Decker was ranked as a top-100 prospect in this June’s MLB Draft by Baseball America in January.
Seneca High School baseball senior outfielder Nick Decker had the summer he always dreamt of last year.
Decker played in numerous showcase games and national competitions against some of the top high school players across the nation. To begin August, he competed in the East Coast Pro Showcase in Tampa, Fla., from Aug. 1–4., a competition featuring the top high school players on the East Coast. Decker then traveled to Long Beach, Calif., to play in the Area Code Games from Aug. 6–10. Finally, Decker traveled to San Diego to play in one of the most prestigious national competitions for top high school players, the Perfect Game All-American Classic, on Aug. 13.
EastSquad OF @ndecker26 showed huge power at @PerfectGameUSA National & will look to do the same at #PGAAC. @nikebaseball | #JustThatGood https://t.co/eHtXfSvh5Q
“I always watched that game when I was younger,” Decker said of the All-American Classic. “I always dreamed to play in that game.”
Not only did Decker get to participate in these national events, but his performance was good enough to make him one of the top high school outfield prospects in the Class of 2018. In January, Baseball America ranked Decker as the №76 prospect in this June’s Major League Baseball draft.
Even though his name is popping up on draft rankings and prospect blogs across the Internet, Decker, a University of Maryland commit, isn’t paying much attention to the hype. He is instead remaining focused on helping Seneca baseball and enjoying his final months of high school.
“This is the last season in high school being able to play with all of my friends,” Decker said. “I’m just going to work hard, keep improving and let the chips fall where they may.”
Over the past two seasons, Decker has emerged as a solid, two-way player for the Golden Eagles, manning the outfield as well as pitching. Even before high school, Decker honed his skills at All Out Baseball, a travel baseball program based out of Mickleton.
Decker attributes a lot of his success to All Out Baseball general manager Guy Lynam. Decker has played for All Out Baseball since the age of 9 and he said Lynam molded him into the player he is today.
“He had so much information and knowledge about the game,” Decker said about Lynam. “He’s always been there. Without him, I don’t know where I would have been today.”
One of Decker’s biggest strengths is his ability to make hard contact at the plate and hit for power to all parts of the field. A scouting report from last June on Decker from Perfect Game scouting service measures Decker’s exit velocity at 99 miles per hour. Exit velocity measures the speed a baseball is traveling after a hitter makes contact. Decker’s exit velocity ranks better than 99.4 percent of other players in his draft class in Perfect Game’s scouting database. Seneca head coach Jay Donoghue said Decker’s power is unlike any player he has coached before.
“His power at the plate, we’ve never seen anyone hit a baseball that far, that hard, consistently,” Donoghue said.
Maryland recruit 2018 OF Nick Decker launches a 2 run home run to RCF. 3-0 Seneca https://t.co/7OpYyS0exp
“In the last couple weeks, when he got (exit velocity) measured, it was over 105 (miles per hour),” Donoghue added. “He’s going to project to be an unbelievable power hitter.”
At Seneca, Decker has showed off plenty of power over the last two seasons. Decker has hit eight home runs in 129 at bats between the 2016 and 2017 seasons. After batting .318 during his sophomore season in 2016, Decker increased his batting average to .381 last year.
Decker is being scouted as an outfielder, but he was an important part of Seneca’s pitching staff last year. Decker’s strong arm in the outfield has translated to him being able to throw the ball hard on the mound.
After Decker spent most of last year as a starting pitcher, Donoghue said the team is planning to have Decker pitch in relief as the team’s closer to allow him to spend more time in the outfield.
Some of Decker’s best attributes can’t be found in statistics or scouting reports. Decker has been a team leader for Seneca the past few seasons and has helped foster a team-first atmosphere in the program.
“He loves to practice and he loves being around his teammates,” Donoghue said.
One of Decker’s biggest goals for his senior year has nothing to do with individual accomplishments and everything to do with mentoring the younger players on Seneca.
“We want everyone to step up and be a leader,” Decker said, “even if they’re underclassmen.”
Despite all of his success and the attention surrounding Decker, he has kept life in perspective. When Decker attended the Perfect Game All-American Classic in the summer, one of his favorite memories wasn’t on the field or playing in the game. It was visiting patients at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego.
“To be able to put a smile on their faces and make their day, it was an even better experience than the game itself,” Decker said.
Decker also enjoyed meeting other top high school players from around the country and interacting with them for a couple weeks during the summer. While his performance may have boosted his prospects in the eyes of an outsider, the experience of last summer is something he will remember forever.
“That was an unreal experience, just facing top competition from other parts of the country,” he said. “You don’t always get to see that type of talent on an everyday basis.”
Donoghue said there’s a side to Decker people outside the program don’t see. He talked about Decker’s down-to-earth attitude, sense of humor and overall friendliness to his teammates. He talked of how Decker entertained the audience when he participated in Seneca’s Ms. and Mr. Golden Eagle Pageant earlier in March.
“We see him as an all-around awesome kid every day,” Donoghue said. “Scouts will be very interested to see that side of him.”
In a little more than two months, Decker will likely face a decision of whether to attend the University of Maryland to play baseball or forgo college to play professionally. Right now, Decker isn’t thinking ahead to June. All he can think about is being part of a winning team in his final high school season.
“Our goal is to win a state championship this year,” Decker said. “To do that, we’re going to need everyone to contribute on this team.”
