Norwin graduates JJ Matijevic, Max McDowell in MLB spring training camps
A pair of former Norwin sluggers will get to continue chasing their dreams of playing in the majors.
JJ Matijevic and Max McDowell have been invited to spring training — Matijevic with the Houston Astros and McDowell with the New York Yankees.
Both nonroster invitees saw promotions from Double-A to Triple-A in 2021.
Matijevic drew the bump-up and immediately proved his worth as a power hitter for the Sugar Land Skeeters.
After playing 31 games for the Corpus Christi Hooks with whom he hit .275 with nine home runs and 27 RBIs, he put up 16 homers and 48 RBIs with Sugar Land in 78 games.
The 26-year-old lefty hitter played first base, designated hitter and outfield.
In the minors since 2017, Matijevic has 65 carer homers and 205 RBIs.
A second-round pick of the Astros in 2017 out of Arizona, Matijevic sat through a 50-game suspension for violating MLB’s Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program after a second positive test for a drug of abuse. He said the experience humbled him and drove him to gain reassurance from his fan base.
The #Astros spring training roster is out:
Some interesting names include:
- C Cesar Salazar, who had a cup of coffee in AAA
- Pedro Leon again listed as IF/OF
- JJ Matijevic listed with OFs as IF/OF pic.twitter.com/3XRA84kTPJ— Ari Alexander (@KPRC2Ari) March 12, 2022
McDowell, a catcher, went from the Double-A Somerset Patriots to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and hit .227 with 10 RBIs and 26 runs scored.
The 28-year-old was a member of the Yankees’ taxi squad in 2020 after minor-league operations were shut down MLB-wide because of the covid pandemic. He was living in Moosic, six miles south of Scranton, and drilled and played intersquad games at PNC Field — the Yankees’ alternate training site — in a “bubble” type environment.
Players ate dinner in a stadium luxury box and watched big-league games on the jumbotron.
McDowell, a 13th-round draft pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2015, owns and operates The Baseball Academy of Norwin.
He hit .213 with 14 doubles, four home runs, 22 RBIs and 31 runs in 2019 with Biloxi (Miss.), the Brewers’ Double-A affiliate. He was an all-star in the Midwest and Carolina leagues.
The Yankees have invited 14 non-roster players to 2022 Major League Spring Training. pic.twitter.com/zIGRiQ43Wd
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 13, 2022
Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.
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