Orthodox Jewish ace from Long Island expected to be picked in MLB draft

At 6-foot-6, 224 pounds and armed with a 97 mph fastball, Jacob Steinmetz has rare gifts for a 17-year-old. Those gifts have landed him a scholarship to Fordham University and could make him a lot of money in this week’s MLB draft.

But the lightning in his right arm is just part of what makes Steinmetz so unique. In the next few days he may become a trailblazer — the first known practicing Orthodox Jewish baseball player to get drafted. “There’s a difference between being committed, doing all this hard work and having this extra layer,” his summer coach, Daniel Corona, said. “I don’t know if there’s ever going to be another Jacob, as far as this whole process goes. He set an example that anything is possible as far as being committed to multiple things at once and still believing in yourself, your dreams, to make them happen.”