Dan Cronin claims Matt Ponatoski hurt his MLB Draft stock with an “embarrassing” act during his senior year of high school. However, the Cincinnati-based sports handicapper did not provide any additional evidence to back up his claim and used an incorrect analogy to make his point.
It creates an interesting dialogue about the modern era of collegiate athletics.
Although Ponatoski is only 18 years old, he is going to make six figures to play a sport— either as a professional in MiLB or at the University of Kentucky. As lame as it might be for a fully grown man to criticize a recent high school graduate without context, does it come with the territory?
Matt Ponatoski was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds.
There may not be a more talented two-sport athlete to come from the state of Ohio in recent years. Matt Ponatoski was named as Ohio Mr. Football and the Gatorade Ohio Player of the Year in 2024 after an outstanding junior season at quarterback for Archbishop Moeller. He was also named as the Gatorade Ohio Player of the Year in baseball that following spring. The infielder and right-handed pitcher hit .429 with 29 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.
Ponatoski did not find the exact same success as a senior but he was still impressive. He completed 66.11% of his passes for 2,395 yards with 28 touchdowns and only one interception in 12 games. He also recorded a .940 OPS and .427 wOBA at the plate with a 1.37 ERA and 37.1% whiff rate on the mound. Pretty dang good.
As a result, the rising senior in college has a decision to make. Ponatoski is currently committed to play both sports at the University of Kentucky. The Wildcats would love to get him on campus. Both head coaches want him to be part of their programs.
However, Ponatoski’s dream is to play professional baseball and he was just drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 18th round of the MLB Draft. It seems like he is probably going to end up in Lexington because the slot value at pick No. 542 does not pay the same as his NIL deal at Kentucky but he could just as easily decide to go full-time on the diamond and rise through the ranks of MiLB.
We’ll see. Ponatoski is set to get paid six figures either way.
What caused the MLB Draft slide?
There was a lot of hype about Matt Ponatoski’s MLB Draft stock prior to his senior year. He ended up going after the first 500 picks. What gives?
The logical assumption is that Major League Baseball clubs were not willing to use an early pick on a player who they think is likely to end up playing in college. Plus, nobody really knows where Ponatoski is going to play on the next level (whether that be as a DH, infielder, pitcher or otherwise) and he has yet to reach his full potential because he has not yet focused on one sport.
Dan Cronin says otherwise. The Cincinnati-based sports handicapper claims there is more to the story.
He posted the following response to Ponatoski’s slide:
“Wow u drop like a rocket when u think u better than the team . His act his senior yr was embarrassing. People in know , they know”
First of all, “drop like a rocket” does not make sense but whatever. You get what he was trying to say.
Unfortunately, Cronin did not expand further on why Ponatoski’s senior year was “embarrassing.” We are left without an explanation. His claims seem to be unfounded. Anybody I have ever talked to personally holds Ponatoski in high regard.
Cronin’s criticism creates an interesting debate. Does this kind of criticism just “come with the territory” of being a high-profile athlete? Even if it is completely unfair to his character, Ponatoski is going to make more money as an 18-year-old than a lot of people in their entire lives. That essentially makes him a professional— even if he goes to Kentucky.
Is this something he just has to deal with? Let me know in the comment section below!