This Timberline grad took the long road to the MLB, but his perseverance paid off

Former Timberline standout Michael Stefanic’s journey to Major League Baseball has been a long one, but his perseverance paid off this weekend.

Stefanic, 26, was called up by the Los Angeles Angels and he was immediately inserted into the starting lineup at second base in a 4-2 loss to the Astros on Sunday.

“I’ve been dreaming about this day for a long time,” Stefanic told The Orange County Register. “Really just excited to get here. I want to win ballgames. That’s what I’m about. That’s what I’ve always been about.”

Stefanic posted a .334 batting average with 16 home runs and 54 RBIs in 104 games for Triple-A Salt Lake last season. The Boise native’s bat has been hot since he signed with the Angels as an undrafted free agent in July 2018. He hit .314 in 241 minor league games with just 129 strikeouts in 1,019 plate appearances.

He struggled at the plate on Sunday, going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts, but like everything else in his career, Stefanic knows hits will come in time if he just stays the course.

“I don’t care who’s on the mound, or what they’re throwing, they have to throw the ball over the plate,” Stefanic told the Los Angeles Times in March. “I have to put the bat on the ball, and let’s see who wins.”

Stefanic wasn’t heavily recruited after graduating from Timberline High in 2014, and he ended up at Westmont College — an NAIA program in Santa Barbara, California. He became a four-time All-Golden State Athletic Conference selection after hitting .363 with 275 hits, eight homers and 124 RBIs from 2015-18, and he only struck out 33 times in 853 plate appearances during his college career.

After he wasn’t selected in the 2018 MLB Draft, Stefanic put together a homemade highlight reel, which caught the eye of members of the Angels front office and opened the door for his MLB career to eventually begin.

The Angels will be back on the field Tuesday in a road game at the Marlins.