BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) – The 2024 Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year is on to his next challenge.
Former Samford ace Michael Ross entered the Minnesota Twins’ draft camp last week after the franchise selected him in the 18th round of the 2024 MLB Draft on July 16. The right-handed slinger is taking his first steps of his professional career at the Twins Player Development Academy in Fort Myers, Florida.
Ross, who grew up over two hours away from the Twins’ spring training site, is living at the academy with other players the Twins drafted in July. He arrived at the southwest Florida facility on July 21 for onboarding.
“They provide three meals a day for us, and we’re throwing and lifting in the mornings and getting all that training room stuff knocked out and then do some more education and informative with the organization meetings towards the afternoon, and then we’re pretty much done,” Ross said Friday. “End of the day rolls around, and you got to recover for the next day.”
The Lakeland, Florida, native said he is expecting to go through instructional camp this week. Then, Ross anticipates the Twins front office assigning draftees to their minor league affiliates. Though Ross said players coming out of college start in Single-A, he is not sure yet what level he will go to or if he will pitch in an official game for the rest of the year.
Regardless of how these next several weeks play out, the 6-foot-2 starter said Samford prepared him for the professional ranks. Ross recorded 13 wins and a 3.27 ERA last spring but didn’t pitch in 2023 because he underwent Tommy John surgery.
He said the rehab process was valuable for him and will use that experience throughout his professional career. Ross arrived on Lakeshore Drive in time for the 2021 season, coming out of the bullpen for his freshman campaign and then earning a starting role in 2022.
“Just picturing where I am right now as opposed to where I was at when I got there,” Ross said. “Like mentally and physically, I went through such a transformation in those four years, and it turned me into a leader on and off the field, and I was definitely able to build up my body there, too, to be able to be like a professional-caliber athlete. But I definitely wasn’t at that level in high school, and it’s just a thanks to the resources and the people that I met there that helped me get to where I am now.”
Ross ended his career with the Bulldogs with a 20-1 record, 3.89 ERA and 158 strikeouts. He said he was intending to transfer to Florida for next season but told its coaches if he received a certain professional offer, he would take it. According to Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo, Ross signed with the Twins for $150,000.
Though Ross’ goal is to make it to the big leagues, he's not forgetting about the people he found in Alabama.
“I love Birmingham,” Ross said. “I just love all the relationships that I’ve built there and the people that I met. It was a great place to call home for four years, and it was super easy, too, because everybody that I met up there and ended up getting close to just made it feel like a home away from home. So it’ll definitely be the place that I’ll be back to and visit all the people that are still there, and I look forward to getting back.”