Prep Baseball Report

Become a Member

More +

Recruiting Spotlight: 2016 LHP Jared Wetherbee (St. John's Shrewsbury)

October 2, 2014

mac

Recruiting Spotlight


JARED WETHERBEE, LHP, ST. JOHN’S SHREWSBURY, 2016

PBR: How is the fall season progressing and what are your plans as it the falls ends?

Wetherbee: This fall season has been going very well. I’ve developed as a pitcher both mentally and physically, and I’ve started to get a feel for how the whole process works and what I need to do to continue to progress on and off the field. After these last weeks of the fall season, I intend on playing high school hockey, while seeing my pitching coach once a week or so. I hope to take a little time off the mound to rest, get back to winter workouts with Northeast Baseball in Hudson, MA. and work towards the upcoming high school spring season.

PBR:  What are your goals for the spring and what are working towards?

Wetherbee: This coming spring is especially important for me both in the classroom and on the field. I need to stay diligent in the classroom while working on the field, and be able to balance my time to make sure everything I do is to the best of my ability. My goal is to continue to progress as an all-around pitcher; efficiency, velocity, mechanics, mental strength, etc., and really develop my game to a more advanced and mature level, all while performing well academically.

PBR: How is the recruiting process going and how are you handling it all?

Wetherbee: The recruiting process for me is brand new this year, and it’s really added another element to my play. Having just turned 16 years old in August, it appeared very overwhelming at first in which I began thinking too much of the radar guns and coaches watching me throw every pitch. Now, thanks to Coach Scott Patterson and Coach Matt Kruger of Northeast Baseball, and Len Soletsky (my pitching coach), I have been able to focus fully on my pitching, regardless of who is there watching. It’s exciting for me, albeit I realize that the work doesn’t stop after the first phone calls. I am learning to handle this new aspect of my baseball career, and I find myself very humbled by all of the attention. I am confident that I can stay on the task at hand, which is to realize that no matter what scouts or schools call, baseball is a game, and it’s fun, and I work hard so that I can fulfill that task every day.

PBR: What are your strengths that you bring to the field and how are you improving?

Wetherbee: I feel that I bring an intense presence on the mound. Thanks to Coach Len Soletsky, I have been able to maintain my high 80’s fastball while not compromising mechanics. I've been able to keep hitters off balance with off speed when I need to, while knowing when to pound fastballs. Over the rest of this fall season and over the next couple years, my biggest goals are to work on efficiency and my approach with runners on base. These are two things that really would help me develop as an overall pitcher, and are the couple of things that I struggled with this season. However, while these things are my main focus, I still need to strengthen my skills in all aspects of pitching, knowing that just because I’m focusing on a couple things doesn’t mean I can slack off in anything else, including academics.

PBR: Who do you like to watch pitch in the MLB?

Wetherbee: Two guys that I love to watch pitch are Clayton Kershaw and Scott Kazmir. This is because they both seem to have different approaches that at one point or another, they need to be able to adapt to changing circumstances. Kershaw is successful because he overpowers and fools hitters with every pitch in his repertoire. However, on a day where I don’t have my best stuff, I need to pitch more like Kazmir, a guy who pitches to contact but gets a lot of ground balls and pop ups while not getting many strikeouts. I feel that I need to be able to pitch like both of these players so that I can adapt to any circumstance at any point in a game without losing my effectiveness as a pitcher.

PBR: Who is the most influential person in your life?

Wetherbee: The most influential person in my life is my father. Throughout my baseball career and my life, he has been 100% honest, he has kept me firmly grounded when I may have grown too big for myself, and has given me everything that I need to succeed in baseball and in life. From sacrificing his entire summer driving me to all these tournaments and showcases, to caring for me so that I am able to succeed. I wouldn’t be writing these questions right now if it wasn’t for his sacrifice. I can’t thank him enough for everything he has done for me throughout my life. He has made me a better baseball player, but more importantly a better person. His influence is the main reason that I am where I

Top Headlines for Massachusetts