Great Plains Regional Preview
The
state of Colorado typically isn't considered a hot-bed for baseball
talent, but it has produced a steady stream of pitchers to both
the Division I level of college baseball and the big leagues. Most
baseball fans are familiar with current hurlers such as David
Aardsma, Luke Hochevar, Brad Lidge, Mark Melancon and Roy Halladay,
as well as Hall of Fame closer Goose Gossage.
Long-time
Head Coach Marc Johnson of Cherry Creek High School has had the
privilege to coach many of these players, including Aardsma, Hochevar
and Lidge, as well as other eventual big leaguers such as catcher
Josh Bard and outfielder Darnell McDonald.
“Historically
Colorado is well known for pitching,” Johnson said in a recent
interview with Perfect Game. “We don't have nearly as many
position players come out of here. We've had Josh Bard, but the
majority of players that come out of Colorado are pitchers.”
The
development of pitching may seem surprising given the effects the
high altitude and dry, light air has on how well the ball travels off
the bat, as evidenced by the gaudy run totals you may see at any
given game at the Colorado Rockies home ballpark. The robust
offensive numbers posted in Coors Field caused the Rockies to be
creative with the way they handle things, including the institution
of a humidor in the clubhouse in which the baseballs are stored to
help negate these effects.
However,
those elements also means the players that grow up in the area have
to learn to pitch a little differently than those in other parts of
the nation.
“A
lot of people don't understand this,” Johnson continued, “but
because of our weather and the high altitude the curveballs aren't as
effective here. If you have a good curveball in Colorado you have a
great one. (Pitchers) develop the fastball. So you see a lot of
kids coming out here that have really good arms, a lot of them
(pitch) in the high-80s and low-90s, and by the time they get to
college they get to the middle 90s in a hurry. They throw a whole
lot of fastballs without as much offspeed stuff, particularly
curveballs. So I think their arms stay stronger.
“Their
natural breaking stuff is better because our air is lighter. You
take a kid with a good breaking ball out of Colorado, take him to
Texas or the Midwest and it's usually dynamite. So when you see a
good breaking ball or offspeed pitch in Colorado you know it's pretty
special. You have to develop a fastball and a change if you expect
to have success (here).”
One
thing that all of the pitchers mentioned above have in common is
size.
“Historically
they're the big-bodied kids, like the Roy Halladays,” Johnson said
of the Colorado pitching pipeline. “There are a lot of these kids
that have that big body, the 6-4, 6-5 body that fills out (as they
get older). Brad Lidge, (David) Aardsma, Roy Halladay, (Luke)
Hochevar were all this size. These kids seem to have a lot of
success.”
Thanks
to his 6-foot-4, 215-pound frame, size is something Highlands Ranch
right-handed pitcher and 2011 Perfect Game All-American Ryan Burr
shares with those that have preceded him.
He
is also mindful of their success.
“I
actually worked out with (Louisiana State pitcher and 2009 PG/Aflac
All-American Kevin Gausman) and Alex Blackford, who is at Arizona
State, a few times,” Burr said. “Just seeing what they were
doing and where they wanted to go drove me because I want to be in
their position.”
Burr
is currently ranked the best player in the 2012 class coming out of
Colorado, and is ranked No. 27 overall in the nation. He serves as
the ace for his Highlands Ranch team, which made the Final Four in
the Colorado High School state championship a year ago, falling to
the eventual champion Regis Jesuit team.
Highlands
Ranch opens this year as Perfect Game's No. 7 team in the Great
Plains region, while Burr and his teammates have big expectations for
the 2012 season.
“I
want to win a state championship, I'm not going to lie to you,”
Burr said of his team's goal for this year. “We've been close
enough to take it. I have a really strong feeling that we can do it
if we play like we should, and that's the basic goal for me and every
player on my team.
“We
have a really strong team coming into the year. We have six or seven
returning seniors, so we have really high expectations for what we do
this year. We have a lot of strengths and we have a few weaknesses
that we need to figure out before we get going, but overall we're all
really excited.”
