Devin Mann has played professional baseball for about three months at the Class A level, but he’s already achieved a feat largely reserved for those who have reached the major leagues.
The Columbus North graduate has his own baseball card.
Mann, who was drafted in the fifth round by the Los Angeles Dodgers in June, is featured on a Bowman card taking a swing while playing for the Great Lakes Loons. A Los Angeles jersey is Photoshopped onto him.
"It’s been really cool to have my first card," Mann said. "It’s been interesting how it’s transpired. It’s not something everybody gets to do."
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Mann said about 30 to 40 players from his and other draft classes are featured in the special set. His agent, Jonathan Maurer, talked to Topps and Bowman about including him in the set.
After being drafted, Mann played two games with the Dodgers Arizona Rookie League club, going 1 for 5. He spent the rest of the season with the Great Lakes Loons, a Class A team in Midland, Michigan, and batted .241 with 13 doubles, a triple, two home runs and 30 RBIs.
"It went really well," Mann said. "It was a good springboard for the season coming up."
During high school, Mann played left field as a freshman and shortstop his final three years at North, leading the Bull Dogs to a sectional title as a junior. He played second base for his three years at Louisville, and was drafted by the Dodgers as a shortstop. But this season, he played played second and first base for the Loons.
Since the season ended in early September, Mann has returned to Columbus and has been hitting at North and working out at MVP. He will join the Dodgers for spring training in late February in Glendale, Arizona.
Mann said Maurer talked to the Dodgers and told him he likely be starting at High-A Rancho Cucamonga in the spring.
"I’m looking forward to that," Mann said. "That’s a good opportunity. It will be good for me to get out there."
Mann has one semester of college remaining and plans to go to Louisville and finish his degree in sports administration after his season ends in early September.
After that, he’ll try to continue working his way to the big-league level.
"My agent did a lot of work at the winter meetings, and (the Dodgers) gave me a year-and-a-half to two-year time frame as a rough estimate (for making the major leagues)," Mann said. "It will depend on my progression through the years."
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Name: Devin Mann
Age: 21
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 180
High school: Columbus North
College: Louisville
Pro baseball organization: Los Angeles Dodgers
Position: Infielder
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