Patchogue-Medford's Josh Knoth wins Carl Yastrzemski Award for second straight year

The numbers are staggering.

Patchogue-Medford’s Josh Knoth allowed five hits, all singles, in 41   2⁄3 innings this season. He walked 15 batters.

He set the program’s single-season record for strikeouts (109) and ERA (0.17).

He threw a perfect game on May 2 against Riverhead and struck out 19 batters, the second perfect game of his high school career.

He also was a part of the third combined no-hitter of his career.

“He’s the best high school pitcher we’ve ever seen,” Patchogue-Medford coach Anthony Frascogna said. “I’ve never seen anything like him. We had other teams celebrating foul tips and contemplating getting his autograph. It was unreal.”

The senior righthander became the third two-time winner of the coveted Carl Yastrzemski Award, presented to Suffolk’s most outstanding player, at the Suffolk County Baseball Coaches Association dinner Monday night at Villa Lombardi’s in Holbrook. First baseman Ron Witmeyer of East Islip earned the award in 1984 and 1985 and pitcher Brian Morrell of Shoreham-Wading River won it in 2016 and ’17.

Statistically speaking, Knoth’s numbers are unmatched. He had four shutouts and recorded double-digit strikeouts in all seven starts.

Knoth said winning the 55th Yastrzemski Award took him by surprise. “It’s awesome,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting to win the Yaz again because I didn’t hit and play the field this season. I didn’t expect it at all. I’m so honored to win it a second time.”

Knoth undeniably is one of the greatest high school pitchers in Long Island history. He finished his career with a 17-3 record, 291 strikeouts and a 0.90 ERA.

He accepted a baseball scholarship to play at Ole Miss in the Southeastern Conference. That college career might never materialize, however, as scouts from all 30 major-league organizations have swarmed his starts this season. Knoth is a projected first-round draft selection and has been visited by crosscheckers and scouting directors throughout the season.

“I could be drafted by any team, as I’ve talked to all of them,” Knoth said. “I’ve been working hard with my personal trainer Russ Tavares at 365 Athletics. And I’ve been light tossing to start ramping it up before the MLB Combine in Phoenix, Arizona, on June 19.”

The 2023 MLB amateur draft will be held at Lumen Field (the home of the Seahawks) in Seattle on July 9 as part of MLB’s All-Star week activities.

Sachem East coach Kevin Schnupp is happy to see Knoth graduate.

“He’s beaten us four times in the past three years,” Schnupp said. “His high school career was so good that he put up better numbers than Marcus Stroman and Steven Matz, and they both went on to become major-league pitchers. He was comparable to those guys and I would never discount the dominance of either of those two — but Josh has been special.

“He’s a team player, a leader and respectful of opponents, umpires and coaches. He didn’t waver when 30 scouts showed up to his games and put him under the microscope. He was always ready for the spotlight.”

Frascogna has admired the competitive spirit of Knoth.

“He wasn’t possibly going to ever let up a hit this year,” he said. “That even sounds crazy. But we never saw his kind of velocity at 97, 98 miles per hour. He threw all four of his pitches every game and the slider had major-league spin rate and movement. His mindset is no one is supposed to get a hit off him. He’s supposed to get everyone out. He was truly unbelievable.”

By Gregg Sarra

gregg.sarra@newsday.com@Gregg_Sarra

Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.