By Jordan Buscarini, KOAL’s Drive Time Sports:
The shortest draft in Major League Baseball history wrapped up after only five rounds on Thursday, June 11. Since then, just over 80 undrafted free agents have signed big league deals, including Jarod Lessar, who agreed to terms early Sunday morning with the New York Yankees.
Lessar, a Carbon County native, has spent the last two years at Brigham Young University. With stops at Southern Utah University and USU Eastern, his journey to signing a major league contract has been unorthodox, to say the least.
“It’s been a wild ride,” said Lessar. “From where I was at five years ago compared to where most other guys who sign MLB contracts were, its the opposite end of the spectrum.”
A three-sport athlete at Carbon High School, Lessar excelled on the baseball diamond. Named to the 3A All-Star team during his senior campaign, he was also apart of the Helper American Legion back-to-back State Champion squads. He also delivered a solid senior season at quarterback on the football field. He led the team in both passing and rushing yards as the Dinos recorded one of their most successful seasons of the past decade.
After graduating from Carbon High School in 2015, Lessar continued his athletics career at Southern Utah University. After grayshirting one football season, he returned home and received an opportunity to play baseball at USU Eastern.
Before Lessar’s freshman campaign began he was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, an autoimmune disease that commonly affects the joints of hands, feet, wrists, elbows, knees and ankles. The diagnosis limited Lessar during his first season with the Eagles.
Making just nine appearances on the mound in 2017, Lessar took a summer job in Lake Powell. That’s when he decided to ramp up his dedication toward the game.
“I didn’t get to throw that much at USU Eastern my freshman season. Mostly just at the end once I got my health under control,” Lessar recalls. “I tried to get a normal job in Price to really start life. I didn’t get the job I wanted, so that summer I went to Lake Powell. Once I got there I decided to go all in on baseball and lose some of the added football weight.”
2018 proved to be a pivotal year for Lessar’s baseball career at USU Eastern. He pitched a team-high 66 innings, earned a team best five wins and recorded 62 strikeouts. The standout season ended with SWAC All-Conference honors.
Lessar had traveled to a showcase in Arizona, giving college scouts an opportunity to see potential talent live. Immediately after the event BYU assistant coach Trent Pratt reached out and invited him to visit the campus. Despite having conversations with the University of Utah and Colorado Mesa, Lessar chose BYU for the program’s tradition and academics.
As junior in his first season at BYU in 2019, he helped the Cougars win the West Coast Conference championship. Despite early struggles, he rebounded nicely to end the season with a 3-2 record and a 4.4 ERA.
“I felt like things were starting to click toward the end of the season,” said Lessar when asked about his first year at BYU. “I started coming out of the pen and throwing really well. I knew I had more in the tank though. We had a good season, but I felt like I could do more.”
Despite interest from one American League team, Lessar was not selected in the 2019 MLB draft. With expectations building, he returned to BYU for what would be a bizarre season.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA canceled spring sports just 16 games into the baseball season. At the time of the stoppage Lessar had pitched 16.1 innings, gathering 15 strikeouts.
Not knowing what the shortened season meant for his baseball career, Lessar feared that he may have pitched his final game of organized baseball.
“I was golfing with our graduate assistant coach and I was looking at everything that was happening on social media,” said Lessar when the news broke that the NCAA was ending the season. “Our coaches pulled us in and told us to clean out our lockers and go home. I started crying because this is something I love unconditionally and it was taken away just like that.”
Fortunately, Lessar had done enough to spark interest from MLB scouts. However, with uncertainty surrounding the 2020 baseball season, the league cut its amateur draft from 40 rounds to five. The plan also allowed teams to offer signing bonuses of no more than $20,000.00 to undrafted free agents.
Lessar was aware of interest from the Yankees heading into the draft. But after signing All-Star pitcher Gerrit Cole, who rejected a qualifying offer from the Houston Astros, the team was forced to surrender their second and fifth round picks, leaving them with just three selections in this year’s draft.
Following the completion of the draft on June 11, a two-day moratorium was put in place. On Sunday, June 14 teams were permitted to sign undrafted free agents to fill out their systems.
“Four or five hours into free agency they called me and asked how I felt about being a Yankee. It didn’t seem real,” said Lessar. “Its crazy enough that I actually got to sign a contract to continue my dream of playing baseball, but for it to be with the 27-time World Series champion Yankees, it’s mind blowing.”
At this time MLB operations are at a standstill. When the training and playing dates are set Lessar will report to the Yankees’ facility in Tampa, Florida.