First impressions: Justin Paulsen
Justin Paulsen was not a high draft pick, to put it lightly.
Drafted in the 39th round — out of 40 rounds — all the way at pick number #1158, there were just 57 picks that followed his selection before the very end of the 2017 draft.
Based on his extremely late draft position, one might assume Justin would just be lucky to get a year in at rookie ball, treasure the opportunity to have been able to play professionally, and probably not been able to keep up with the level of competition to stick around another year.
And even if he stuck around for a second year, it would be easy to assume he’d be lagging behind his blue chip draft teammates. Right?
In fact, he’s been among the best and most consistent producers for the Dust Devils this year, just as he was in rookie ball.
wRC+ is a measure of a player’s offensive production compared to the average. 100 wRC+ would be exactly average, 90 would be 10% below average, 110 would be 10% above average.
Among players with at least 100 plate appearances, Justin Paulsen was second on his team in rookie ball last year, posting a 131 wRC+. And this year, he is among the Dust Devils leaders in offensive production, with 152 wRC+, effectively in a three-way tie for second best on a hot-hitting Dust Devils team filled with top-round picks from the past two years.
I looked at those two facts and I was a little stunned — the guy passed up 1157 times in the 2017 draft, the guy picked in the 5th percentile is performing in the 90th percentile?
What’s the secret?
In preparing for this first impression post, I opened up his twitter account and saw his pinned tweet:
On Christmas Day 2016, Justin’s mom, Barb, died of ALS (Lou Gherig’s Disease).
“She was my best friend,” Justin said. “For her to have to go through what she went through was tough for our entire family.”
Since that day, Justin found a new appreciation for life and everything he does as he continues to make his mother proud.
“I just play as hard as I can every single game because you never know when your last game is going to be,” Justin said. “I play like this can be my last game, and I do everything I can to make her proud.”
…
Justin said he wants to get drafted, but that’s not at the top of his mind… If he gets drafted, he gets drafted; but that’s not the №1 priority right now.
…One of his goals is to continue to make his mother proud in everything he does.
His mother’s obituary reads, “Barb enjoyed watching her three children grow up playing sports. She loved watching her oldest son, Justin, play baseball for Missouri State the most.”
“I know she’s really proud of me right now,” Justin said. “Everything that I’ve accomplished and what my brother has accomplished and everything with my sister. I’m just doing everything for her right now.” (The Standard)
Does anyone want to put odds against a player like that?
Not me.
If you want someone on the Dust Devils to root for like mad this summer, Justin Paulsen is the guy. I’ll absolutely be with you.
