Draft night in any professional sport is nerve wracking, but the Major League Baseball First-Year Player draft is especially stressful for the potential draftees.
The hopes and dreams of young athletes are on the line and with each name that is called there is joy, yet every passing name makes the chance smaller for the rest of the players.
This was the case for recent Pennington School graduate Bryce Meccage. Sitting in his house in June, surrounded by his immediate family, and fiancé, Jaelyn Carr, Meccage waited in hopes that his childhood dream of being drafted would come true.
Not sure if he would be picked on day one — i.e., in rounds one or two — or fall to the third round or beyond, Meccage spent the night taking phone calls and trying to pinpoint his perfect landing point.
Ultimately, Meccage did hear his name called on day one: he was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the second round, chosen 57th overall in the 2024 MLB Draft.
Meccage spoke to the Express in September from Phoenix, where he was playing with the Brewers’ team in the Instructional League
“It was a lot of emotion in the sense that my expectation of getting drafted earlier had been squashed,” Meccage said. “It was pretty nerve wracking, but [I’m] super excited, and it was really unique to see the reactions of my family.”
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Meccage was born to be an athlete. His father, Jeremy Meccage was a highly touted baseball player in his own rite. Jeremy pitched at the University of Iowa and was drafted twice by the Dodgers in the 90s.
“My dad was the reason I started baseball, and pretty much the reason for where I am at,” Meccage said.
His mother, Melisa, also attended the University of Iowa and was a part of the field hockey team. The two-time All-American represented the United States in 1997.
Both of Meccage’s parents are on the coaching staff of their respective sports at Princeton University.
His parents also own the company Zag Tours. Predicated on giving sports teams opportunities to travel and play around the world, Zag has partnerships with over 25 countries. The travel company proved vital in building Meccage as a person growing up.
“I’d say a lot of my character, a lot of my personality developed from traveling, being around new cultures and adapting,” Meccage said.
The family connection runs deeper in baseball than just Bryce and his father. Justin Meccage, Bryce’s uncle, was drafted by the Yankees in 2002 and is currently a bullpen coach with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Meccage played football and basketball growing up, but it became clear in high school that if he focused on baseball he could go far.
With all of Meccage’s talent, high schools from around the state hoped to land the pitcher. While The Pennington School is not known for its baseball prowess, Meccage made the decision to attend anyway.
“When I met with his family when he was in 8th grade, he told me he wanted to be the first player to ever be drafted out of high school from Pennington,” Pennington head coach Steve Kowalski told the Express.
He had the genes and the natural talent, but it took years of work for Meccage to become the player he is today. Going from a 2.80 ERA his freshman year at Pennington, down to 0.24 his junior year, Meccage was constantly adding to his routine to ensure he was the best he could be.
“When you say a kid eats, sleeps, dreams baseball, that’s all [Bryce] did,” Kowalski said.
A 14-year-old Meccage had his eyes set on putting Pennington baseball on the map, and that is just what he did. The commitment would pay off. In 2023, Meccage and Pennington claimed their first ever Prep B championship in a win over Rutgers Prep.
Meccage took the mound in that championship and threw seven shutout innings with 15 strikeouts, allowing only three hits. His goal of taking Pennington baseball to the mountaintop had been accomplished.
In 2023, Meccage was selected to participate in the U18 USA team minicamp and got a chance to be around the best players in the country. That experience helped him grow as a player even more heading into his final year at Pennington.
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Meccage’s senior year, however, went a little different than the triumphant junior season. Unfortunately, Pennington’s schedule did not benefit the pitcher much. Bad luck played a role.
He was scheduled to pitch on certain days every week, but a flurry of rainouts interfered with his ability to pitch. Meccage ended up only pitching in five games, totaling 22 innings. The lack of game experience did not hurt his play at all, as he did not allow a single hit all season.
Despite not being able to affect the game as much as he wanted on the field, he did what he could to still impact the locker room.
“I tried to lay that egg for the other guys to build off of and have the same mentality that I had of trying to create the program,” Meccage said.
Meccage finished his highschool career on May 15 with four hitless innings and 11 strikeouts against Hightstown in a 1-0 victory. Ultimately, it was just a so-so season for Pennington, who finished 10-10 and unable to replicate the playoff success from the season prior.
The chance of going pro right out of high school was always in the back of Meccage’s mind, but college ball seemed to be the more realistic option for years. During his sophomore year, he committed to the University of Virginia. The Virginia baseball program has been a powerhouse in recent years making it to the College World Series two years in a row.
When the call came from the Brewers, Meccage was forced to decide between honoring his commitment to the Cavaliers or turning pro.
“It was hard, because I had a close relationship with the staff (at Virginia). But I had my mind set as soon as I was picked because I knew the financial situation,” said Meccage.
The right handed pitcher officially signed with the Brewers on July 26 for a contract worth $2.5 million. Meccage traveled to Milwaukee to make it official, and while there had the opportunity to address the media ahead of the Brewers matchup against the Marlins.
Meccage will spend the rest of 2024 working out in preparation for Spring Training. The first stop on his pro baseball journey will most likely be in Single-A ball with the Carolina mudcats.
“I think Bryce has the work ethic and the support around him to make it to the MLB quicker than people think,” Kowalski said. “It would not surprise me at all if he flies through the Brewers farm system.”
