Several SouthCoast baseball fans will have their eyes on Sunday’s game between the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals (1:35 p.m., MLB.TV) to see New Bedford’s Jared Shuster get his first MLB start.

“He’s a rare talent,” said New Bedford High baseball coach John Seed, who coached Shuster for one season before he transferred to Tabor Academy. “I’ve had some good players, but you could just tell with him. He was the real deal as a freshman. The one year he played with us, we made it to the (2014) South Sectional final.

“He had a gem against Durfee where he struck out 17 kids in seven innings. He two-hit BC High in the playoffs. Then we played the No. 1 seed (Wellesley). In the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded and two outs, they tried to bunt. Jared got the ball and flipped it to home plate for the final out.”

After graduating from Tabor Academy in 2017, Shuster enjoyed an impressive college career at Wake Forest. He also played one summer for the New Bedford Bay Sox in 2018 and competed with the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod Baseball League the following summer, going 4-0 with a 1.36 ERA, earning league All-Star honors.

Shuster was selected in the 2020 MLB Draft by the Atlanta Braves with the 25th pick.

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Shuster spent the next couple of years working his way up through the Minor Leagues. He was named to the Atlanta Braves Opening Day roster on March 26.

“I watched him pitch against the Red Sox (in spring training) and he looked really good,” Seed said. “He’s put the work into it.”

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: New Bedford's Jared Shuster gets first his MLB for the Atlanta Braves