Growing up in Fontana, California had it's perks. Hop on I-10 for an hour and be in Hollywood, take a little more time and head south and be in Redondo Beach. Great weather for the beach, for surfing, for people watching, this was after all Southern California. What Lawrence Schroeder liked the most though is being mere minutes from the Little League baseball facility in San Bernadino, California. For a week and a half every summer the West Regional tournament was held in San Bernadino. Though Schroeder never had the chance to to participate he loved watching the kids from all over the western side of the country play baseball. He was especially envious of those last 4 teams who's games are always televised on ESPN and ESPN2. Playing baseball on TV what a thrill!
Schroeder was always athletically talented. His father was 6th round draft pick in the NFL and played parts of 2 seasons. His mother a high school track star. He excelled in basketball in high school, maturing early hitting his 6'3" height when he was just a sophomore in High School. He made the baseball team as a Junior and quickly became one of the better players on the team. His high school coach said he was always one of the first ones are practice and almost always the last one there. The kid loved to practice, loved to get better and it helped the guys around him want to get better too.
Upon his senior year he was scouted by a few teams and eventually accepted a scholarship to play for the University of Virginia all the way across the country. They were the only school willing to let Schroeder play both basketball and baseball for them. He joined the Cavaliers baseball team in 2010, which was a team led by older players In fact he was the only bat on the team who wasn't a junior and a senior. At first it was hard being the newcomer and by far the youngest kid on the team but in the end he learned more from those guys than any coach out there. Though they lost to Nebraska 2-1 in the best of 3 series in the first round it was Schroeder's first taste of playoff baseball, and he loved it. The pressure, everything on the line. He played in 43 of the team's 48 games, leading the team in doubles and showing off his great eye at the plate. He only hit .259, but his OBP of .385 was good for 4th on the team.
2011 was another Virginia team led by seniors, but Schroeder like his freshman year was in the thick of things. He and current Austin River Shark Jerome Miles led the team and became one of the best 1-2 punches in the country. Schroeder officially put himself on the national radar hitting .400, 9 HR, 17 2B with an OBP of .525 again leading Virginia to the playoffs, and again ending in defeat by way of the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the first round.
2012 was going to be their year. Virginia named Schroeder team captain before the season started and a slew of young talented players led Virginia for a record of 32 victories which still stands. The offense featured 5 players in double digit HR's including Schroeder who hit a career high of 14. He also posted some very high numbers, which many are still in the top 25-30 in college baseball history. He hit .404 with an OBP of .530 and an OPS o 1.284. Not to mention that Lawrence had developed a very slick glove at shortstop. Virginia made the playoffs again and rallied around Schroeder and Miles to knock off their ACC rival Duke in the first round of the playoffs 2-0. They went on to play powerhouse UConn who led the nation in wins with 39 behind a big pitching staff, current ROY candidate Eliot Helen, former first round picks Ramiro Navarro and Jorge Torres. Virginia took care of business 2-0, moved on to face Kentucky who they also swept to reach the championship in a bout against the Oregon Ducks. The series was a joke with Virginia beating them 2-0 to win their first and only national championship. Currently the 2012 Virginia team is on the 2nd team along with South Florida to sweept through an NCAA playoffs without a loss.
For the next two years Schroeder would put up decent numbers but nothing compared to the magical summer of 2012. He was a highly touted and ranked prospect going into the 2014 draft, but on draft fell down the draft board and finally was picked by the Jersey Shore D-Bags with the 28th overall pick. GM Josh Swain said "We were ecstatic and actually very surprised he fell to us. He was Top 13 on our big board and just kept falling. It's hard to find a SS with that good of glove/contact with some pop. The fact he was about to 24 at the time of the draft was also enticing. We felt he would be one of the faster movers in the entire draft and with need for a SS on the big club, it was a perfect fit."
Schroeder was dissapointed due to his drafted position but was also encouraged. The 2014 season we saw the breakout of stars in Jersey as Mike Bryant and Matt Doyle lit up the CL with tape measure HR's and names being all over national publications. "Being not far from Jersey while I was in school I saw them a lot. They are one of the best team in developing home grown talent, so it really was an honor being drafted by them. I knew if I was going to make the big leagues, this was a great place for me."
Schroeder signed a 1.29M signing bonus not a week after the draft and was sent to AA Gainesville skipping right over A ball. While he didn't match his college numbers, he posted respectable numbers in the 67 games he played in with them, he hit 11 HR while hitting .254. In the winter of 2014 really worked with Schroeder on evening out his swing to produce more line drives and helping him keep his weight back to try and help his power game. His maturity was evident early on in 2015 as he smacked around AA pitching for 2 weeks and earned a surprise promotion to AAA affiliate Tuscaloosa. He immediately took over the starting SS position for them, while getting some good time at 2B as well this season. He has been everything he was advertised as with a slash line of .299/.353/.474 hitting 15 HR and driving in 80 runs in 111 games thus far this season. The one drawback is he striking out a lot, but plans to work on that in the off season.
While Jersey has no immediate plans to call up Schroeder, his future is bright. He was named the 31st best prospect before the season started and with his success in AAA so far, things are looking up. But really should anyone be really surprised? Even if Schroeder spends the rest of the season and 2016 in AAA, in 2017 we could be looking at a Jersey infield of Doyle, Bryant, Schroeder and Adam Morrow. What do these players have in common? All players drafted by Jersey, 3 1st round draft picks, Morrow being the only 2nd round pick of the bunch. Did we mention 2013 1st round pick 1B/3B 21 year old Richard Coker is starting to tear it up in AA and talks of a promotion have been abound the Jersey clubhouse? It could be something rare to see that many home grown players in one clubhouse and starting lineup.
For now we will monitor Schroeder's progress in AAA. They have a 16 game lead in their division and well on their way to their 6th straight playoff appearance and could be on their way to their 4th title in 6 years. Schroeder is excited to get back into some playoff competition but also added, " I want a shot at Greenville and Toronto!" While we are excited he is anticipating playing against Jersey's biggest rivals, we will end in saying, young man your time will come.
