Goleman sophomore right-hander projects as a possible MLB first-rounder. Here’s why
When Brandon Olivera was about three years old, he would sit in the dugout for the Miami Lakes Optimist youth-league games of his older brother, Brian. When the games ended, Olivera would insist that his father, Cuban-born Isaul, throw him pitches to hit.
“If not,” Olivera said, “I would cry.”
These days, the 15-year-old Olivera makes his opponents weep. The 6-1, 180-pound Goleman sophomore right-hander is considered a possible first-round pick in 2023, and Baseball America recently ranked him the No. 17 prep prospect in his draft class.
Olivera has been committed to the Miami Hurricanes since the eighth grade, and while his future appears to be on the mound, he’s a slugger, too.
“He hits balls 380 feet in batting practice as if it were nothing,” Goleman coach Jose Lopez said. “He will hit either third or fifth [in the batting order] for us.”
On the mound, Olivera’s fastball tops out at 93 mph but sits at 89-91. He’s working on increasing his strength and thus his velocity.
So far, the biggest thrill of Olivera’s career came in Taiwan when he was 12. He started the gold-medal game on the mound as the Hialeah native led Team USA to a 7-2 win over the hosts before 13,000 boisterous fans.
“I couldn’t hear myself talk,” Olivera said. “It was the most exciting and best experience of my life.”
Two years later, Olivera had another big moment at the Tremundial U-15 tournament in Mexico. Olivera — the youngest player on his team at age 14 — earned the win in the tournament semifinals over Cuba, pitching 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief with three strikeouts.
Team USA went on to beat Panama in the final, giving Olivera another gold medal.
“I didn’t have any fingernails left,” Isaul said of his nervousness watching his son pitch. “But Brandon was calm. He said, ‘Dad, this is what we’ve been training for all those years in travel ball.’”
As a freshman at Goleman last season, Oivera went 2-1 with a 2.10 ERA in three starts as part of the pandemic-shortened season. He issued a lot of walks (10) but plenty more strikeouts (27) in 13.1 mostly dominating innings. He also hit .292 with three doubles and no homers in 24 at-bats.
Lopez said Olivera is likely the best prospect in Goleman history, and the coach should know. Lopez was a three-year starter (pitcher/third baseman) and part of Goleman’s first graduating class in 1998.
After playing at Florida Memorial, Lopez returned to Goleman as a pitching coach from 2002 to 2008. That 2008 team still ranks as the best in Goleman history by virtue of being the only one to advance to the state semifinals. Goleman allowed a total of just one run in three regional victories before taking an 11-0 loss to eventual state champion Lake Brantley.
Lopez parlayed that success to the head-coaching position at North Miami Beach (2009 to 2012), but he said he “jumped at the chance” to return to the Goleman Gators and has been running the program since 2013.
“I’m always a Gator,” Lopez said. “This is the school that gave me the opportunity to play and coach baseball.”
Now it looks like he will have the next three seasons coaching a rare talent such as Olivera.
Asked if Olivera could be a first-round pick, Lopez said: “I believe so — he’s very mature for his age.”
Girls’ basketball
▪ North Miami 59, North Miami Beach 12: Carla Jean 19 points, 8 steals, 8 rebounds, 6 assists; Vincent Novhna 15 points, 6 steals.
Boys’ basketball
▪ Palmer Trinity 54, American Heritage 42: PT(11-5): Robertson III 14, Waldman 11, McCray 10, D. Fumagalli 9, Friedland 6. AH(5-4): Ruiz 13, Mathieu 10, Brant 6. HT: PT 28-19. Three-pointers: Robertson III 3, Brant 2, Friedland, Fumagalli, Mathieu, Ehiene. Rebounds: McCray 6, D. Fumagalli 6, Waldman 4. Steals: McCray 2, Waldman 2. Assists: Friedland 5, McCray 2, Waldman 2.
Boys’ soccer
▪ Miami Country Day 9, Chaminade-Madonna 1: Stefano Dumas had a hat trick (3 goals), Victor Destri had two goals, and Lucas Hansen, Dylan Meyer, Agustin Kohen, and Diego Rodriguez each had 1 goal.
This story was originally published January 29, 2021 at 11:22 AM.