For two years, Chase Renner’s baseball future was uncertain.
He missed all but one game during the 2023-24 seasons at Penn State because of an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery.
His confidence was shaken, but not destroyed.
“I made sure I did all the rehab and everything else right,” Renner said. “That still didn’t guarantee that I was going to come back the same or better. But I always believed in myself. I knew I was going to come back.
“I got after it like I was playing. It was all in the dark. I was still grinding for two years, even though I wasn’t getting any rewards or results from it.”
The 21-year-old Renner received his reward last week when the Miami Marlins drafted him in the 13th round after a strong comeback season at Penn State.
The 6-4, 210-pound right-hander joined former major leaguer Wade Miller as the only two Brandywine Heights High School graduates to be drafted.
Renner also was one of five Nittany Lions taken in the draft, which tied a school record.
“If I didn’t have the season that I had, I’d be a little disappointed with how my career went,” he said. “I was fortunate to end my Penn State career like I did. I can say I had a great Penn State career.
“Without Penn State, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to be drafted and keep playing baseball.”
Renner posted a 2.91 ERA in 21.2 innings this season with four saves, 30 strikeouts and nine walks in 17 appearances for the Lions, who reached the Big Ten semifinals for the second straight year.
He began drawing interest from professional scouts last fall, most notably from the San Francisco Giants and Toronto Blue Jays. He was surprised the Marlins selected him because he had no contact with anyone from their organization leading up to the draft.
He followed the draft at home and waited for a call with his parents, Seth and Lisa; his younger brother, Carson, who’s on the Penn State baseball team; his sister, Cloey; and several friends and relatives. He described the wait as “nerve-wracking.”
“You’re sitting there all day,” Renner said. “It takes time. It takes hours. Everyone around me was pretty calm. You’re just itching to hear something.
“Not a single Marlins scout contacted me and then boom. I’m sitting on the couch at home and my agent (Paul Cohen of TWS Sports Management) calls me. ‘We just struck a deal with Miami.’ ”
Renner arrived Sunday in the Miami area and has spent the week working out and meeting with members of the organization, including big league manager Clayton McCullough and assistant general manager Gabe Kapler, the former Philadelphia Phillies manager.
“Everything is scheduled to a T,” he said. “There are a lot of meetings, a lot of education sessions and a lot of talk about the organization’s philosophy.”
Renner and the 20 other players the Marlins drafted have been staying together at a large rental home that he called “a mansion.”
“Some guys have their own rooms and others are doubling up,” he said. “My room is insanely massive. There are two king-size beds in my room and they look small. It’s a huge room. It has its own bathroom and balcony. It’s been a surreal experience.”
He and the others will move up the Florida coast to Jupiter, where the Marlins have two teams, the Single-A Jupiter Hammerheads and the rookie-level Florida Complex League Marlins. The 21 players will be placed on one of those rosters.
It’s a far cry from Renner’s days at Brandywine Heights, where he went 5-1 with an 0.60 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 35 innings as a senior in 2021 and was an All-Berks pick for coach Chris Cole.
“It’s an unreal experience and the opportunity of a lifetime,” he said. “I want to take advantage of it.”
Source: Berkshire mont