ST. LOUIS — If you stepped into the box against Jacob Turner in high school at Westminster Christian Academy, you probably didn't have much luck.
The big righty lit up radar guns and shot up draft boards as one of the best prep phenoms St. Louis had ever seen.
And when the 2009 MLB Draft rolled around, he was right at the top of the conversation.
“I was excited, nervous... . There was just so many things going on in my mind. I remember on draft day feeling very uneasy and just not having a great sense of excitement because I didn’t know what was going to happen," Turner said.
The Washington Nationals took Stephen Strasburg No. 1 overall. Eight picks later, the Detroit Tigers made Turner the No. 9 overall pick.
“I can remember when Bud Selig called my name and just giving my dad the biggest hug. We watched it from my parents’ basement. I had nobody outside of my immediate family there. But those were the people who had been with me since day one, so it was a really cool moment and something that is special even as I think about it today," Turner said.
Being a top 10 pick comes with a few things. First of all, expectations. No. 1 overall pick in 1988 and a mentor for Turner, Andy Benes, knows that.
“It was a little different when I got drafted because there was no internet or anything, but there’s a lot of pressure. Being the first pick or the ninth pick in Jacob’s case, they’re like ‘This guy was a top 10 pick’. And they expect a lot," Benes said.
“Nobody was going to put more pressure on me to deliver than I was going to put on myself," Turner said.
Being a first round pick also comes with money. More money than most high school kids can ever imagine.
“I look back, and I got $235 grand to sign. It was by far the highest bonus. He (Turner) got way more than that," Benes said.
“It changes everything, and it changes nothing. It changes everything from the fact that before I got drafted, I had maybe a couple hundred bucks in my bank account to having millions of dollars given to me all at once. So it changes everything. I don’t want to downplay what money can do for you in your life. It takes a lot of stress off your life, but at the same time, I woke up the next day feeling the exact same. And I’d encourage anybody to think about the fact that money doesn’t bring you happiness. It can bring you satisfaction, it can bring you peace of mind, but it certainly doesn’t bring you happiness," Turner said.
“For me, I ended up signing a deal that ended up paying me about $7 million. Which was rare at the time. They can’t sign those now. So at the time it probably put me in the top three to four high school draftees ever... I can still remember that feeling in my gut of thinking, ‘All I want to do is not blow this opportunity.’”
Turner got his first big league opportunity in 2011. And over seven seasons with five organizations, he saw all the good and bad that professional baseball has to offer.
“Baseball, and professional sports in general, is a business. People from the outside looking in— it’s hard to see that. It’s the greatest job in the world. You get to play in front of 50,000 people. But at the same time it’s a business. I can remember being at Busch Stadium, having a really poor outing. We’re in St. Louis. My wife and I have a house here, and I’m planning on going back there and experiencing St. Louis for the weekend. And instead, I’m getting sent back to Triple A. … And it really just struck me. 20 minutes ago I was pitching in front of 50,000 people, and now I have two days to get back to the triple A place where there’s going to be nobody in the stands," Turner said.
Now that wisdom gained in baseball is coming in handy in Turner’s next chapter. He’s a financial advisor with his brother, and focuses on advising young athletes and entrepreneurs in similar situations he was once in.
“All of a sudden these guys have a lot of money, but they have a window that’s small to accumulate money and a long time to live. Major League Baseball doesn’t have any curriculum with that, and there’s a lot of people who want a piece of your money. So it’s really neat that they’re doing that and trying to educate these young guys," Benes said.
“I would say the line I probably say the most is to never stop compounding. As an athlete and someone who can potentially come into money at a young age, you have such a long time horizon to let money continue to invest and compound… And if you do it the right way on the upfront, you can really set yourself up for the rest of your life," Turner said.
It has all come full circle for the Westminster phenom. And it’s the product of a truly unique baseball journey.
“I probably experienced everything you can experience in professional baseball. From the highs, to the lows and everything in-between. At the time there was a lot of struggles that went along with it. Today I sit here and think about how grateful I am for the struggles I had, because there’s lessons I learned in those. There’s things that helped propel me forward. There’s things that I can share in my next stage of life whether if it’s with my kids or people I know. So I would say grateful is the one thing I think about," Turner said.