Kevin McGowan Sr. was suffering from a case of deja vu. The entire family sitting around the house, waiting for a phone call and the good news that they would hear on the other end. He knew his son was going to be drafted by a Major League Baseball team, but he didn’t know by who or when.

June 8, 2013 was no different from June 2, 1999. McGowan had already been through the emotional roller coaster that is draft day.

In 1999 it was his brother Sean McGowan being drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the third round out of Boston College. He knew what to expect going into this June’s MLB Amateur Draft with his son Kevin McGowan Jr. filling in for his brother.

“We were ready for the process,” McGowan Sr. said, “but it didn’t make it any easier to sit and wait for everything to take place. We’re so proud of him and that everything he’s worked so hard for is happening for him.”

The call did come for McGowan Jr., although not as quickly as it did for his uncle Sean.

Still, being drafted in the 13th round is high enough in baseball to know you’re not just a risk, the team is making an investment in its future, as well as yours.

That team for the 2010 Nashua High School North graduate was the New York Mets, who selected him in the 13th round (386th overall) after another stellar spring at Franklin Pierce University. A season that saw the Ravens and McGowan reach the NCAA Division II College World Series.

“I’m fired up, ready to go,” McGowan said that Saturday afternoon after being drafted. “It’s been crazy. My phone won’t stop ringing. As soon as I put it down, another person is calling me.”

His uncle enjoyed the same experience – family and friends celebrating a milestone day in his professional career.

“It’s extremely nerve-wracking,” 36-year-old Burlington, Mass., resident Sean McGowan said. “You’re sitting at home at the mercy of a phone call. It was even worse for him since they broke it up into two days. I talked to Kevin during his waiting period, and he was very level-headed and mature about it.”

No matter what round a player is selected in, maturity and composure is important pre- and post-draft.

Just because you are selected high doesn’t guarantee major league success.

Sean was the 108th overall pick in 1999, the year Josh Hamilton was selected first overall by the Tampa Bay Rays. That same year, another first baseman known the world over was chosen 402nd overall, as the St. Louis Cardinals used their 13th round pick on Albert Pujols.

While Pujols spent one year bouncing from Single A to Triple A before reaching the majors in 2001 and becoming one of Major League Baseball’s greatest hitters with the Cardinals, Sean McGowan would play for four different teams in the Giants farm system – reaching Triple A with the Fresno (Calif.) Grizzlies twice – before finishing his professional career in the Red Sox organization with Single A Sarasota for 18 games in 2003 and the rest of his time between 2003-2004 as a Portland Sea Dog in Double A.

Where will Kevin end up?

“I can’t look that far into the future,” said Sean, regarding his nephew’s pro career. “I’m confident in his ability to go as far as he wants, and he’s very mature for his age. So I think the sky is the limit, but it’s all on him. Only he can determine his future in baseball. Nothing will be handed to him, he’s got to earn it.”

According to his former high school coach Will Henderson, that is something that Kevin is fully aware of. It’s something his former pupil on the diamond stresses to Gate City youth.

“He understand’s that nothing is a guarantee in life,” said Henderson, who has kept in contact with Kevin through his three years of college at FPU and now as a minor leaguer. “On or off the field you have to work for what you want.

“It’s something we always stressed to the guys, ‘Stay hungry, stay humble.’ He lives his life like that every day.”

His father and mother have always seen that way of life in their son.

“He’s always been such a good kid, the kind of person others look up to off the field,” said his mom Lynn, “but also that way on the field. He’s a hard worker at everything he does. Knowing where he’s come from – he’s come so far and worked so hard to get where he’s at right now – we’re just so proud of him.”

His older brother Ryan McGowan may have the best view of the steps his brother has taken from high school until Tuesday night’s appearance against the Lowell Spinners at Edward A. LeLacheur Park.

He hasn’t been to as many games as his parents over the years. He feels it’s a fresh perspective on the evolution of Kevin Jr.’s game.

“He’s always getting better, always working and improving,” Ryan said. “I might not see him for a couple months between games. It’s been that way throughout his progression. I think that makes the improvements stand out so much more to me than anybody else in the family. He’s elevated his game so much from high school into college and now seeing him pitching against Lowell. He’s a professional pitcher.

“I’m just really proud of him. I’m impressed with all he has accomplished so far. He’s very focused and I admire that focus.”

That focus is exactly what uncle Sean believes can aid Kevin Jr.’s advancement from one level to the next.

“I know how hard Kevin has been working at his craft, from high school until now,” Sean said. “He knows I’m always here for him if he needs me. I’m not sure how much he will.

“He’s got the perfect mindset, temperament and confidence to succeed in professional baseball and stay level-headed for that long journey ahead.”