Welcome Minor League Ball’s Shaun Kernahan

I am Shaun Kernahan, excited to be a new writer here on Minor League Ball with SB Nation. I have a few posts up already but it was time to formally introduce myself to the Minor League Ball readers, of whom I am one.

I played high school baseball and after a series of surgeries to my arm I decided to start coaching before getting a “real” job. It was at that job that I started my own site a little over seven years ago, and when it came time for a change on the job front I pursued writing. I have contributed to several different sites, and quickly found my true passion was in the realm of prospects.

With that I moved from Southern California out to Arizona and took to the fields. I spend every day of the spring at the back fields, then discovered Extended Spring Training, the AZL, Fall Instructs, and my favorite, the Arizona Fall League. I got to know many people in the industry and wanted to hone my skills on the scouting side, so I took a job as a college scout, assisting in identifying and guiding high school baseball players through the recruiting process.

After a year of that, I went back to an office job and back to writing, where a former colleague of mine at a previous site, and current Minor League Ball writer, Clinton Riddle put me in touch with John Sickels who brought me onto the team here.

Growing up in Southern California, I was raised with baseball being so eloquently described to me every night by the great Vin Scully, often times through a Dodgers baseball radio I got at a game as a kid. Despite growing up listening to Vin Scully, summer trips to my family’s roots in the Massachusetts and New Hampshire helped mold me into a Red Sox fan.

Buster Olney of ESPN often mentions on his podcast that he is no longer a fan of any one team, but a fan of players due in large part to the job. I got my first taste of that when a New York Yankees site reached out to me, a Red Sox fan, to put together reports on Yankees prospects in the AFL.

It was at this time that I understood what Olney was talking about because, while still a Red Sox fan, my interactions with the likes of Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Ian Clarkin, Greg Bird, Dustin Fowler, among many others, has me enjoying the success of players with my favorite team’s rival.

Now I look forward to continuing my evolution as a scout and writer at this fine site and bringing detailed reports that all Arizona has to offer to the readers here at Minor League Ball.