(We are bringing back our popular series called ‘Up Next’ in which we highlight the next crop of stars on Long Island. All the players have been recommended by coaches and none of them have played at the varsity level yet. We can confidently say that they will soon be. First up is Marcus Stroman’s younger brother, Jayden. This segment is sponsored by The Yard Sports Academy. Check them out here. )
Most 12-year-olds spend their summers playing video games with friends or riding their bikes. But most 12-year-olds don’t have an older brother that’s an established Major Leaguer.
Jayden Stroman gets to enjoy the perks not often associated with being a middle schooler. Getting to hang out on the field current Major League superstars such as Alex Bregman, Vladimir Guerrero, Josh Donaldson, etc.
“It’s really cool spending time in the clubhouses and on the field,” he said. “I definitely try to keep those memories in the back of my mind,” he said.
Despite Marcus’ crazy schedule and ambitious off-the-field ventures including HDMH Apparel that requires a ton of travel, he always makes sure to spend time with his younger brother. Jayden described their relationship as “close” and said when he’s home he’s “always giving me tips on what I can do better.”
So far, younger Stroman has done exceedingly well with the pressures of being “Little Stroman”. Working in his favor is also pure genetics. He has the athleticism of his father, and looks to have inherited the height of his mother. He stands only one inch shorter than Marcus, 5’7″, and is projected to be 6’2, according to his doctor.
If that’s the case–opposing pitchers must watch out.
He hit 40 home runs on the small field this year and is now working hard to transition to the big fields. He was second on the vaunted 13U HDMH team in home runs, trailing only Tyler Cook who hit an incredible 62. Keep in mind he’s still 12, playing against players a year older.
“Playing with the best players makes me feel like I need to play at their level,” he said.
Earl has always stressed the importance of challenging him, as he did with Marcus from a young age.
“You don’t grow as a player if it’s easy,” said Earl. “Are you going to improve when everything is easy? How does he handle it when he fails? I think that’s important. Always competing against the best.”
His work ethic is second to none. On the evening that we met for this piece, he was taking swings at 365 Athletics. He’s been switch-hitting since he was 9-years-old, so he’s had to work twice as hard to maintain his swing from each side of the plate. A natural lefty hitter and righty thrower, his father wants him to be attractive to prospective schools.
Jayden cited Christian Yelich as the inspiration for his left-handed swing and Javier Baez in the field because “he’s clean in the infield and because of his personality.”
He is also a hard-thrower for his age and just finished competing with Team USA’s 12U group that obliterated their competition across the world. They fired four shutouts in eight games and held their opponents to one hit or less in four of those games.
When asked when he enjoys pitching or hitting more, it was a tough call.
“I would probably say when I’m on point I like pitching more,” he said.
That’s a decision he won’t have to make for quite some time as he’s only in seventh grade. In the immediate future, he has the basketball season to prepare for. Earl said he wants him to continue to play through high school so that he continues to develop his athleticism.
“You need to train the other body parts in the off-season that you don’t use for baseball. It’s also a lot more explosive movements than in baseball. I took him out of football because the reality is there’s more of a chance for serious injury. But I like him being a multi-sport athlete.”
Despite the head start he has on his peers at his age, they are still focused on his academics. Earl stated that he has a 98 or above in all his classes, and Jayden stated social studies is his favorite subject. They are so focused on academics, in fact, that they are mulling over which high school for him to attend. While he is in the Pat-Med district, they are considering Phillips Andover Academy in Massachusetts which is where fellow Medford natives Richie and Andrew Ciufo attended for a year. Here’s an article on the school from Business Insider which calls it the best high school in America. At $53,000 per year, it does not come cheap.
Another option is The Stony Brook School, which is a grade 7-12 Christian, college-prep school that switched from Section XI in 2018 to the Private Schools Athletic Association of NY in 2019 to completely independent in 2020. With that switch, they attracted high-end talent like Fordham-commit T.J. Wachter from Shoreham-Wading River, Stony Brook-commit Jack Carr of Ridegewood, Queens and UCONN-commit Joe Wozny of Lake Grove. They are privately-funded and can choose your schedule. It’s another high-academic school.
Earl is pushing for the academically-challenging programs because baseball can be very difficult to get athletic scholarships.
“Academic-first,” said Earl. “We want to push him a little. That way he’s more attractive to colleges. As you know, the chances of going pro are almost impossible. Unless you get that life-changing money, it’s just not worth it to go out of high school.”
While Earl was not wrong in his assessments, the freakishly talented still get paid very well and Jayden is on that path.
