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It finally hit him.
Pulling up to the American Family Field was the “wow” moment that Patchogue-Medford 17-year-old Josh Knoth had been working toward his whole young life. The pitcher was arriving at the Milwaukee ballpark on Monday to sign multi-million contract with the Brewers, the organization that selected him last week in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft.
“I can’t even put it into words [the emotions of signing a professional contract]. I worked my whole life for this and now it’s here?” he told the Milwaukee media. “It just hit. As soon as I pulled up to the ballpark, it was like, ‘Wow, this is actually happening.’”
Moments earlier, Knoth, whose parents came with him to Wisconsin, inked a $2 million deal with the Brewers. He’s now headed to the organization’s training facility in Phoenix, where he is expected to remain for the rest of the summer, due to his significant layoff since pitching during the high school baseball season [Knoth did not pitch in the playoffs during May].
A power pitcher who boasts a 98 mph fastball and a nasty, high-spin curveball, Knoth was the 33rd overall pick in the draft. Asked on Monday how he developed his curveball, he noted, “I just kind of grip it and rip it and it just plays.”
Above are some images that Knoth’s proud mom Deb posted on Facebook.
Knoth is a two-time winner of the Carl Yastrzemski Award as Suffolk County’s most outstanding player. He was virtually unhittable this spring, recording 109 strikeouts over 41 innings, allowing just five hits (all singles) and one run, and tossing a perfect game with 19 strikeouts.
As a junior in 2022, he also threw a perfect game.
