ATHENS – Apparently those hitting sessions with his dad at Medlock Park are paying off for Aaron Schunk.
The former Georgia Bulldogs’ baseball star was unexpectedly called up by the Colorado Rockies to their 60-man roster late Sunday night. He’s scheduled to report to Rockies’ camp in Denver on Thursday.
“Crazy excited for Aaron as he was placed on the Colorado Rockies 60-man roster late last night!!!,” Schunk’s father, Eric Schunk, said in a Facebook post Monday morning. “He’s headed to Denver on Thursday. The journey continues.”
Schunk, 22, has been living at home with his parents in Decatur during baseball’s shutdown. In a recent interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the 2019 second-round draft pick said he’s been staying sharp by going to the local park where he grew up playing youth baseball and taking batting practice from his father.
Schunk starred for the Bulldogs as a pitcher and third baseman from 2017-19. As a junior, he earned first-team All-American honors and won the John Olerud Award as college baseball’s best two-way player. Schunk posted a .312 batting average with 19 home runs and 114 RBIs in 154 games at Georgia, with 153 starts at third base. He went 3-4 with a 2.79 ERA and recorded 20 saves in 38 relief appearances covering 51-2/3 innings.
Schunk received a $1.1 million signing bonus as a second-round draft pick of the Colorado Rockies a year ago. He hit .306 playing 46 games for the Boise Hawks during the Single-A short season last summer and arrived at spring training in Arizona as one of the Rockies’ young players to watch.
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