FEATURE: Winn's name called by St. Louis Cardinals with 54th overall pick in 2020 MLB Draft
HOUSTON - Tiffany Rawson placed her right hand on her son's elbow as the pick was being announced.
Sitting around a metal patio table with friends and family at their home in Kingwood, Masyn Winn couldn't help but smile ear-to-ear because he knew his life was about to change.
"With the 54th pick the St. Louis Cardinals Masyn Winn."
Rawson yelled out "Yes!" as the cheers from the group around WInn drowned out the draft broadcast. Winn stood up and hugged his longtime friend and high school teammate Nick Luckett and then one after another hugs were exchanged. Happy tears were shed on this hot Texas afternoon.
Winn's childhood dream just became a reality.
"It was fantastic with everybody here," Winn said. "Just hearing my name everybody's face lit up, me and my mom started crying, it was just a great feeling."
BREAKING: @MasynWinn of @KWoodBaseball is taken with the 54th pick by the @Cardinals in the #MLBDraft
(@HumbleISD_KHS @HumbleISD @HumbleISD_Ath @ElizabethFagen @KPRC2RandyMc @KPRC2 @PerfectGameUSA @BaseballAmerica @ESPNAssignDesk @espn @MLBDraft @MLB @jimcallisMLB @USABaseball pic.twitter.com/cLca0FjtmV
— vypehouston (@vypehouston) June 11, 2020
Winn and his mother embraced a few more times as the celebration carried on.
The family rewound the television broadcast on the MLB Network to watch the announcement a second time. Rawson exclaimed a few times that - in the heart of Houston Astros country - they were Cardinals fans now as she continued to wipe away tears.
This moment is something Winn has been working towards since he was three-years-old and his mother has been there every step of the journey.
"She hugged me and said 'It's been a long road'," Winn said about the exchange between his mother and himself after he got drafted. "It really has. We've been dreaming of this since I was in elementary school. So, for it to finally happen, it's such a big deal and so huge for us. It was amazing.
"That hug meant everything."
One of the big questions around Winn heading into the draft is what would a team select him as.
He can be quick-handed shortstop with a powerful bat at the dish or a flame-throwing right-hander who's fastball can hit 98 mph on the radar gun before he break off an off-speed pitch that'll buckle your knees dropping into the strikezone at 77-80 miles per hour.
MLB Draft analysts considered him to be "one of the best two-way players in the draft".
Kingwood High School baseball coach Kelly Mead, who was on hand to watch Winn get drafted, has been telling every MLB scout that has called him the last six months exactly that.
"They've asked me what do you draft him as?," Mead said. "I think you draft him as both. They even said it on the broadcast that he's a legitimate two-way player. He's got things you can't teach. I really whole-heartily believe, not just because I've been around him for four years and have gotten to see the talent day-in and day-out, I think in four to five years he could be a household name. It would not surprise me if he's a guy that you're looking up at an All-Star game and winning the Home Run Derby or doing something special.
"He's that kind of talent, he's got that kind of drive."
VYPE INTERVIEW: @KWoodBaseball coach Kelly Mead talks about what it was like to see @MasynWinn drafted & he believes he's a 2-way player #mlb @KPRC2RandyMc @KPRC2 @stltoday @STL_SportsNews @anne__rogers @MLB @dgoold @OrtizKicks @AdamJWexler @espn @ESPNAssignDesk @Ken_Rosenthal pic.twitter.com/mtwl5hC09j
— vypehouston (@vypehouston) June 11, 2020
For any high school player drafted by an MLB team, the biggest question that follows is will he go to college or decide to forego that and start his professional career.
Winn signed with the University of Arkansas earlier this spring. According to the Houston Chronicle, Winn will sign with Roc Nation and turn pro. According to the MLB Draft Tracker, Winn's slot value - 54th overall - is valued at $1.34 million.
So, next for Winn is the St. Louis Cardinals farm system.
"It means a lot, especially since I've gotten really close with their area scouts," Winn said. "I got coached by one of their scouts over the summer and we got real close. It's a very good feeling. I know I'm joining a family and I can't wait to get started."
EXCLUSIVE: The 54th pick by the @Cardinals @MasynWinn of @KWoodBaseball & @HumbleISD_KHS talks with VYPE after he gets drafted. @KPRC2RandyMc @KPRC2 @stltoday @STL_SportsNews @anne__rogers @MLB @dgoold @OrtizKicks @AdamJWexler @espn @ESPNAssignDesk @Ken_Rosenthal pic.twitter.com/EVyBKLcxJI
— vypehouston (@vypehouston) June 11, 2020
