As a tour group gathered in the press box at American Family Field on Monday, the stadium guide looked down at the diamond and tried to identify the hitter in a Dodger blue T-shirt taking thunderous swings in an afternoon batting practice session.
“I’m not sure which player that is,” the tour guide said.
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One knowledgeable Dodger fan in the group recognized it wasn’t a big-leaguer at all — at least not yet.
“That’s Dino Ebel’s son,” the fan said. “He’s gonna be a top draft pick next week.”
Brady Ebel might not be a household name yet around the sport but in Dodger circles, the rise of the Corona High infielder, and 17-year-old son of longtime third base coach Dino Ebel, has long been a proud organizational story in the making.
Six years ago, Brady and his younger brother Trey (a 16-year-old junior on a loaded Corona team last season), first started tagging along to Dodger Stadium with their dad after the Dodgers hired him away from the Angels at the start of the 2019 season.
Brady Ebel could be one of three Corona High baseball stars to be selected in the first round of the MLB amateur draft next week. (Ric Tapia/Getty Images)
Back then, they were like many of the other children of players and staff that the family-friendly Dodgers would welcome around the ballpark. Not even teenagers yet, Ebel’s sons would be taking ground balls and shagging in the outfield during batting practice before the start of Dodger games.
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Now, they are both standout prospects with major college commitments (Brady to Louisiana State, Trey to Texas A&M) and expected futures in pro ball.
On Sunday, Brady is expected to be a Day 1, and very possibly first round, pick in the MLB draft — a rise borne of his own physical gifts, but also aided by a childhood spent growing up in the presence of big-league players.
“I’m so blessed, me and my brother,” Brady said this week, after accompanying his dad on the Dodgers’ recent road trip in Milwaukee. “It’s my favorite thing to do. Come to the stadium with my dad. Get better. And watch guys go about it. Because I know I’m gonna be here soon. This is what I’m gonna be doing.”
The physical traits that make Brady a coveted prospect are obvious: His 6-foot-3, 190-pound frame; his smooth, compact left-handed swing; his defensive feel and strong throwing arm from the left side of the infield.
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What sets Brady apart from the typical high school prospects that populate draft boards this time of year is his unique upbringing in the game, having absorbed countless lessons on his trips to work with his dad.
“Watching those guys do it every day, just being able to be in the clubhouse and walk around and see how guys act, has helped me and my brother a lot,” Brady said, shortly after peppering balls all over the outfield stands at the Brewers’ home ballpark. “I take pieces from everybody.”
Corona High infielders (from left): second baseman Trey Ebel, shortstop Billy Carlson and third baseman Brady Ebel. (Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
The Ebel sons first got an up-close look at major league life in Anaheim, marveling as young boys at superstars such as Mike Trout and Albert Pujols during Dino’s 12-year stint on the Angels’ coaching staff.
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When their dad was hired by the Dodgers, their first-person education continued at Chavez Ravine, where many Dodgers players and staffers have marveled at their own evolution into coveted recruits and MLB draft prospects.
“As a dad, I love it, because I get to spend more time with them, and I get to watch them get better,” Dino said. “The process of watching them work with major league players is something I’ll never forget.”
Many days in recent summers, the pair have been a constant presence at the ballpark.
There have been ground rules to follow, as Dino noted: “Stay out of everybody’s way. When you shag, get in the warning track. When you go eat, if a player is behind you, you get in the back of the line.”
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The fundamental lessons they’ve learned, from watching players hit in the cage, to catching balls at first base during infield drills, to talking to other members of the coaching staff during quiet stretches of the day, have been endless. The fingerprints it has left on their game have been profound.
“Process, approach, work habits, how to respect the game, how you go about your work every day,” Dino said. “For them to see that, from guys at the top of the chain of elite superstars in the game … that’s what I’ve seen them take into their game. Trying something different. Listening to what the players are telling them in the cage, on the field.”
Brady, for example, has become a keen observer of Freddie Freeman’s work in the batting cage during recent years.
“There’s stuff he grew up doing that he still continues to do,” Brady said of Freeman. “Different drills. Keeping your hands inside. Driving the ball up the middle. I’ve been doing that since I was 8. And he’s 30-whatever, still doing it. It’s the simple, little stuff.”
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As the Ebel boys have gotten older, Dino noticed how they would get home from the stadium, go to a practice field the next day, and replicate specific drills and techniques they’d witnessed the night before.
“It’s pretty special for me, as a dad, to watch them go through this process,” Dino said. “And then, as a coach, how they’re getting better each day they come out here.”
Read more: Sondheimer: Meet the Dodgers of high school baseball: the Corona Panthers
Such roots haven’t been lost on evaluators. Most scouting reports of Brady note his advanced approach and discipline at the plate. MLB Pipeline’s write-up of him ahead of the draft lauded his baseball IQ, and that “his experience working with big leaguers for a long time was clearly on display” as a prep player.
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In Baseball America’s latest mock draft, Brady is projected to go 33rd overall to the Boston Red Sox — where he could join Corona teammates Seth Hernandez and Billy Carlson as the highest-drafted trio of high school teammates in the event’s history.
Looming seven picks after that, however, are the Dodgers, a team that would need no introduction to a player that grew up before their eyes.
“That would be really cool, just to be with my dad’s organization,” Brady said of possibly winding up with the club. “We’ll see what happens on draft day. You never know.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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