There’s some good news for car owners and commuters on the north side of Atlanta.

Michael Chavis, who is considered by some to be the nation’s top power hitter out of high school in this year’s class, has finished his baseball career at Sprayberry. He’s a candidate to be selected in the first round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft, which begins on Thursday.

Chavis has become a local legend for smashing baseballs over Sprayberry’s left-field fence and onto the busy four-lane highway that runs parallel to the school. He has even launched some balls into the parking lot strip mall on the other side of Sandy Plains Road – located approximately 450 feet from Sprayberry’s home plate.

“There are a lot of cars out there, and it’s kind of like that video game ‘Frogger’ – you just try to get the home run balls across the street without anybody’s cars getting hit and people getting upset,” Sprayberry coach Phil Henderson said.

“Some of the cars get hit, and some of them don’t. It’s happened several times this year, but what are you going to do? Their cars get hit, and they come to complain to me. Most of them are in awe that Michael can hit it that far, but others want to know how to get their car fixed.

“I’m sure, over the years, that Cobb County has gotten tired of hearing from these people. But that’s where our field is, and that’s where he hits them.”

This spring has been rougher than normal on vehicles in East Cobb because of Chavis’ private workouts before Sprayberry’s home games. As many as 45 major-league scouts have shown up to admire the stocky third baseman’s sheer power.

“One day during batting practice, there was a big white moving truck that drove behind the field as I hit a home run and it left a big dent,” Chavis said. “The joke was ‘Two men and a truck – and a baseball.’

“There was another time during BP where I kept hitting baseballs into the parking lot in front of the vet clinic. They got so tired of it that everybody came out and moved their cars to the other side of the parking lot. That was pretty funny.

“My farthest hit in memory was in a game against Forsyth Central this year. I didn’t get to see it, but I was told it hit the top of that building,” said Chavis, pointing across the street.

Chavis, who has committed to Clemson, put himself on the baseball map last summer when he won the home run derby at the Perfect Game showcase. He was the only one of the eight finalists that was shorter than 6 feet 2. Chavis isn’t exactly short at 5-11, but he’s shorter than the prototype power hitters that scouts love.

“I don’t know if he passed the eyeball test a lot, in terms of what they say they’re looking for,” Henderson said. “But he’s an extremely strong kid, and he hits the ball a long ways. They need to throw all of that size stuff out of the window. It’s garbage, in my opinion. If you can play, you can play. Michael can play.”

Chavis has been making a big impact since he was promoted to Sprayberry’s varsity team as a freshman. His first hit was – no surprise – a home run.

And the long balls have kept on coming, despite the pressures and extra attention of being a projected first-round pick. This season, Chavis posted a .589 batting average with 14 home runs, including four in two playoff games against East Paulding. He broke up a one-hitter against Riverwood with a walk-off grand slam.

“I believe (the power) comes from my legs and my hands,” Chavis said. “I’ve always had quick hands. That was just something that God gave me. I don’t lift a lot, but my best lift is squatting (with a max of 505 pounds). That’s because my legs are so strong, and that’s where the power comes from.”

Chavis and his family were invited by MLB to watch Thursday’s opening round of the draft in New York.