Homegrown

Sometimes what you are looking for comes when you are not looking at all.

Everyone, including himself has been surprised at some point during Matt Winn's whirlwind baseball journey. After all, few players that lace up their cleats get a chance to play at the professional level. 

There is one person that's not as surprised. Not because she's his biggest fan, but maybe because it's his mother. 

"I always knew deep down he would get where he is," said Brenda Winn. "I knew this because he's awesome and he's never ceased to surprise me."

This chapter of Winn's baseball journey has brought him to a familiar place -- Central Virginia. Winn's journey started while playing Glen Allen Youth Athletic Association baseball in a Cal Ripken League, then moved on to J. R. Tucker High School, eight miles from The Diamond. After being drafted last June, he's already ascended to the AA level. 

However, the hard-throwing catcher was restless. After talking to several teams about the prospects of being selected in the first 10 rounds or the first day of the draft, things had carried over into the second day. His mother was sitting in the living room and caught her son's name scrolling across the bottom of the screen. The San Francisco Giants had selected him in the 14th round. 

Two days later, he was in Arizona and then on Aug. 4, he made his way to Augusta, Ga. playing in the South Atlantic League. He logged 36 games total in his first professional season, hitting .275 over 20 games with the Green Jackets. Then came an invite to instructional leagues, where Winn performed well. 

That offseason, Winn's phone rang. It was Shane Turner, the Giants' Director of Player Development. Winn had earned an invitation to spring training in big league camp. 

"I was shocked," said Winn. "I think I said something like, 'OK, awesome.'" "I didn't give much of a reaction at all."

Two weeks later, Winn was in Arizona when pitchers and catchers reported. Winn got the opportunity to work with 2012 MVP, three-time All-Star and Silver Slugger winner Buster Posey. While initially starstruck, Winn was a sponge from the start, learning everything he could while working with one of the best catchers in the game day in and day out. 

"Just being there to watch them go about their business was unbelievable," Winn said. "In that setting, rookies usually get there the earliest. Somedays, Buster would get there before me. I took a step back and said man, I have to get here even earlier now."

Topics with Posey included all spectrums of baseball including pitching, catching and some offensive tips. During spring training, Winn got to work with pitchers he had watched growing up including Jake Peavy and Matt Cain. 

Always a solid performer, Winn surprised his high school coaches first. Then, an assistant at Tucker, John Fletcher and the rest of the coaching staff were discussing starters after the first week of tryouts during Matt's freshman year. Braxton Bell came to Fletcher and asked who he thought would be the team's varsity catcher. That answer was Matt, winning the job over two upperclassmen. 

"He was very solid defensively," Fletcher said, now Mills Godwin's head baseball coach. " He had very good tools and was a good receiver. His footwork was good, he had everything that you'd want a young man to have."

The young backstop's development continued through high school, playing in the ultra-competitive Colonial District. As a sophomore, he improved vastly and as a junior, he set a goal to play college baseball at the highest level -- Division I. As a senior, he collected second team all-Colonial District honors, but college offers didn't come easy. There was some interest but nothing seemed to substantiate. Former VMI coach Martin Ikenberry took interest in him, and after some convincing, Winn was headed to Lexington. 

As a member of the Keydets, he saw improvement at the plate as a redshirt sophomore, hitting .333 over 153 at-bats. But his junior year he had a bout with mononucleosis and it faltered his progress as a player. 

Winn headed to the Cape Cod League in 2014, playing for Harwich. He cited that season as one where he started a leg kick in his swing. After fully recovering from mono, he gained back some of the weight he lost and added muscle. Those factors aided in a most interesting 2015 season. 

In his final season, the mature senior exploded en route to being named the runner-up for the Johnny Bench Award, the NCAA award given to the best overall catcher at the Division I level. Winn hit .304, clubbing 14 home runs and driving in 39 runs. His production gave him one of the best seasons in Keydets history and helped bring him to where he is today -- The Diamond. 

"I'm a proud dad for sure," said Marshall Winn. "There's not many people that get this kind of opportunity. Everyone's been calling and congratulating me. They don't need to be congratulating me, they need to be congratulating him."

Early results have been good and he's made a favorable impression on former major league catcher and manager Miguel Ojeda. The veteran of 20 professional and four MLB seasons said that his catcher has shown great signs, but has plenty to learn and gain with experience. 

"He has the tools," Ojeda said. "He's a very solid catcher, he's been throwing the ball well to second base," he continued. "He's got a lot to learn, hopefully this has been a challenge to him. The organization believes in their heart he should be at this level."

The distinguishing factor between starting and back-up catchers in Major League Baseball is the ability to produce consistently on offense. Winn's bat has come to life as he collected five hits, including two home runs this past road trip against Altoona, hitting .277 and leading the team with a .468 slugging percentage through April 24. 

Winn hopes to join 2003 International League All-Star and former R-Braves Ryan Glynn as the second player from VMI to reach the major leagues. Until then, he'll learn his lessons and spend a summer having what he's called the 'best time of his life' with his family in Richmond. 

Josh Mathews is the Managing Editor of one of the most popular sports websites in the 804, www.rvagamebreak.com. This is his third season writing for the Richmond Flying Squirrels. He's also contributed to the Miami Herald and Richmond Times-Dispatch. Follow his work on twitter @RVAGameBreak and @SquirrelsRVA.