In
able to excel this year, Burr recognizes that the key to his team's
success may sounds simple, it's a case of being easier said than
done.
“Be
consistent with everything we do. That may be too broad, but when it
comes to all parts of the game you have to be consistent, go out
there every day and play like it's your last game. Which I think we
will do, but you have to be conscious of it and make that our main
focus.”
In
between the 2011 and 2012 high school seasons, Burr has been busy,
spending much of his time on the road participating in events such as
the Perfect Game National in Fort Myers, Fla., the Perfect Game
All-American Classic in San Diego, Calif. as well as the WWBA World
Championship in Jupiter, Fla. He has been fairly consistent
throughout his travels, throwing his fastball in the 88-93 range
while peaking at 94 and mixing in a hard-breaking upper-70s
curveball.
The
pinnacle of his travels was his selection to the Classic.
“It's
hard to explain the feeling I had when I spoke to Mr. Ford after the
PG National,” Burr recalled of his invitation to attend the 2011
Perfect Game All-American Classic. “It's such a great event, I've
grown up watching it every year. It doesn't really seem real until
you get there. It's such an outstanding feeling, I'm so proud of
myself and my teammates and everyone that surrounded me to help me
get there. It's just an awesome feeling and I'm glad that I had the
opportunity to be a part of that event.”
Although
the platform has been different during his travels over the last 10
months, the mind-set has remained the same.
“It's
all different, but at the same time it's all the same,” Burr said
of his approach between his high school team, a showcase and a
tournament event with his summer/fall travel team, the Midland
Redskins/Royals Scout Team. “No matter what team I'm on or who I'm
playing with, whether it's with my best friends that I go to high
school with or my pals from the summer, we want to win no matter
what. We're all competitive, we all push each other. It all comes
down to having fun playing a sport that you love.”
“If
you don't love the sport you don't have fun playing it,” Burr
continued. “At the same time I have to stay focused because we
have a huge year ahead of us. On the showcase side of things you
just go out there and show what you've got and the players around you
help make you look good.”
Burr's
focus also allows him to recognize what needs to be done to continue
to improve to achieve greatness. While he is ranked as one of the
top high school players in his class, he has also committed to play
for perennial Division I powerhouse Arizona State. Whether his path
takes him to college or directly to professional baseball, a lot of
time needs to be devoted to the game that he loves.
“The
biggest thing for me was to get in the best shape that I could so I
could go out there and be more durable,” Burr said of the things he
has been working on over the winter months. “(I want to) throw
more complete games and (have) more body control which allows me to
throw more strikes and increase my innings without throwing as many
pitches. Pitching-wise the biggest thing I have been working on is a
changeup. That's something I'll need more at the next level if the
opportunity arises.
“Arizona
State is a great place, it's a baseball university. I grew up
watching them win a couple of College World Series. They're (in
Omaha) every year, and the way they play the game stood out to me. I
wanted to go there ever since I was 10 or 11 years old. I'm really
excited for that.”
As
good as the 2012 class is, which includes Burr, fellow right-handed
pitcher Ryan Warner of Pine Creek High School and Legend High School
left-hander Tyler Honahan, the 2013 class has the chance to be
special.
Cherry
Creek right-handed pitching mates Derik Beauprez and Griffin Jax have
already started to generate a lot of buzz in the area, as has Rye
High School lefty Denton Keys. All three are ranked among the top
500 prospects for the class of 2013, with Beauprez (176) and Keys
(187) sitting in the top 200. Those two also share the big-bodied
profile that Coach Johnson pointed out as being a common theme with
the most successful arms the state of Colorado has produced.
That
talent extends to the 2014 class as well, with 6-foot-5 sophomore
left-hander David Peterson of Regis Jesuit looking to continue the
trend.
“The
younger pitchers in the state are the ones that the pro scouts are
going crazy to see,” Johnson said of the class of 2013. “To open
our season we probably had 10 professional clubs there to watch these
juniors, so that's pretty rare.
“The
pitching is pretty special, that's for sure.”