Chatfield’s Christian Foutch, Grandview’s Reese Chapman living out baseball dream at all-star weekend – The Denver Post

​Todd Helton’s legendary baseball career captivated millions of Rockies fans through his 17 years in purple pinstripes. For two kids growing up in the suburbs of Denver, he was their baseball idol.

Or, the G.O.A.T (Greatest of All Time). The greatest Rockies player of all-time that is, according to Reese Chapman and Christian Foutch.

Fast forward to this weekend, and Chapman and Foutch found themselves playing in the same stadium where they watched Helton and other Rockies stars growing up. As two of 39 top high school prospects from the Class of 2022 selected to participate in the High School All-American Game Friday night, they may very well follow in his footsteps, too.

“You don’t often get a chance to step out on an MLB field, especially at 17 years old,” said Foutch, a right-handed pitcher for Chatfield High School. “Growing up watching the Rockies and seeing pitchers pitch on that mound knowing that I get to step onto that same mound is a very cool feeling.”

Foutch played alongside Chapman, an outfielder from Grandview High School in Aurora, for the first time Friday. For years, the Coloradans have squared off in highly-anticipated matchups.

Both committed to Division I SEC powerhouses — Chapman to Tennessee, and Foutch to Arkansas — the game was a rare opportunity for them to share the same dugout.

“It’s surreal,” Chapman said before the game. “It’s crazy to think about because these kids are from all over, many of them I’ve played against for the past four or five years. It’s crazy that they’re all back in my hometown and I’m able in my hometown to play with them and with Christian.”

Among the other top-U.S. based high school prospects who came to Denver this weekend were the sons of former Major Leaguers CC Sabathia, Andruw Jones and Lou Collier — Carsten, Jayson and Cam, respectively.

“It’s crazy because I never thought of myself as this high-caliber player until I saw the players who were coming here,” Foutch said. “It was like, ‘Wow, I’m really up here with these guys.’”

Both players know there’s an added pressure being the hometown kids, but when they step on the mound or up to the plate, it’s just another game.

“Even if I don’t perform my best, I was still able to participate in an event like this and that in itself is truly remarkable,” Chapman said prior to the game.

They’re labeling this weekend a “Big League experience” as they are spending nights in hotels, eating catered food and sporting the MLB All-Star logo.

“It’s a whole other world here,” Chapman said. “This is what I imagine a ‘Majors’ life would be like, so I just have to keep my heart rate down from the excitement and relax this weekend.”

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