TAMPA — As Medford, N.Y., native Jayden Stroman dominated the diamond as a freshman and sophomore at the nearby Stony Brook School, his big brother kept telling him about The Sunshine State.
“I was in my dad’s ear and my brother’s ear just saying if he wants to play baseball at the highest level, he needs to be in Florida,” Yankees starter Marcus Stroman told the Daily News of his 16-year-old sibling. “I played baseball up in the Northeast my whole upbringing, and I felt like when I got down to the South, I was behind the ball as far as seeing pitching, seeing spin.
“I feel being in Florida, being in the South, you’re playing year-long, and you’re also seeing the best competition.”
Jayden and their father, Earl, listened to Marcus. Well, sort of.
Marcus tried steering his brother to Jesuit High School, which is near his longtime home in Tampa. Instead, Jayden joined IMG Academy last August while Marcus was still pitching for the Cubs. The Bradenton boarding school is an hour away from the Yankees’ spring training facilities — Jesuit High is less than five minutes — but that’s still close enough to count as an added perk of Marcus putting on the pinstripes.
Playing for the Yankees means Marcus gets to spend extra time around his brother, as well as his house and other comforts, during spring training. He called that a “big factor” in his decision to sign a two-year, $37 million deal with the team, which also includes an innings-based player option for 2026.
“People don’t realize that this is home base. My home is like my sanctuary here. I have my boat here that I live on as well. So I’m very comfortable and very settled here. I have my trainer here. My brother’s now here,” Marcus said, adding that his mom lives in Palm Beach. “So yeah, it definitely factored in knowing that I would be able to be in Florida, be at home, be around my brother and be around my trainer for an extra two months. I think that’s pretty monumental. So everything just worked out well in that sense.”
Marcus, who will make his final exhibition start on Sunday, has taken advantage of the proximity to Jayden, catching a few IMG games this spring. He’s not the only one paying attention to the junior, though.
Jayden is considered the country’s 40th-best high school player in the Class of 2025, according to Perfect Game. A switch-hitting, speedy shortstop and right-handed pitcher with a low-90s fastball, he’s thrilled IMG coaches with the strides he’s made while playing for the program’s Varsity Black Team.
“[This is his] first time really being away from home, and he just kind of had to transition into a whole new environment and culture. So it took him a little while to adjust,” Dan Simonds, IMG’s director of baseball, told The News. “But you can see that he’s got an above average skill set. And he has really progressed in his time here. Specifically, once we started our season in January, you just see him getting better and better every day and becoming more confident.”
Marcus added that his brother is ahead of where he was at 16, thanks in part to some different genes.
“My brother’s big,” Marcus said. “I’m 5-7. My brother’s like 6-1, 200 [pounds]. He’s a big boy. We have different moms. So my mom’s short. My mom’s Puerto Rican. She’s about 5-1. My stepmom, his mom, she’s Czechoslovakian. So my brother’s half Czech, half Black. And she’s 5-9, she’s big. So he got his height from his mom. So yeah, he definitely has all the tools. He looks the part, for sure. Now it’s just a matter of performing.”
Jayden has done that so far, hitting .515 with a 1.467 OPS, three home runs and 13 RBI over 36 plate appearances as of March 22. He’s pitched less — Simonds doesn’t want to tax the shortstop’s arm — but the reliever had not allowed a run over three innings.
Marcus isn’t sure if Jayden will be a position player or a pitcher long-term. The older brother played second base and shortstop at Duke — where the younger brother now has a full ride — before turning his full attention to the mound.
“I would have never guessed that I would be a pitcher,” Marcus said. “So you just gotta play s–t out.”
Marcus added that Jayden can handle being a two-way player in college. However, Simonds feels he’s more of a threat at the plate. For now, anyway.
“The way he’s swinging the bat right now, and how much progress he’s made defensively, I definitely see him being a prospect as a position player,” said Simonds, once a catcher and coach in the Orioles’ organization. “I really do. If he continues on the path that he has and just continues to make that progress, I think he does have a future as a position player.
“And if it doesn’t work out, he could certainly go on the mound because he’s got arm strength. He’s very raw on the mound right now, but he’s shown at times that he can be special.”
Marcus isn’t sure if Jayden will go to Duke or enter the MLB Draft once his time at IMG is over, but he said his brother will be in a good spot either way.
Simonds, meanwhile, has a feeling that it would take a lot to pry Jayden away from the Blue Devils.
“The family is very much about education, and you’re talking about one of the finest schools in the country in Duke,” he said. “But if he continues on, they might have a tough decision to make come the summer of 2025.
“If he continues making the progress that he has, he’s definitely going to be a serious consideration for the major league draft. And when I say that, it’s in a round that would warrant him potentially signing.”
Whatever Jayden decides, Marcus just wants him to stay focused.
The two talk frequently about the mindset needed to succeed — Marcus called himself a “mental assassin” — and the Yankee politely requested that his kid brother not be interviewed for this story. Marcus has seen other young ballplayers get distracted by the spotlight and high expectations.
Plus, he doesn’t want Jayden’s ego getting inflated.
“He’s only in 11th grade, so he’s got a lot of work to do. I don’t like too much of the praise. A lot of times nowadays, it’s just too much praise for these young kids,” Marcus said. “Then they start to believe and then the work ethic kind of falters. So I’m trying to keep him on track.
“He sees me… so he understands how much it really takes. It’s just a matter of getting him to apply that. Obviously, he’s still young and he still has a young mentality, but I think he’s on the right path.”
