Father's Day repeat at National
(Nicholas Quintana feature)
Belge
looms large among lefties
FORT
MYERS, Fla. – The top four left-handed pitchers in the high school
graduating class of 2016 took their turns firing missiles from the
top of the mound at JetBlue Park the last two days. They marched out
and did their respective thing, which in each case meant delivering
fastballs that reached home plate traveling anywhere between 92 to 96
mph.
Pitching
at the Perfect Game National Showcase, all were impressive and most
struck a strikingly similar pose. There was No. 1-ranked Jason Groome
from Barnegat, N.J., listed at 6-foot-6, 180-pounds; No.3 Cole Ragans
out of Crawfordville, Fla., at 6-4, 190; and No. 4 Braxton Garrett
from Florence, Ala., who came in a veritable equal of Ragans at 6-3,
190.
No.
2-ranked Jeff Belge doesn’t quite fit the mold only because of his
heft. Belge, who hails from Syracuse, N.Y., stands out from the crowd
with his powerfully built 6-foot-6, 235-pound frame. He then blended
right back in with rest as he pounded the zone with 92 mph fastballs
and odd-speed stuff that sat 77-79 mph.
When
he finished his two innings just in front of a long lightning delay
Saturday afternoon, he couldn’t have been more pleased with the
opportunity the PG National Showcase presented him.
“It
was a great experience to get out in front of some of the best
players in the country and some big-time scouts down here, and just
show what you got,” Belge said. “It’s always exciting, every
start in front of (the scouts) when you see them out behind the
backstop. Some people get nervous when they’re back there but I
think I do better when they’re back there.”
There
is something else that sets Belge apart from the other southpaws,
although it’s doubtful the casual observer would even notice –
Belge pitches wearing special goggles. When he was 9 years old, he
suffered an injury to his right eye that required surgery and left
him nearly sightless in that eye; he sees only colors and vague
outlines.
According
to at least one published report, the goggles he wears feature a
clear, protective right lens while the left lens is prescription. He
calls the injury “no big deal” and it certainly has done nothing
to slow what has become a very promising baseball career.
“I’ve
been playing baseball since I was about four years old,” said
Belge, who was back out throwing less than a year after his eye
surgery. “No one in my family never really played baseball besides
me, so I don’t really know how I ever got into it. It was one of
those things where I just kind of clicked with it once I started
playing.”
Belge
pitched all through Little League, but he always felt he was a better
hitter than pitcher right up until seventh or eighth grade. He’s
always thrown hard but he really took it to a new level velocity-wise
last summer; the jump was, indeed, monumental.
Pitching
for the Baseball U organization at three tournaments in 2013 – the
17u PG WWBA National Championship, 16u PG WWBA National Championship
and the PG WWBA Northeast Qualifier – Belge offered fastballs that
topped out 84-85 mph and a curveball that sat steadfast at 73 mph.
A
year later, his fastball blew-up the gun at 94 mph at both the 2014
17u and 16u PG WWBA National Championships and touched 93 at the East
Coast Professional Showcase and the PG Underclass All-American Games
showcase. His curveball ratcheted up to the 76-79 range at those
events, he was 79-81 with his slider and anywhere from 77 to 84 with
his change.
During
the offseason, Belge works with brothers Ben and Bryan Gaal, who
operate out of John Wells’ Baseball U New York’s CNY Baseball
Warehouse in Syracuse. Ben Gaal is Belge’s strength and
conditioning coach and Bryan Gaal serves as his pitching coach.
“Coach
John Wells is a great coach, and Bryan and Ben Gall are both with
Baseball U and it’s a great relationship,” Belge said. “It’s
a great team and we’re all real close on the team – great
friends. I remember the first time I ever pitched in front of scouts
was with Baseball U at Temple University. The first time I ever
traveled to Perfect Games was with Baseball U, so they’ve really
helped me out a lot.”
He
also met with Eric Cressey, the co-founder of Massachusetts-based
Cressey Sports Performance. Cressey gave Belge a detailed workout
plan that he used midway through his high school season and recently
started back up with it again.
Belge,
who will be a senior in the fall at Henninger High School in
Syracuse, has committed to St. John’s University in New York City.
The Red Storm are coming off of a tremendous 2015 season in which
they won the Big East Conference regular season championship, the Big
East Conference tournament championship and finished 41-16 after a
loss to Arkansas in an NCAA Regional final. Six St. John’s players
were selected in the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft, including five
pitchers.
Ironically,
Belge was directed to St. John’s by a friend of his who never made
it to the Queens campus. Baldwinsville, N.Y., right-hander Scott
Blewett was a second-round pick of the Kansas City Royals in the 2014
MLB June Amateur Draft right out of high school.
He
had signed with St. John’s before the draft and helped steer Belge
through the whole recruiting process while also getting him
acquainted with the St. John’s coaching staff. Belge like the
entire coaching staff at the school but developed an especially good
relationship with Red Storm pitching coach Corey Muscara. “I went
down for a visit and I like how it was in a big city but the campus
wasn’t too big,” he said.
By
the time Belge left Southwest Florida Saturday night, he had gained
an appreciation for the entire PG National Showcase experience. He
especially enjoyed being not only a part of the exclusive
“left-handers fraternity” but a very prominent member.
