Lukas Schramm ready for any obstacle whether at Kentucky or in MLB
APEX, N.C. (BVM) — Early in 2020, Lukas Schramm was experiencing all of the symptoms of Type 1 diabetes. He just did not know it.
“I didn’t have any idea at the time that they were diabetes connected,” Schramm said. “I had arthritis in my knees and my hips. I was just dog tired all of the time.”
Schramm also experienced an unquenchable thirst and frequent urination. At this point, Schramm realized something was not right. After he and his family started to connect the dots, he reached out to a friend with diabetes, asking if he could use his equipment to test his blood sugar levels. After the reading came back concerningly high, Schramm and his mother rushed to the emergency room.
If your blood glucose level is higher than 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), you are diagnosed with diabetes. At the hospital, Lukas’ measured at 833 mg/dL.Nurses told him that he was less than a couple of days away from going into a diabetic coma.
“A lot of them were pretty surprised that I was even awake and functioning,” Schramm said. “It was a wake-up call for me.”
One year ago I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I was almost 45lbs underweight, the least healthy I’ve been my entire life, and so weak I could barely walk up a flight of stairs. It’s crazy how much you can turn things around in one year and realize how blessed you really are. pic.twitter.com/5IGD6WHimq
— Lukas Schramm (@BatterinSchramm) February 4, 2021
Thankfully since, Schramm has been able to manage it, allowing him to do what he loves most: play baseball.
Now a senior at the Pro5 Baseball Academy in Apex, North Carolina, Schramm is a University of Kentucky commit and the No. 161 prospect in the 2022 MLB Draft according to Prospects Live.
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound outfielder and first baseman has elite power that he can go foul pole to foul pole with. This paired with his 6.77 60-yard dash time has caught the attention of both college and professional scouts.
With it being evident early on that Schramm was a special talent, he pledged his future to the Wildcat program before his sophomore season. Despite only going through the recruiting process for a short period of time, his relationship with the Kentucky coaches gave him the confidence that he was making the right decision.
Excited to be a Wildcat! Big blue nation here I come! pic.twitter.com/knL420M4OS
— Lukas Schramm (@BatterinSchramm) September 9, 2019
“Coach Mingione and Coach Coggin are some of the best people I’ve ever met,” Schramm said. “With how personal it felt on the phone and the excitement that they had on the phone with me was what really stood out a lot. A lot of the conversations that Coach Mingione and I had when I was close to committing weren’t even talking about baseball, but talking about life.”
With his commitment being followed by his health scare about six months later, Schramm would face more adversity that summer. After his sophomore year, he tore his UCL, resulting in him needing Tommy John surgery. Schramm had a good recovery, but the procedure still put him on the shelf for close to a year.
In a four–month span, Schramm faced two of the biggest obstacles that he has ever had to face.
“It was a lot more mental than it was physical,” Schramm said. “The worst feeling in the world was waking up the next morning (after the surgery) and looking at your arm and being like, ‘How the heck am I supposed to throw with this again. I can’t even move my fingers right now.’”
After nearly a year of rehabbing and re-strenghtening his arm, Schramm was cleared for opening day of his junior season with the COVID-19 impacted schedule in 2021.
268 days in the making. #tommyjohn pic.twitter.com/Z3MuVMqmWP
— Lukas Schramm (@BatterinSchramm) March 18, 2021
With the game he loved being taken away from him for so long, Schramm would do everything in his power to make sure he came back better than ever. And he lived up to his own expectations.
In his first at-bat back, Schramm slugged one over the wall in left center field. A moment he had been dreaming about for months and months.
First game back since Tommy John and it’s pretty easy to say that it’s been one hell of a ride! pic.twitter.com/SXt5UG1VdS
— Lukas Schramm (@BatterinSchramm) April 22, 2021
“It was probably one of the best feelings I’ve had playing baseball,” Schramm said. “You talk about core memories, that’s one for sure. It was such a relief. I almost broke down after it.”
Things finally started to go Schramm’s way.
Ever since, his prospect status has taken off, attending showcases all across the country and performing in front of pro scouts. With the MLB Draft coming up this July, he is in a position where he will likely have a decision to make between heading to Lexington or beginning his professional career. But Schramm’s center of attention is on what he can control.
“Right now I’m just focused on doing the best I can where I’m at,” Schramm said. “Whatever happens, happens from that aspect.”
No matter the route Schramm winds up taking, his journey has prepared him for the ups and downs that come along with the road to Major League Baseball.
“I just want to do the best wherever I’m at,” Schramm said. “Just like any other kid, you grow up wanting to play in the big leagues and wanting to be the best to ever do it. With how competitive I am, if I wasn’t trying to do that, I wouldn’t really see a purpose in trying to do it at all.”
