From his first at-bat, all eyes were on Trejyn Fletcher this season.

And the Deering High senior, who transferred back to Maine shortly before the season began, proved he was worth watching.

Fletcher, a Portland resident who started his high school career at Cheverus, had played his two previous years at Trinity-Pawling School, a prep school in Pawling, New York. He gained attention as a top amateur prospect and verbally committed to a baseball scholarship from Vanderbilt University. One scouting service rated him as the nation’s top high school prospect in the class of 2020.

When Fletcher came to Deering, he reclassified to graduate in June, a year earlier than expected. That sent more than 20 professional scouts scrambling to his first game of the season at Hadlock Field.

“I wasn’t really nervous, but it’s definitely pretty cool,” Fletcher said that day of the scouts. “This is where I live, and they’re making their way up here to come see me play.”

The scouts continued to trail Fletcher, who played center field and occasionally pitched. He hit .455 with five doubles, a triple and three home runs, and stole 17 bases without being caught. With 14 walks – five intentional – his on-base percentage was .586. As Portland Coach Mike Rutherford pointed out, if a team walked Fletcher, he usually stole second (and sometimes third) and found a way to score. Fletcher scored 24 of Deering’s 55 runs.

In 20 innings of pitching, Fletcher struck out 41 hitters. Opposing batters hit .092 against him.

Fletcher alone could not turn Deering into a playoff team. The Rams finished 4-12. But he produced all season. He homered against city rivals Cheverus and Portland in two season-ending wins. He dueled with South Portland’s Hunter Owen, the SMAA pitcher of the year, for six-plus innings. Each pitcher struck out 15, but the Red Riots pulled out a 2-1 win in eight innings.

“I know his team wasn’t very good, but there is such a talent gap between Tre and the other players,” said Gorham Coach Chuck Nadeau.

Only four days after finishing his high school career with a home run at Hadlock in a 6-5 win against Portland, Fletcher was the St. Louis Cardinals’ second-round choice (58th overall) in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft.

The winner of the Winkin Award as Maine’s top senior baseball player, Fletcher is our choice as the Varsity Maine Player of the Year in baseball.

“The best player in the state was Fletcher,” said Thornton Coach Jason Lariviere.

“It’s Tre Fletcher,” said Scarborough Coach Mike D’Andrea. “Nobody else can match that season.”

On June 12, Fletcher signed a $1.5 million contract with the Cardinals, who plan to have him play in the outfield. In his debut, he went 3 for 5 with seven putouts and an assist for the  Gulf Coast League Cardinals on June 24.

“I didn’t really have much time to say goodbye to friends, but they know I’m down here pursing my dream,” Fletcher said after signing the contract. “It’s been a lot of positive support and I’m just glad everything has been positive so far.”

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