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Corbin’s Chase Estep selected by Mets in MLB Draft
Chase Estep scores a run during the 13th Region tournament as a senior at CHS, 2019
On Monday, former Corbin Redhound Chase Estep was selected by the New York Mets with 269th overall pick in this year’s Major League Baseball draft.
Estep was a standout athlete in baseball and football during his time at Corbin, helping lead the football Hounds to back-to-back KHSAA state championship appearances, and leading the charge for the baseball team as they won back-to-back 13th Region titles in 2018 and 2019.
Estep signed with the University of Kentucky for baseball, and has managed to make an impact for the Wildcats since his arrival in 2020. According to his official bio on the ukathletics.com website, he has earned recognition as National Player of the Week (2022), SEC Player of the Week (2022), SEC Academic Honor Roll (2021) and SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll (2020).
In 2022, Estep and the Wildcats went 33-26. Estep finished the season with a .302 average and a .560 slugging percentage. His on-base percentage was .416.
Despite having two more years of eligibility at UK, Estep has indicated that, as of this time, he is likely to leave Lexington and begin his quest to wear a New York Mets uniform.
“Every kid dreams of this,” Estep said Monday evening. “This doesn’t happen to a lot of people, so the fact that it is happening to me is a dream come true.”
Estep said that receiving the call Monday made all of the years of hard work and sacrifice worth it, and the experience has exceeded his expectations. “I always thought about how cool getting drafted would be,” he said. “I had to miss out on a lot of things over the years because of working out and practicing, but I am grateful to now say that it has all paid off.”
When asked about his hopes for the future, Estep said that, while his decision has not yet been etched into stone, he doesn’t see any reason why he wouldn’t go ahead and try to go pro at this point.
“I appreciate the coaching staff for believing in me, and for giving me an opportunity,” Estep said of his coaches at UK. “I am super thankful for my time there, and I am thankful that God was with me, keeping me healthy, but I am happy to have the chance to take this next step.”
Estep said that he will be making the trip to Florida later this week to report for duty as one of the newest developmental talents for the Mets organization. From there, he will take the first steps in hopefully becoming a full-fledged big leaguer.
When asked whether there is any chance that this won’t be the case, Estep said that he and his family will weigh all of the options over the course of the next couple of days, but again, he is expecting for the end result of those conversations to be running full speed toward a career in Major League Baseball.
“The sky is the limit,” Estep said, thanking his family and his many supporters for their encouragement over the years. “Not everyone knows what it feels like to come from a small town like I do, and I know that I am representing a lot of people in the Corbin community. I am so thankful to everyone back home for their support.”
