- His favorite thing about campus, his ideal burrito order and the secret room at Linderman Library
- The dynamic of the strong Lehigh pitching staff that also includes righthander Matt Svanson and lefthander Luke Rettig
- The key for Lehigh having a successful 2021 season
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