Manchester Native Working Hard to Make Baseball Dreams Come True

Manchester High School graduate Alex Smith is in his first year with the New York Yankees’ AA team in Trenton, New Jersey, the Hartford Courant reports.

Smith, who grew up a Yankees fan, graduated from MHS in 2007 and the University of New Haven in 2011. He studied Sports Management in school, but never wanted a career other than playing baseball.

He is a right handed relief pitcher who in high school threw 82 miles per hour, but can now hit 95 miles per hour on the radar gun. Smith was signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on Feb. 29, 2012.

In nine appearances for the Thunder, he has a 3.07 earned run average and 12 strikeouts while allowing 13 hits, five runs, and five walks in 14 2/3 innings.

Smith, 25, was a South Atlantic League all-star with Charleston in 2013 and was promoted to high Class A Tampa a week later. He spent all of 2014 with Tampa, going 5-5 with a 2.74 ERA, before joining the Thunder this year.

In August, Smith will return when Trenton plays the Rock Cats. He spends the offseason in Tuscaloosa, AL, so this will be his first trip to Connecticut since coming home for the winter holidays.

To read more, check out Courant.com.

Photo from Brett Crandall via Flickr Creative Commons.