Sports

LIC’s Almonte first baseball player drafted from school since 1967

Josh Almonte was sitting on the subway when he received a phone call that may change his life.

He was headed to his Corona home Wednesday afternoon after school when his phone began buzzing – it was Toronto Blue Jays area scout Michael Pesce informing the Long Island City outfielder the club had taken him in the 22nd round (685th overall) of the MLB First-Year Player Draft.

“I didn’t want to seem crazy on the train, so I stayed quiet,” he recalled. “On the inside I was definitely yelling.”

Almonte isn’t sure yet what he plans to do. He has a full scholarship to Division I junior college Miami Dade and will meet with his family and advisors before deciding.

“It’s a very hard choice to make,” he said. “It’s definitely something I would love to do, to go pro.”

A late bloomer, Almonte broke out over the summer with the New York Grays travel organization and drew the attention of several MLB organzations with his broad 6-foot-3 frame, speed, arm strength from the outfield and power.

There are red flags about Almonte’s bat. He hit just .244 with no home runs and seven RBIs this year after batting .395 with 17 RBIs as a junior. Pesce, the Blue Jays scout, admitted as much, describing Almonte as a “raw” prospect with “a lot of upside to him.”

“He’s a very projectable kid, that’s what made me like him,” the scout said. “His bat is still developing. It’s a work in progress. It’s there; it needs to be developed and polished.”

He became the first Long Island City player to get drafted directly out of high school since Paul Jata in 1967. He will certainly be the last as the failing school will be closing at the end of the month and reopened next year as Global Scholars Academy at Long Island City.

“It’s definitely exciting, it’s what I dreamed of,” Almonte said. “I feel honored to represent my school the way I did.”

In a roundabout way, Almonte helped his coach, Tom Lehman, on Wednesday. Lehman has to reapply for his job and when he meets the school’s new principal, he has an added bullet point on his resume.

“It’s a monumental event for our school,” Lehman said. “It’s a pretty special day. If I’m not the coach here next year, it’s nice way to go out.”

Lehman, however, doesn’t take much credit for Almonte. He credits the player’s hard work and growth spurt for the recognition. Almonte put in hours on end before and after practice working on different aspects of his game. One day, in particular, stands out to Lehman. LIC had just played a game in 90-degree heat against William Bryant on a scorching Saturday afternoon. The coach was headed home, exhausted, when his star player called him – he was at the batting cage, but his bat was in Lehman’s trunk.

“He knows what it takes,” Lehman said. “He definitely put in the work.”

Almonte said he always worked hard, but he began pushing himself more during his junior season. He was always told he had talent, but at that point it dawned on him he wanted to make a career out of baseball. Playing with the Grays, alongside the Maryland-bound Grand Street Campus duo of Jose Cuas and Kevin Martir and Horace Mann’s Harrison Bader, only added to it.

“Seeing better competition made me push myself to get better or overcome them,” he said.

It got him to this point, having his name called by the Blue Jays. Uncertainty surrounds Long Island City. Teachers are fearing for their jobs. There is no telling what the baseball program will look like. But the final year did produce a pro.

“It feels great,” he said, “to leave a legacy at LIC.”

zbraziller@nypsot.com