EMERSON, Ga. – “Repetition, and a lot of practice.” That is what CJ Abrams said has led to his success on the field and the development of his skills as a player. It’s one thing to have the skills, but another to also have the drive to get better, and Abrams is one player who has both the skills and the work ethic necessary to compete at a higher level of play.
“He’s got every tool that you could want,” said Josh Meade, the head coach of DRB Elite. “He’s a true five-tool guy skills wise. He does everything, he can flat out pick it in the field, can run and can flat out mash.”
On the diamond, the 6-foot-1, 175-pound shortstop has shown an advanced feel for hitting, good speed on the base paths and good hands defensively. Meade said that although Abrams is blessed with natural talent, it is the hard work that sets him apart.
“He practices, he puts the work in, and so he’s not surprised when he succeeds,” Meade said. “He’s always working on something, which I imagine as a college coach and as a pro scout, that’s probably exactly what you want to hear from everybody, but that’s really the case with him.”
That combination of skills and work ethic has landed Abrams in the No. 4 spot on Perfect Game’s top prospects list for the class of 2019, showing that he possesses the skills necessary to be a top-level prospect. The lefthanded hitting Abrams said that his work ethic has been there ever since he was little.
“Ever since I could walk, I was holding a bat. My dad threw me balls with this orange bat,” Abrams said. “It means a lot [to be ranked at No. 4], but it just shows all the work that I’ve put in, and just lets me know where I’m at.”
Abrams listed his father, Chris Abrams, as a huge proponent in helping him be where he is today. Chris Abrams said that he too can remember CJ’s work ethic beginning very early in his playing days, and it is something that he believes makes him special.
“The work ethic. Ever since he was young, we spent hours and hours hitting baseballs, not so much on the defensive side, but he loved to swing the bat,” Chris Abrams said. “So there were times when he was a small kid, I’m talking at the age of five or six and seven, and we would have to go to the park two to three times a day just so he could get his swings in.”
That work ethic has translated to today, with Abrams still desiring to make improvements in his game each day. Abrams said that he has made strides in his game on all sides over the past few years.
“Over the years I’ve just been getting better at the game, getting smarter, and physically and mentally getting better at the game,” said CJ Abrams.
“All those tools that he naturally had to start with, he’s been amping them up even more, putting a lot of emphasis on his hands defensively,” Meade said. “He knows he’s fast, but he knows he can probably still be a little quicker.”
Abrams and his father both said that they think he took the next step when he played on the Blessed Trinity varsity baseball team as a freshman in 2016.
“I would say the next level, though, may have came, that was noticeable, is his freshman year when he played for Blessed Trinity and he had the opportunity to start with those guys as a freshman,” Chris Abrams said. “So, I think getting out there and his maturity level, because of the guys around him, I think that was when, visibly, you could see that he had taken the next step.”
As a freshman, Abrams has a breakout season where he hit .464 with six extra-base hits, 42 runs scored and 15 stolen bases. He backed that up that up in his sophomore year by hitting .402 with 14 extra-base hits, 22 RBIs and 15 stolen bases this spring. Even with putting up robust numbers at the plate, Abrams has struck out only seven times, which his father attributes to CJ developing good discipline and plate vision over the past few years.
“At the plate, he’s gotten better discipline wise. Early on, just about anything you threw up there he was going to put in play,” Chris Abrams said.
Abrams attributes it to having a plan at the plate for each at-bat.
“Well, to get to two strikes, you’ve got to protect the plate, anything close you’re swinging, [so I try] to just put the ball in play,” CJ Abrams said.
Coming into the summer, Abrams was named to the 2017 Rawlings-Perfect Game Preseason All American Underclassmen 1st Team, which is a collection of the best freshmen, sophomores and juniors in high school across the country.
“You could tell he’s confidant in his ability, which is pretty evident to see, but it’s a good confidence, it’s not an arrogance or anything,” Meade said. “He just has that presence around him, where you can tell he knows what he’s doing, because he’s been doing it for a long time.”
Meade added that Abrams is also a likable teammate, and has a calm demeanor that can influence a whole team.
“He’s just one of those guys who has the personality that everybody gravitates towards. He keeps it light, he’s not an uptight guy, so the boys like that,” Meade said. “We try to keep that with everybody, but he really exemplifies that.”
Abrams continued build upon his successful high school season by going 1-for-2 with a walk, a run scored and three stolen bases against Titan’s Baseball 16’s Blue on Saturday morning. Abrams offered his goals for this summer and beyond.
“Just having fun playing the game. I love baseball, so just having fun out there and everyday going out there and do my thing,” Abrams said. “[My goals for the future are to] just keep moving to the next level, getting better and keep doing me.”