There are over 470,000 high school and NCAA senior athletes playing the sport of baseball in the United States. Less than eleven in 100 (about 10.5 percent) of the NCAA seniors will be drafted to play professional baseball while approximately only one in 200, or 0.5 percent, of those high school seniors will be drafted by an MLB club.

Michael Conforto, New York Mets’ first round draft pick in the 2014 MLB Draft, was not one of the 0.5 percent coming out of high school. Michael was undrafted and elected to continue his baseball career at Oregon State while still clinging to his lifelong dream of playing professional baseball.

“I kinda always felt like I was gonna play baseball,” Conforto told this writer before a recent game with Double-A Binghamton. “That was just always in the back of my head. That's why I wanted to play and that was my dream growing up. I always kinda felt like it was something I was suppose to do.”

Mike grew up in a family that was surrounded by athletes. His mother, Tracie Ruiz-Conforto, is a three-time Olympic medalist who won two gold medals at the 1984 Olympics in synchronized swimming and his dad, Michael Anthony Conforto, is a former Penn State football player. Michael said he was encouraged at a young age to play sports and that his parents always told him that not only athletically will it help him but also just to learn things in life.

“So many good lessons can be had from being athletic and playing sports,” Michael explained to this writer. “The value of winning and losing, just competing in everything you do and just trying to be your best.”

That is one thing that has driven Michael Conforto. Each time he steps in that batter’s box he wants to be his best.

But like for anybody striving to achieve a dream, things weren’t always smooth sailing for Mike.

He explained how the fall going into his freshman year at Oregon State he struggled. “My fall season was terrible,” he said. “I mean that’s the only way to put it. It was bad.” Conforto stated that he was striking out every third at bat it seemed. He had the raw talent and the raw power but he needed to be more of a complete hitter. “That’s where coach Pat Casey, Pat Bailey, and all the coaches there at Oregon State transformed me and really molded me into a real hitter.,” Mike says. That winter he gained a lot of confidence heading into season but he didn’t even start at the corner outfield position to begin the year. Conforto was beat out for the spot on the starting roster and played as a reserve for the first three games, but when he did get his shot he homered in his first game “...and it snowballed from there.”

That home run snowballed into a .349 batting average, 13 home runs and 76 RBIs over 58 games Michael’s freshman year. His 76 RBIs was an Oregon State single-season record, Conforto was named Freshman Hitter of the Year by the NCBWA and was honored with Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. This time period in the middle of his freshman season at Oregon State Michael tributes to being the point where he started to realize his abilities.

“I was really swinging it good and really gaining some confidence,” he pointed out. “I was starting to get attention from the USA teams and stuff and when I went and put on the USA jersey, it really felt real. I just kept working hard after that.”

Conforto played for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team both his freshman and sophomore year. His sophomore season he led his Oregon State Beavers to the College World Series. Michael hit .328 that year with 11 home runs and 47 RBIs and calls that trip to Omaha, NE with his teammates “probably my favorite memory” playing wise.

Going into his junior season Michael was very highly regarded as one of the most advanced bats in the upcoming MLB Draft. Conforto hit .345 with seven home runs and 56 RBIs his junior year and despite some experts calling his defense “below average” Mike was taken 10th overall by the New York Mets in the first round of the 2014 MLB Draft.

Conforto played for the Short-Season-A Brooklyn Cyclones in 2014 after being drafted. He batted .331 with three home runs and 19 RBIs in 42 games. Michael was then invited to attend the Mets Spring Training this past March and he did nothing short of impress not only fans but organizational members as well.

“I had a lot of good coaching and a lot of good points to work on in March. I was out there everyday for 5 / 6 hours and that gave me a lot of time to work on some things. Having that confidence from March in spring training and staying healthy has really helped me progress as quickly as I have.”

He started the 2015 season in High-A St. Lucie where after awhile it seemed pitchers didn’t even want to pitch to him. Conforto hit .283 with seven home runs and 28 RBIs for the St. Lucie Mets and got the call-up to Double-A Binghamton at the end of May. Since arriving in Double-A Michael has only continued to produce. His batting average is up around .377 through 19 games and he is starting to look like the complete hitter his coaches at Oregon State molded him into.

“I don’t know if I could have seen myself move so quickly through the ranks,” Conforto expressed.  “But I’m fortunate, I worked my butt off, I had a lot of great coaches, a lot of great players and lot of great role models to look up to. I owe it a lot to the people that were surrounding me who made me who I am today along with just hard work.”

Hard work, determination and the belief he can be what he has always dreamed to become has pushed Michael Conforto to where he is today. He is a highly watched, scouted and talked about prospect not only in the Mets’ organization but around baseball. Conforto, though, says he doesn’t feel any pressure. “I just come out here and try to play the game that I’ve been playing since I was in the Little League World Series and I take it as a good thing (being so highly watched), I mean I got to be doing something right if I’m getting a lot of attention and a lot of eyes on me.”

And doing something right Michael Conforto is. With a corner outfield at the big league club in New York that isn't getting any younger with Michael Cuddyer and Curtis Granderson, Conforto is predicted to be the outfield of the future for the Mets, and that future could be coming soon.

“I just try to come out here and work hard no matter who is out there or what's going on. I try to have the same attitude no matter where I go along with the same approach at the plate and just work hard.”