“It’s always fun to
get around guys that you know you’re competing against,” Belge
said. “You can get to know them a little bit and see how they are
and see the similarities and the differences; it’s always fun. You
can pick up things from them and how they go about different things
that you might put together in your routine. This has been a real
good experience and I’ll definitely build from this going into the
rest of the summer.”
– Jeff
Dahn
Father's
Day tribute
The
Perfect Game National Showcase is held during Father's Day each and
every year, and we would like to thank all of the fathers who spent
the day with us at JetBlue Ballpark in Fort Myers, Fla. (or in the
comfort of your own home watching the action online) for making us a
part of your day.
Here
are a few of the players participating in this year's National
Showcase who have big league dads:
• Connor
Capel – son of three-year big leaguer Mike
• Quinn
Hoffman – son of 18-year big leaguer and PG All-American Classic
Honorary Chairman Trevor
• Grae
Kessinger – son of one-year big leaguer Keith and grandson of
16-year big leaguer Don
• Jacob
Matheny – son of 13-year big league catcher and current St. Louis
Cardinals Manager, Mike
• Jaren
Shelby – son of 11-year big leaguer and current Milwaukee Brewers
assistant coach, John
• Bo
Weiss – son of 14-year big league shortstop and current Colorado
Rockies Manager, Walt
Live
Streaming
For
the fourth consecutive year the Perfect Game National Showcase is
available for everyone to watch online. The live stream to all of the
workouts, batting practice sessions and games can be accessed in real
time here (archives of the events will be added at a later point in
time):
https://iframe.dacast.com/b/53363/c/70773
Archives
to all of the action from the 2015 National Showcase can be accessed
here:
https://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=11384
PG
National Scout Blogs
Read
even more about the game-by-game highlights and the workout results
from the 2015 Perfect Game National Showcase scout blogs:
https://www.perfectgame.org/blogs/View.aspx?blog=534
National
Impressions
• Ranked
11th in the most recent iteration of Perfect Game’s class of 2016 rankings, Anthony
Molina (RHP, Pembroke Pines, Fla.) took to the mound Sunday for his
first appearance in this year’s National Showcase. Those who have
seen Molina previously were unsurprised to see the young righty
display an extremely loose and clean arm action with easy velocity.
Molina sat in the low-90s over the course of his two innings and ran
his heater up to 94 mph in the early going. The West Broward High
School righty struck out the side in his first inning of work,
largely because of his lively fastball, but he also mixed in a
developing low-70s curveball and mid-70s changeup with fading life
and good velocity differential off of his fastball.
• Another
top member of the 2016 class, Reggie Lawson (2016 RHP, Adelento,
Calif.) displayed solid command of two quality pitches. The
athletic, 6-foot-4, 205-pound Arizona State commit sat in the low-90s
with his fastball and was able to locate the offering to both sides
of the plate consistently. He also showed nice feel for a curveball
that had very good bite and depth to it, constantly locating it in
the bottom half of the zone.
• A
Cedar Rapids native, Spencer Van Scoyoc is no stranger to Perfect
Game events, and in his National Showcase debut, the long, lean
lefthander struck out four in his two innings pitched. The 6-foot-4,
195-pound southpaw consistently threw his fastball in the upper-80s,
peaking at 89 mph. He also displayed a very good curveball with
excellent depth and tight spin, which he was able to locate adeptly
throughout the outing. As one of the most projectable arms in the
class, Van Scoyoc’s strong performance in front of many scouts from
around the country certainly opened some eyes.
• D.J.
Roberts, a righthanded pitcher from Jacksonville had an impressive
outing in the morning’s first contest. At an athletic and
solidly-built 6-foot-2, 218-pounds, Roberts showed good life on his
fastball, which was clocked as high as 92 mph. The South Florida
commit projects very well and he also worked in a sharp slider from
his three-quarters arm slot and showed developing feel for an
upper-70s changeup.
• Nick
Long (RHP/IF Sarasota, Fla.) threw two solid innings, showing a
clean, easy arm action and a fastball up to 90 mph. He projects for
more velocity as he continues to mature and fill into his 6-foot-2,
195-pound frame. Long showcased good command of his fastball, and
also had solid feel for his mid-70s breaking ball. The University of
Florida commit also had a very impressive round of batting practice
in the Sunday’s workout portion of the event.
Speaking
of the workout portion, players from the last four teams took to Jet
Blue Park to participate in batting practice on Sunday morning.
Aside from Nick Long, a few other players impressed.
• Mason
Templet (3B, Youngsville, La.) has a very athletic look and he
carries his solidly-built 6-foot-1, 190-pound frame very well. The
lefthanded hitting infielder stood out in batting practice with an
easy weight shift, aggressive, impactful swing and good feel for the
barrel, particularly when hitting balls hard to his pull side.
• Mickey
Moniak (OF, Encinitas, Calif.) may have had the best overall round of
batting practice of the entire National Showcase. Moniak has great
bat speed and an exceptional feel for using the barrel. The
lefthanded hitting outfielder hit balls from foul line to foul line
throughout the round, prompting our own David Rawnsley to label it a
“windshield wiper round” as the hits were sprayed from one
direction to another and then back around.
– Andrew
Krause