Former Morris County baseball star selected by St. Louis Cardinals in MLB Draft

Jack Findlay’s big-game mentality and ability to perform when the stakes are high landed the former Roxbury High School pitcher on the biggest stage.

The Notre Dame junior and Roxbury resident was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals with the No. 6 pick of the eighth round of the 2024 MLB Draft.

Findlay is the second Morris County player to have his name called in this year's MLB Draft. On Sunday, recent Morris Knolls graduate Luke Dickerson was selected by the Washington Nationals with the No. 5 pick of the second round.

Findlay, an All-State pitcher while at Roxbury High School, entered the draft as the No. 235 prospect, according to Baseball America. He was selected with the 231st overall pick.

The 6-foot-3, 220-pound left-handed pitcher has not appeared in a college game since his sophomore season after undergoing Tommy John surgery midway through the 2023 season.

Findlay made a splash his freshman year in 2022 when he posted a 6-2 record while striking out 54 batters in 49⅔ innings to a tune of a 2.17 ERA. That year, he saved three straight games for the Irish and earned wins in both the regional and super regional clinching games, including a 7-3 win over then-No. 1 Tennessee to secure Notre Dame’s third trip to the college World Series.

A three-year starter at Roxbury, Findlay was the state’s top pitcher as a senior in 2021, striking out 83 batters in 44⅓ innings and surrendering 22 hits, five earned runs and nine walks for a microscopic 0.79 ERA.

Findlay guided the Gaels to back-to-back sectional titles during his freshman and sophomore seasons. As a freshman, Findlay struck out nine over seven innings in a 5-2 win in the 2018 final against Pascack Valley. The next year, he led Roxbury to a 3-2 win over Montville with a complete-game, eight strikeout performance.

In his high school career, Findlay struck out 151 batters in 109⅔ innings and posted a 1.53 ERA.

"Jack was an outstanding pitcher for us and we knew that coming into high school," longtime Roxbury coach Greg Trotter said. "He had some big starts early his freshman year here and we knew that he was going to be special.

"Though he hasn't pitched in more than a year, the Cardinals and other major league scouts liked what they saw. He built quite a name for himself his freshman year of college. The bigger the game, the better he was."