While his dad was a 6-foot-6, nearly 300-pound hard-throwing left-handed pitcher who piled up more than 250 wins and 3,000 strikeouts in his 19-year career, Carsten Sabathia is a 6-4, 240-pound right-hand hitting first and third baseman.
He's one of at least 10 players currently starring on high school fields whose dads played on baseball's biggest stage.
Full of power and strength, the Sabathia impresses professional scouts with his mobility and athleticism at the corner positions, along with his fluid swing and baseball IQ. Headed to Georgia Tech, he's also an excellent student.
During his first seven games and 19 at-bats this season for the Crusaders, Carsten is hitting .316 with two doubles and four RBI.
He's the oldest of four children of CC and Amber Sabathia and named after his father, who was a three-sport star at
Vallejo in Northern California and the No. 1 pick — the 20th selection overall — of the Cleveland Indians in 1998.
Nicknamed "Little C," Carsten loved baseball since he was toddler and was seen around MLB batting cages, often wearing a full Yankees uniform as a youngster.
When the Yankees won the World Series in 2009, Carsten was seen on his dad's shoulders throughout the postgame celebration and interviews. His favorite player not sharing his own name growing up was Manny Machado and he learned infield techniques from watching all the Yankees, particularly Robinson Cano.
Carsten's sophomore season at Bergen was canceled due to COVID-19 so he focused on conditioning with his dad, who lost 60 pounds. Sabathia told
The Athletic that he does not coach his son during games and sits by himself when possible.
"I just sit and watch it," Sabathia said. "If he asks questions, we'll talk about it. … I think we are very different, but he loves the game and he works hard and his baseball IQ is so high that we can have great conversations about the game."
Other sons of major leaguers:
Druw Jones, Wesleyan
File photo by Michael Mixon
Position: OF | Year: Senior | Father: Andruw Jones
Dad: A 10-time gold glove outfielder, five-time All-Star and 2005 MLB home run leader.
Son: Projected by some as the possible No. 1 pick in the 2022 MLB Draft after hitting .445 with 16 home runs as a junior. Druw is ranked No. 13 in the
ProspectsLive.com Top 100 list.
Mason McGwire, Capistrano Valley (Mission Viejo, Calif.)Position: P | Year: Senior | Dad: Mark McGwire
Dad: Hit 583 career home runs, won five home run titles, two World Series and was 12-time All-Star.
Son: Mason is a 6-3, 190-pound right-hand pitcher who has committed to Oklahoma. He's the No. 65 national prospect from the Class of 2022 (No. 14 pitcher), according to
PerfectGame.com. He'll join brother Max at Oklahoma.
Mason McGwire, Capistrano Valley
File photo by Terry Jack
Position: SS | Year: Senior | Dad: Matt Holliday
Dad: Seven-time All-Star, NLCS MVP and four-time Silver Slugger Award winner.
Son: Considered a top 20 prospect in the country and perhaps the No. 1 shortstop, Jackson is a 6-1, 180-pounder with excellent speed, soft hands and a strong left-handed bat. The Oklahoma State commit recently hit two home runs in one inning for Stillwater (23-7) in a 21-11 win over Bartesville.
Position: 2B | Year: Freshman | Dad: Matt Holliday
Dad: Had 316 career home runs, lifetime .299 hitter in 15 seasons.
Son: Also a big contributor to Stillwater's team, Ethan has already committed to Oklahoma State, where Matt also played. Ethan and Jackson recently hit back-to-back solo home runs, and on Thursday in an 11-0 win over Southmoore, Ethan knocked home his brother twice after Jackson had extra-base hits.
Position: OF | Year: Senior | Dad: Carl Crawford
Dad: Four-time All-Star, Gold Glover, four-time stolen base leader.
Son: Ranked as high as the No. 10 prospect of 2022, Justin is a 6-3, 175-pound outfielder with lots of speed, range and power. The LSU commit has 15 doubles, nine triples, 20 steals and five home runs while hitting .483 over two seasons at Gorman, which is 25-1 and ranked No. 7 in the MaxPreps Top 25.
Justin Crawford, Bishop Gorman
File photo by Jules Karney
Position: P | Year: Senior | Dad: David Riske
Dad: Eleven-year reliever in MLB with career 20-20 record, 3.67 ERA and 441 strikeouts.
Son: The 5-10, 165-pound right-hander is 4-0 in his career at Gorman with a 5.76 ERA, 16 strikeouts in 17 innings.
Position: 2B | Year: Sophomore | Dad: David Riske
Dad: Not only a solid pitcher, but considered a bullpen leader who helped turn around the career of Zack Greinke.
Son: The 5-10, 160-pounder is Gorman's fourth-best hitter in 2022 at .474 with 10 doubles, two triples, four homers and 30 RBI.
Position: P, INF, OF | Year: Senior | Dad: Henry Cotto
Dad: Played outfield in all are part of 10 seasons, starting in 1984 with the Cubs.
Son: Eddie does it all for the 25-1 Lions. He pitched a six-inning no-hitter with 10 strikeouts in a 10-0
win over Trevor Brown. His best position is second base but his coach
Shea Clark calls him the team's "Swiss Army Knife," while excelling at
shortstop, center field and pitcher. Eddie is hitting a team-best .526
(40-for-76) with nine doubles, four triples and 29 RBI. Injuries and
COVID-19 hurt Eddie's recruiting — he's committed to Glendale Community
College — but he's aiming high. Eddie told Arizona Republic writer
Richard Obert that his father doesn't want him to be like him. "He wants
me to be better than him," Eddie said.
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Cam Collier, the son of former MLB utility man Lou Collier, was a MaxPreps Sophomore All-American last season at
Mount Paran Christian (Kennesaw, Ga.) but reclassified to the Class of 2022, then went the Bryce Harper route and enrolled in junior college. Cam was Baseball America's No. 3 prospect in the Class of 2023. The 6-2, 210-pound infielder has a smooth, compact left-handed swing and also is a part-time pitcher. He batted .434 with 13 home runs and 40 RBI for the state champions in 2021 and also struck out 76 batters with a 0.71 ERA as a pitcher.
Eddie Cotto, Alhambra
File photo by Darin Sicurello
