Aaron Boone still has a couple weeks before deciding who will be the American League’s starting pitcher for the All-Star Game. It could end up being one of his own players.

Max Fried was the most coveted free agent on the market. He was a rising senior, enjoying a carefree SoCal summer, when a hurricane hit his mailbox, casually mentioning that his high school, Montclair Prep, would be dropping its athletics department. As classmates scouted colleges, the nation’s top-rated southpaw searched for somewhere to graduate.