Sports followers in Hometown Weekly’s communities have seen two familiar names in lights this week, as two of its native sons were selected in the 2022 Major League Baseball draft. Cam Schlittler of Walpole was picked in the seventh round by the New York Yankees, while Medfielder Jack Goodman was taken in the 15th round by the Texas Rangers.
Schlittler, a 6’6” right-handed pitcher from East Walpole who dominated in his high school career, has been hard at work at Northeastern University since his graduation. An especially strong 2021 with the Huskies saw him go 8-1 with a 1.88 ERA (good for tenth-best in the country) and 85 strikeouts in just 76.2 innings; it eventually led to an invitation to the Cape Cod League and multiple honors, including being named to the NCBWA Freshman All-America Team and as an Collegiate Baseball Freshmen All-American, among others.
Schlittler’s seventh-round selection by the Yankees will see the Walpole native (and childhood Red Sox fan) switching sides in the regional hardball divide, a fact he acknowledged on Twitter after his selection: “Hometown rivals!” he wrote. “Pumped to be a Yankee!”
Medfield shortstop Jack Goodman, meanwhile, has been one of the most exciting position players in Massachusetts high school baseball recently — a fact the Texas Rangers organization further emphasized by selecting him in the 15th round, 439th overall. Goodman, who hit a gaudy .523 last season as the Medfield Warriors advanced all the way to the DIII championship game against Taconic, was the runaway Tri-Valley League (TVL) MVP.
“A dream come true,” he wrote on his Instagram page. “Thank you to the @rangers for selecting me in this year’s draft and everyone who has helped me along the way. This is just the start!”
Goodman is committed to Pepperdine University, where he is set to play DI baseball for the Waves in the West Coast Conference. The commitment, plus his draft selection, gives Goodman something to consider in the short-term; he must decide whether to forgo his college commitment and turn pro by August 1.
