DJ NEWMAN
RJ SHUNCK
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
“You got a gift. When you were a baby, the Gods reached down and turned your arm into a thunderbolt.” – Kevin Costner’s character Crash Davis, from “Bull Durham”.
Well maybe Crash DID say “right” arm, but in the cases of ex-Archbold standout DJ Newman, and Evergreen product RJ Shunck does it really matter? Not really.
That’s because the right-handed Newman and the southpaw Shunck, who competed against each other on the diamond only 25 miles apart in high school, then again the same distance in college, used the lightning in their arms to take the next step in their baseball careers by being selected in the Major League Baseball Draft a mere two weeks ago.
The 6’7” Shunck, who pitched for the University of Toledo, was taken by the Miami Marlins. Newman, a two-way talent at Bowling Green who had already entered the transfer portal and was on his way to Tennessee for his senior season, was selected by the Houston Astros.
Going head-to-head in a number of cases over the last seven years, their paths to the pros was eerily the same, paths that included one summer where the two prospects actually took the field together for a college summer league team based in Sandusky, Ohio.
It was there that the two rivals became friends. “I got to know RJ a decent amount when we both played for the Sandusky Bay Ice Haulers in the Great Lakes Summer League,” Newman said. “Quite often our games from high school would get brought up in our conversations.”
The most memorable of those meetings is when Shunck outdueled Newman, winning a 1-0 contest in a game where baserunners were a luxury, at Archbold.
On that day Newman struck out 13 Vikings, while Shunck sent eight Bluestreak hitters back to the bench while throwing a two-hitter.
“RJ was a great player in high school, and we had very competitive games in baseball and basketball.” “Each game was very close, and you didn’t want to give up the first run because runs were hard to come by.”
Shunck echoed those statements and spoke of his great respect of his adversary then turned friend.
“I actually got a chance to get to know him (that summer) and he’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet, very humble and down to earth.
As far as on the field, he has some of the most impressive tools I’ve ever seen in person. He’s one of the best hitters in the country and can be absolutely dominating on the mound.”
“If that isn’t enough he can also run better than almost anyone, so he is really the complete package. I’m really impressed how he can manage his time as a two-way player and I’m very excited to see how everything plays out for him.”
Newman put numbers on the board, especially with the stick during his career at Bowling Green, is best batting average coming this past spring at .419, with nine doubles and four home runs.
Newman’s best power season came the year before as he hit 10 homers and had 19 extra-base hits while hitting .371.
On the mound, the Falcons righty logged 42 innings in 2024 with an ERA of 3.61. He pitched 14 innings in 2025 with a 3.77 ERA.
“I wouldn’t be here (on my way to the pros) without BGSU,” the Astros draft-pick emphasized. “I learned so much about myself on the and off the field.”
“Honestly, I never thought about the draft my freshman year. I was just striving to get a little better every single day.”
“When the draft talk started up all I was worried about was working to get better every day so we could do something special as a team.”
“Once I started having some success my sophomore year, I felt like that dream (of playing pro baseball) could actually happen. Honestly it’s hard to believe it until you get your name called. It’s definitely a dream come true.”
The former Falcon actually as previously mentioned, had entered the transfer portal and was intending on playing for national power Tennessee next spring until draft day came.
“I’m very thankful for both opportunities,” Newman stated. “I am currently in Houston right now completing my physical and other testing.”
“We will be waiting for the results of that the next couple of days and I will be signing with the Astros later this week assuming everything goes well. I’m very blessed to be in this position and can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
Shunck also gave a lot of credit to his rise on the charts to his college experience. “I did okay here and there but I don’t really think I lived up to the expectations. However, throughout the years at Toledo I got better each season.”
Always a big strikeout pitcher, the lanky lefty fanned 114 in 90 innings of work at a Rocket. However, Shunck’s big improvement came in his control.
While the strikeouts remained at well over one per inning, the base on balls went from one per inning his freshman season, to well under half of that in 2025.
What might have put the 6’7 burner on the radar, was five innings of no-run pitching against, then, fifth ranked Oregon, a game the Rockets won.
“My command improved every year significantly. As far as the draft this past season, I had a velocity jump from the around 87-90 to the 91-95 range.”
“I also started coming out of the bullpen, so I could just throw hard for a few innings. I guess my track man numbers got to some scouts and then they started talking to me here and there.”
“My velocity jump, I believe, put me on the radar. Draft day was pretty stressful because in my position, I knew if I got picked that it would be on day 2 of the draft.”
“I got a few calls from an advisor helping me out and said (the MLB) was possibly going to take me and then it was just a waiting game from there.”
“The 16th round came, and I got the call. It was awesome to have my family there too.” “I’ll be in Miami for their draft camp and learn everything. I’m just looking to soak in as much information as I can and get into this new lifestyle of being a professional.”
Both players expressed thanks to many who have helped them along the path. “Obviously I’m going to give my Toledo coach Rob Reinstesle a lot of props for giving me the chance to play at his program and developing me,” Shunck explained.
“I think he saw my potential and I can’t thank him enough for that and with all of this transfer portal stuff going on with people going to four different schools during their college career, I think it means a lot to be loyal to people who give you a chance.”
“Coach Sheehan, Coach Silberman and Coach Landon were my pitching coaches throughout the years and were massive to my development, answering all my questions and pushing me in the right direction.”
“My teammates and my family are even a bigger piece of all of it. They always supported me and pushed me to get better every day. It feels great to be recognized for the hard work that they all helped push me through.”
Like Shunck, Newman gave credit to the college experience as well as family. “My parents have done so many things to get me in this position.”
“Countless days of travel and supporting me no matter what happens. My sisters, brothers-in-law, my girlfriend Aubree and my grandparents always supported me through the easy and the hard times.”
“I want to thank all my teammates and coaches over the years and especially the Archbold and BGSU communities. I wouldn’t be here today without Coach Hallock giving a small town kid a chance.”
After passing all physical testing, Newman and Shunck will be assigned in their first stop on the journey in professional baseball, a journey that began with two kids in small towns 25 miles apart in greater Northwest Ohio.