Barbe's Porter awaiting big call
Rodrick Anderson Jun 7, 2020
"It's been a weird year, well a weird few months anyway." Barbe senior David Porter tells me as we sit in the driveway of his grandparents house. Porter is perched on the tailgate of his old beat up truck, a plate piled high with crawfish by his side.
Porter anxiously awaits the Major League Baseball draft that's coming up this weekend. Porter is expected to be drafted but with the draft cut back to just five rounds he has some doubts.
"It's cut back to only five rounds this year. Usually it's like 40 so that's like 1,200 players a normal year and now you're looking at like 150, 160 so the doubts creep in sometimes you know?"
Porter, a big (6'1" and listed on the official Barbe roster at 255 pounds) third baseman with a powerful bat and a surprisingly good glove and arm.
Porter, and the rest of Louisiana, saw the baseball season cut short due to Corona virus.
"We played like 40 games, won state last year you know." Porter pauses to chew a bite of crawfish. "I had a really good season. This year we only played like 14 games. I didn't start out great. Not my best showing."
Porter hit around .450 with 21 home runs in 2019 over 41 games and led Barbe to a 5A state championship. In 2020 Barbe managed to play just 14 games. Porter was hitting .379 with two home runs when the season was cut short after 14 games.
Porter turned down scholarships to play at LSU, McNeese State and others.
"I'm not really a school guy, not my thing. I mean I get by, I get decent grades but I'd rather be playing ball. I was one hundred percent on the decision before covid. Then you start to think about how the draft is cut way down, scouting is way down then the season gets cut so short and it's like maybe the scholarship would have been the batter choice you know?"
I ask Porter if he's regretting his decision.
"I wouldn't say regretting. Rethinking, analyzing. You know?"
Porter pauses, takes a long drink of his Pepsi and then continues.
"I bet on myself with this deal. I don't doubt that I can do it at all but it's maybe a bit more hurdles with all this going on. I want to play ball. I want to help my family and this is the best way to do that. Me being in school doesn't really help anyone right now you know?"
Most MLB draft pundits had Porter going anywhere from the third to sixth round. Teams are allowed to sign an unlimited number of undrafted free agents following the conclusion of the draft.
"Not getting drafted isn't the end of the world but the team is a bit more invested if they do draft you. It's probably an easier path you know?"
I asked Porter if he had any preference where he got drafted.
"Whoever wants me I want to be with them one hundred percent. It would be nice to play some minor league ball around here. Maybe my gramps could see a few more games."