FORT MYERS, Fla. – When looking back at the previous 19 years the Perfect Game WWBA Underclass World Championship has been staged in Southwest Florida’s Lee and Charlotte counties, what is most striking is not just the event’s longevity but its enduring star-power.

And while nearly 2,600 WWBA Under World alumni have been selected in the MLB Amateur Draft and 329 of them have gone on to play in the major leagues, the most exciting element associated with the tournament is what it brings to the table in the here and now. That here and now is upon us.

He played with the East Cobb Baseball organization while in high school and was a member of the Astros team that won the PG WWBA World Championship in Jupiter in 2003, a year after he was at the WWBA Under World.

“Everything seemed to happen so fast back then,” Fowler told PG during a conversation in 2013 while at spring training with the Colorado Rockies. “It’s hard to believe that it was that long ago but I remember thinking, hey, I’m going to have a chance to be in the big leagues and now here I am, going into my fifth season.”

It was a dream for Fowler in 2002, just as it is now for all of these other top underclass prospects who will put their talents on display over the next five days at the PG WWBA Underclass World Championship. And dreams, after all are meant to become reality for those bold enough to pursue the biggest of all dreams.