Grandville Backstop Home Again Behind the Plate
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
April 16, 2021
GRANDVILLE – Spencer Verburg understands his position on the baseball diamond isn’t the most glamorous.
It doesn’t bother the Grandville senior standout one bit.
In fact, he takes pride in his role as one of the top catchers in the Grand Rapids area.
“I like to do the dirty work,” said the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Verburg, who recently signed with Central Michigan University. “Not many people want to do that, and everyone wants to be a shortstop or center fielder where you look cool and get the girls.
“I feel like a team can't take it to the next level without a dude behind the plate that is willing to block and get down and dirty to help the pitchers look pretty.”
Verburg is a defensive stalwart who embraces the opportunity to help his pitching staff.
“I like receiving because I’m able to stick pitches that other catchers would drag out of the zone,” Verburg said. “It’s such a confidence booster when you stick and steal one and it can change the whole game because your pitcher gains the confidence he needs and then he starts rolling.
“I’ve always focused on defense because it's hard to find good catchers out there. I feel like so many people have focused on hitting, so I focused on catching where I knew not as many people would focus on.”
Verburg’s prowess and maturity was on display in Grandville’s first tournament of the season last weekend.
Bulldogs head coach Matt Cook was impressed by Verburg’s ability to block out his offensive struggles and remain focused on his catching duties.
“He didn’t have a great day at the plate and I sent him a text telling him that the way he talked to our younger pitchers, the way he carried himself behind the plate and the way he talked to umpires is going to pay such dividends in the long run,” Cook said. “He didn’t let the other things bother him at all.”
Verburg is thrilled to be back on the field with his teammates after the pandemic wiped out his junior season.
Last year was a challenging time for all spring sports athletes in the state.
“It hit hard because baseball is such a big part of my life,” Verburg said. “I didn’t get to play with my teammates and see them every day. There weren’t any places to work out or throw or hit because so many places were shut down because of COVID.”
The Bulldogs had just wrapped up tryouts before they found out the season would be put on pause. It eventually turned into a cancellation.
“There was no way I thought they were going to cancel the season, and we thought we would just wait it out for a couple weeks,” Verburg said. “It felt like it dragged out, and eventually we sensed that we wouldn’t be playing at all.”
Verburg had mixed emotions because he knew he had another year of high school baseball.
On the other hand, he knew that wouldn’t be the same for his senior teammates.
“I felt really bad because I’ve been playing with those guys since I was a freshman, and I’ve been through so much with those guys,” he said. “It was hard to not be able to go out and play that last season with them and know they were not going to enjoy senior night and everything else.”
“It was heartbreaking for everyone around the state and the country,” Cook added. “Guys like Spencer and others who had been waiting in the wings and they knew they were going to be day-one starters and play every single inning. And then for the season to get canceled ... I know it was really tough on those guys.”
Cook saw a noticeable difference in his players’ preparation upon learning of their return this spring.
“They have been so locked in this year, and I think a lot of it is because they lost a year and are not taking anything for granted,” Cook said. “We’ve had our best practices so far this year than we’ve had in my four years here.
“Guys are more locked in because of that missed year. They don’t take practice for granted, and they want to be there.”
Verburg feels blessed to have the opportunity to play in his final season.
“I’m so thankful because last year it was obvious to everyone that things can be taken away so fast,” Verburg said. “This is the first year I’ve been able to play with all the guys I grew up with since kindergarten. It’s nice to go out and play the game that we love together and just have fun doing it.”
Verburg has been on the varsity since he was a freshman. As a sophomore, he spent time playing behind then-senior Jake Paganelli.
The following offseason, playing with his Diamonds travel team, Verburg began to show promise at the plate.
The combination of defense and hitting helped him earn interest from college scouts.
“Things just started to click for me at the plate,” Verburg said. “It’s this feeling you have when you step up to the plate and you knew you were not going to strike out. You knew you were going to find a way on base no matter what pitcher was out there and no matter what situation it was.”
Verburg fit in right away as an incoming freshman on varsity.
“He was business-like then, and had goals early,” Cook said. “We recognized him as a kid that was only going to work and work and work, It’s rare when you find a freshman that carries himself the way he did. He carried himself like an upperclassman.”
The Bulldogs possess a lot of potential this year after winning 24 games in 2019.
“I think we’re being slept on, but we're scrappy,” Verburg said. “I think we can make a deep run in the tournament.”
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for four years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grandville catcher Spencer Verburg gets ready for another inning behind the plate during his team’s doubleheader against Grand Ledge earlier this month. (Middle) Verburg signs with Central Michigan in November. (Below) The then-sophomore drives a pitch for the varsity in 2019. (Photos courtesy of the Verburg family and Grandville baseball program.)
St. Mary's Standouts, More Michigan Stars Taking Major Steps in Pro Baseball Climb
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
July 16, 2026
It took former Orchard Lake St. Mary's star Brock Porter three years to reach five professional baseball victories on the mound.
It's taken only four months for Porter to win five more.
Porter is one of four Eaglets from the 2019-22 MHSAA Finals champion clubs now navigating their way through professional baseball. The 2022 Mr. Baseball Award winner, now a 23-year-old right-handed pitcher, went a combined 30-0 with an ERA under a run per game for those three championship teams (with 2020 was canceled due to COVID-19) before being tabbed by the Texas Rangers in the fourth round of the 2022 MLB draft.
Injuries slowed his first three minor league seasons, and Porter didn't win any games over his first two in the Rangers chain. But a healthy Porter has taken significant steps forward this season with the High-A Hub City Spartanburgers (S.C.) with a 5-2 record, 3.56 ERA and 52 strikeouts over 43 innings and 13 games. Porter was actually 0-9 over his first two minor league seasons before going 5-1 a year ago with Hickory of the Class A Carolina League.
