Part of baseball lore features the caricature of a cigar-chompin’, fedora-wearing scout “beating the bushes” for the backwater bumpkin slugger who could hit the ball a mile or the blazing fastball of a kid in overalls throwing against the side of a barn.

The Houston Astros’ pitching coach Brent Strom hardly resembles that hardscrabble, clipboard-toting scout of a century ago, but he has been beating some bushes lately, and most are under several feet of snow.

It seems there’s a 25-year-old pitcher rumored to have been spotted roaming “The Last Frontier” by the name of Johnny Meszaros. And “Moose,” as he’s known, is proving worthy of being hunted.

Multiple Sightings

The right-hander’s identity was revealed by Strom during an in-game interview he did with the Astros’ TV broadcasting crew of Todd Kalas and former player Geoff Blum during a Spring Training game, February 27.

Strom has actually been working with the Anchorage, Alaska native the last five years and saw him pitch again at an Alaska clinic he and a couple of other Astros’ coaches (including hitting coach Troy Snitker) recently conducted.

One revelation made by the traveling coaches was that Meszaros has been lifting weights lately, an epiphany made obvious by what they witnessed next.

96 in the Snow

Meszaros (pronounced “muh-ZAH-roce”) calmly threw a 96 mph fastball into a net during Strom’s visit, and that was enough to earn the youngster a special tryout for Astros’ brass and coaches, March 9, at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, the Astros’ Spring Training facility.

“If he can throw 96 indoors in the middle of winter in Alaska into a net, there’s no telling what he might be able to do with a little adrenalin in a big league camp.” Strom could barely contain his excitement during his dugout interview.

Meszaros, born September 12, 1994, comes in at 6’3″ and 215 pounds, although official listings may not be updated to include a possible five to 10 pounds of recently-added muscle mass.

Moose Among Cougars

A late bloomer, Meszaros never picked up a horsehide until age 13. He became a pitcher at 16, as he discovered he had a natural talent and appreciation for the position, working up his fastball to a consistent 88-92 mph, with what can be called long, easy, clean arm action.

He attended Service High School in Anchorage, turning in a senior year that featured a 2-1 record and 28 strikeouts in only 12.1 innings, with seven walks and a 1.14 ERA. In his only playoff appearance for the Cougars, Meszaros struck out 10 in a seven-inning shutout over Juneau.

During his years at Service High, scouts were not scarce, and Meszaros was a hot ticket at events like the Area Code Games tournament in California in the fall of his senior year and during his time pitching with Canada’s Langley Blaze travel team.

Meszaros told the Anchorage Daily News in 2013 that representatives from the Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, and Astros were among those showing interest since August 2012.

A glutton for competition, Meszaros has said that he loves being in control. “I love throwing right at ’em, and seeing if they can hit it. Basically it’s like a chess game, seeing who can come out on top.”

Ken Wooster, Meszaros’ head coach at Service, cited the pitcher’s size and innate athletic ability as the two traits that raised scouts’ eyebrows. During his senior year, Meszaros made huge improvements, particularly with his control.

“You can throw 100 mph, but if it’s not around the strike zone, you’re not going to be successful,” Wooster told reporters just before the 2013 MLB First Year Player Draft. “[Meszaros has] always had that latent ability, but I think he finally grew into it.”

From Anchorage to Tampa?

Meszaros was the only player from Alaska to be selected in that 2013 draft, going in the 39th round to the Tampa Bay Rays with the 1,178th overall pick.

At the time he was drafted, Meszaros had several choices, although, with such a low draft landing, college might have been the clearest one, but ultimately wasn’t. At least, not for the long-term. Turning down the Rays, he thought he’d play ball at Central Arizona Junior College in Coolidge, Arizona.

Instead, seemingly wandering in the wilderness, he showed up at Western Nevada Community College in 2015 and turned in a hitless inning over two games, walking two and striking out two.

“They like that I have low mileage on my arm,” explained Meszaros at the time, referring to his coaches and the scouts. “They’re quite impressed with what I’ve done being from up here, not throwing very much.”

Meszaros also spent the summer of 2018 pitching for the Alaska Baseball League college summer team, the Anchorage Glacier Pilots. He consumed seven innings in relief, and collected a save and a loss, while pitching to a 6.42 ERA with six walks and 13 strikeouts.

The Next Pitch is Up to Him

Johnny Meszaros said it five years ago, and, on the eve of his Astros’ spring workout, he’s about to put his dogged determination, natural talent, and perseverance to his next big league test:

“It’s possible to go where you want to go. You just gotta put your mind to it and work hard.”

Next stop, West Palm.