Jul 12, 2016 4 min read

If you want somebody to analyze the differences between the four levels of college baseball that offer scholarships, then Wild Things pitcher Zac Grotz might be your guy.

After all, Grotz played at ’em all, starting at NCAA Division II Cal State-Monterey Bay, then to junior college in San Mateo, which led to Division I ball in the Southeastern Conference at Tennessee and finally a stop last year in the NAIA at Embry-Riddle, an aeronautical school in Daytona Beach, Fla., that happens to have an outstanding baseball program.

Grotz is only the second Wild Things player to play at four college levels in four years. Catcher John Fidanza (2015) was the first.

Mix in last summer spent with two teams in the Houston Astros’ farm system and Grotz has made a lot of stops in a short time chasing his baseball dream.

Grotz’s journey will take him tonight to UC Health Stadium in Florence, Ky., where he will be a member of the East Division team in the Frontier League All-Star Game. Grotz is one of four all-stars from the Wild Things. David Popkins will start in the outfield, third baseman Ricky Rodriguez is a reserve and Trevor Foss will join Grotz on the pitching staff.

“All of those guys are very deserving of being in the all-star game,” Washington manager Gregg Langbehn said.

Grotz has been the pitcher Langbehn has usually called upon to close a game. A 6-2, 200-pound right-hander from Millbrae, Calif., Grotz has a 1.50 ERA and is third in the league with nine saves in 20 outings. Grotz began the season in a setup role but was moved to closer in late May. He didn’t allow an earned run in his first 12 appearances.

“We had planned to use Zac in the seventh or eighth innings, but he’s done a good job as the closer,” Langbehn confirmed.

The seventh and eighth innings were supposed to be Grotz’s time at Tennessee in 2014. A big season (7-3, 2.24) as a starter at San Mateo Junior College led to a scholarship with the Volunteers, but Grotz’s stay in the SEC didn’t last long, only six outings.

“I was supposed to make more of an impact,” Grotz admitted. “I never got it going. I wasn’t throwing well and my confidence was gone. At the end of the season, the coach told me I could stay but I wasn’t going to play as a senior.”

So Grotz knew he had to restart his career, and Embry-Riddle offered that opportunity.

“I always wanted to live in Florida, so I said I might as well go to Embry-Riddle,” Grotz said. “I thought the least that could happen is I get my education paid for. It ended up that I got drafted.”

Grotz was the Astros’ 28th-round draft pick last year after an outstanding season for Embry-Riddle. In 32 outings, Grotz had an 8-2 record with nine saves and a 0.70 ERA. In 77 2/3 innings, he allowed only 47 hits, just one of which went for extra bases.

“What changed for me was the attitude,” Grotz said. “At Embry-Riddle, I wore my Tennessee T-shirt and gear at practice and that was a reminder that they didn’t want me. If I wanted a little incentive, all I had to do was look down at my shirt. I had the mentality that my career could be done, so what should I be scared of? I just pitched.”

Grotz pitched last summer in the Astros’ system in the rookie level Appalachian League and the short-season Class A New York-Penn League. He pitched well, winning five games and saving five others in 19 outings, but the Astros had a surplus of pitching at the Class A level this spring because of trades made last year. Grotz was squeezed out of the organization at the end of spring training.

“I went home and honestly didn’t know what I was going to do,” Grotz said. “I was called by the Wild Things and a team in the American Association. I thought, I just spent five or six months training, why don’t I play? It would be a big waste of time if I didn’t play.”

Grotz chose the Wild Things and the Frontier League. He’s pitching again like he did at Embry-Riddle – with an attitude, trying to show the Astros they made a mistake by releasing him.

Popkins, who is batting .297 with seven home runs in his second season with the Wild Things, competed in the Home Run Derby last night. Foss has a 7-2 record, 2.36 ERA and league-leading seven complete games. Since Rodriguez was moved to the No. 2 spot in the batting order, he has been an impact hitter with a .308 batting average, five home runs and 20 RBI in 41 games.