He said he doesn't feel rushed in moving up the Rangers minor league ladder.
"I still have time," he said. "The big goal for me is I want to move up throughout the chain. Things are going very well, I'm excited for the season. Health-wise, I feel very good. I still want to grow into the dominant pitcher I was in high school."
Porter's role within the organization has changed. While he started 28 games over first two seasons, Porter has transitioned to the bullpen, where he's pitched in a combined 54 games during last two summers.
His former Eaglets teammates also are winding their ways through the minors.
Among them, Ike Irish was one of two former Michigan high school baseball stars who played in Sunday's prestigious MLB Futures Games as part of the all-star festivities in Philadelphia. Irish, a first-round pick a year ago, has emerged as Baltimore's No. 2 prospect as ranked by MLB.com. He went 0-for-1 with a walk after starting the game as his team’s designated hitter. The other past Michigan prep star playing Sunday was Okemos’ Caleb Bonemer, a top prospect in the Chicago White Sox chain. He went 0-for-2 as the starting third baseman for the American League.
Irish, an outfielder who also can catch, has dominated High-A Frederick (Md.) with 12 homers, 15 doubles, 47 RBIs and 18 stolen bases while batting .264. Irish hit .230 in 20 games with Low-A Delarva (Md.) in 2025 after batting .350 with 39 homers over three years at Auburn University, where he was named an All-American as a junior.
Irish, who batted .427 and .450 with a combined 19 homers and 95 RBIs during his two seasons at St. Mary's, said his professional goals don't include obsessing over posting numbers.
"No, I just want to go out there and play," he said. "I don't care about numbers or hitting X number of homers. I would rather just go out and play."
In addition to Porter and Irish, former St. Mary's star Nolan Schubart has heated up at high-Class A Lake County (Ohio) of the Midwest League. A Cleveland Guardians prospect, Schubart was named last Monday as the league's Player of the Week after hitting three homers with 12 RBIs and 20 total bases. The former third-round draft pick is now batting .248 with 67 RBIs in 69 games with a 37-game on-base streak.
The fourth former St. Mary's player in the minors is infielder Alex Mooney, the 2021 Mr. Baseball Award winner. Mooney is batting .203 with 36 RBIs and 18 stolen bases in 22 attempts with Double-A Akron (Ohio). Mooney was taken by the Guardians in the seventh round of the 2023 draft out of Duke. He started his professional career as a shortstop, but has branched out to playing 27 games at second base and 17 at third this season.
Mooney said playing at the Double-A level has been an adjustment.
"It's a tough place," he said. "I'm not really a huge stats person; I just take it day-by-day. When you're playing 140 games a year in the minors you just try to get better every day. That's the mindset. You just try to get better and win the battle in the war."
A fifth member of the 2021-22 Orchard Lake St. Mary's teams will have a shot at professional baseball. Former Eaglets pitcher Nolan Higgins was taken by the Toronto Blue Jays in the fifth round of Sunday's MLB draft.
Meanwhile, Okemos’ Bonemer has been in the national spotlight twice over the first four months of this minor league season. A member of the coaches association all-state Dream Team as a high school senior in 2024, he gained a painful national notice May 5. The New York Yankees' all-star pitcher Gerrit Cole, while rehabilitating from an injury with Hudson Valley (N.Y.), surrendered a homer and single during Bonemer’s first two at bats, then drilled the Chicago White Sox prospect with a 97-mph fastball to the shoulder. The move incensed White Sox fans, who believed Cole was trying to send Bonemer a message after banging out the two hits.
Bonemer not only survived, but has thrived. He hit .238 with High-Class A Winston-Salem (N.C.) to start this season, but slammed 18 homers and 15 doubles along while totaling 43 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. That earned him a promotion to Double-A Birmingham (Ala.) where he's off to fast start with a .279 average, three homers and 11 RBIs over his first 17 games.
Four other former Michigan prep stars have had active professional seasons. Outfielder Dante Nori, who helped Northville to the 2024 MHSAA Division 1 championship, has built on his rapid start this spring when he batted .400 for Italy in March's World Baseball Classic. A member of the all-state Dream Team as a senior at Northville, Nori is batting .245 at Double-A Reading (Pa.) in the pitching-heavy Eastern League. Nori has 12 stolen bases and 11 doubles.
Former Saginaw Swan Valley infielder Mitch Jebb has played in 20 games at Double-A Altoona (Pa.) and Triple-A Indianapolis in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ system, batting .273 with eight RBIs. A 2018 all-stater at Swan Valley, this is Jebb's fourth season in the minors after batting .327 in 147 career games at Michigan State.
Howell native and the state's 2017 Mr. Baseball, Sam Weatherly, is playing his fifth year of professional baseball. Weatherly is 1-3 in 23 games at Double-A Hartford (Conn.) of the Eastern League, a Colorado Rockies affiliate. He's struck out 34 batters in 28 innings.
Jeff Criswell from Portage Central is still recovering from Tommy John surgery a year ago. A member of the 2019 NCAA runner-up Michigan club, Criswell was called up to the Rockies for two games during the second week of June. He's divided time between three levels this season, with a 2-1 record and 6.86 ERA over 19 games and 29 strikeouts in 21 innings. In 2025, he pitched in 13 games for the Rockies with a 2.75 ERA before the surgery.
PHOTOS (Top) Orchard Lake St. Mary’s grad Brock Porter delivers a pitch for the Hub City Spartanburgers this season. (Middle) Ike Irish runs the bases for the Frederick Keys. (Below) Caleb Bonemer takes the field for the Birmingham Barons. (Porter photo by Becca Torncello/Hub City Spartanburgers. Irish photo by Robert Kimble. Bonemer photo courtesy of the Birmingham Barons.)