On May 29, Matt Kutler '05 marched through the Van Wickle Gates with nearly 1,500 of his peers. 10 days later, Kutler found a job, after the Florida Marlins selected the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year in the 24th round of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.
Kutler signed a contract says later and immediately hopped on a plane to Jupiter, Fla. for his first taste of professional baseball.
For Kutler, getting drafted was more than a year overdue. He came to Brown as a member of the class of 2004, but after breaking his thumb prior to the 2004 season, he took the rest of the year off, delaying his graduation so he could play one more season.
Kutler quickly cast aside any doubts about his health this past season, as he helped carry the Bears to a 14-6 league mark, Brown's best Ivy record ever. Kutler had one of the Bears' best statistical seasons ever, leading the team in batting average, RBIs, total bases and slugging. His 73 hits this season, 18 more than the next closest teammate, gave him the Ivy career record with 260.
Even with impressive numbers from this season reaffirming his ability, Kutler was unsure of what to expect in the draft. He said the selection process was as mysterious to him as it is to many casual baseball fans. With 50 rounds and thousands of prospects to choose from, the Major League Baseball draft is not as predictable as the drafts for the other major sports.
"I was left in the dark for the most part," Kutler said. "I didn't know exactly where I was going to go. Anywhere between the 18th and 25th rounds was where I expected and I ended up being chosen in the 24th."
Scouts often attended Bears games this past season to watch the former Cape Cod Summer League Playoff MVP, some of whom would make their prescence known to Kutler. The Marlins' scout, however, never contacted Kutler before calling him after he'd been selected.
Kutler downplayed his actual selection. "I was listening to the mlb.com radio feed of the draft and I heard my name announced," he said. Kutler was the only one home at the time, as his mother, Debra, was working and his dad was bringing his little brother to basketball camp.
After the Marlins' scout called to confirm Kutler's willingness to sign with the team and to discuss his contract, which "he said would come in the mail in the next few days," the phone calls from friends and family started pouring in.
David Kutler, Matt's father, said the whole process was eye-opening. "It was a little bit nerve-wracking," he said. "I learned that what you expect to happen probably will not. I mean, we had never even talked with Florida. Some scouts like to keep a low profile and the Marlins' representative obviously did. I was a little surprised when the scout called. After it happened I felt, first of all, relief, and second of all, excitement, because it has been a dream of Matt's for a long time."
Kutler next found himself leaving his Omaha, Neb. home for the Marlins' rookie team in the Gulf Coast League. In addition to finding himself on a brand new team in a brand new home, Kutler was at a disadvantage. The Bears' season had ended more than six weeks earlier on May 4. Kutler had been working out with his Brown teammates up until graduation, but other than a few All-Star contests, he had not had any game experience other than a few All-Star affairs. Many of his new teammates were high schoolers, college players or Latin Americans who had just recently completed their seasons.
"There was a little bit of an adjustment period going a month between games, plus having to use wooden bats again (like in the Cape Cod League)," Kutler said.
It did not take Kutler long to resume his hot streak at the plate. Through 16 games, Kutler is third in the Gulf Coast League in hitting. His .373 average and versatility in the field have made him a staple in the middle of the Marlins' lineup. He leads the team in nearly every offensive category, including runs, doubles and RBIs, and he is slugging an eye-popping .508.
Slightly underrated defensively in college because of his offensive prowess, Kutler has played every outfield position and even chipped in a few outfield assists.
"The versatility makes me more valuable to the team," Kutler said. "I started off in center field because one of the Latin players who normally plays there has been hurt and the manager felt like he could move me around a little bit."
Perhaps the most accurate praise for Kutler's baseball ability came from the Marlins Director of Player Development, Brian Chattin.
"Matt's a ballplayer," Chattin said. "You see some guys with all the tools who aren't ballplayers. Matt may not have exceptional tools but he is a solid performer on a daily basis and that's what you want to see."
Overall, Kutler has settled into his life in professional baseball quite nicely despite the drastic difference between toiling in Florida's farm system and leading the Bears to the cusp of an Ivy League crown.
"I'm living in a hotel near the complex with a standard room and roommate and we catch a 7 a.m. van to the field everyday," said Kutler. "It is definitely a different dynamic from Brown. As opposed to the wins and losses being what counts, now it's (about) personal development."
Kutler's immediate goal is to continue his hot hitting streak and be promoted to the Cclass A New York-Penn League over the next few weeks.
Chattin did not comment on whether or not Kutler would be promoted sooner rather than later but did confirm that the normal progression for a player of Kutler's caliber would be to the Jamestown Jammers of the short-season New York-Penn League and then to minor league camp next year. Chattin said that Kutler is a solid prospect with whom the organization is pleased.
"Matt has shown he is a good player," Chattin said. "Our scouts wanted him in our system because they saw some potential in him. If our scouts wanted him, then he's a prospect and so far they have been right."
With his sights set firmly on the big leagues and Brown in his rearview mirror, Kutler will continue to spend the next few weeks and months trekking around the nation, chasing his dream.
