New Orleans: Jake Esch, RHP

[emkayseven]

Discuss.
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6'3 195

[Erick]

Did we draft him as a 2B or as a reliever? The first guy said RHP and then the other guy said he was a 2B...

[emkayseven]

A talented two-way player that started 59 games at second base in 2010 ... One of just two returning position starters ... Served as a relief pitcher in 2009 ... Is also a line-drive hitter that has very good patience at the plate ... Has good defensive skills and is a very good all-around baseball player.

2010
Hit .284 with 43 runs, six doubles, three home runs and 38 RBIs in 61 games at second base (59 starts) ... Carried a .974 fielding percentage, while making just seven errors defensively ... Had 17 multi-hit and seven multi-RBI games ... Hit .342 with runners on base and also with runners in scoring position ... Batted .500 (19-for-38) through the first 11 games played this season ...Was 5-for-11 (.455) with three RBI and two multiple-hit games in the season-opening series sweep of Missouri State (2/19-21) ... Recorded his first career start, hit and RBI in the opening game against the Bears (2/19) ... Was 3-for-5 with three RBI at Georgia Southern (2/24) ... All three RBI were in the final two innings, sparking a five run assault by Tech ... Batted 1-for-3 with an RBI double in a 5-4 win over Xavier (2/26) ... Hit his first career home run, a two-run shot, going 3-for-4 with 4 RBI the next day against the Musketeers (2/27) ... Missed the Feb. 28 loss to Xavier with an illness ... Was 7-for-12 (.583) with a double and 3 RBI in the Rutgers series (3/5-7) ... Had multiple hits in all three games, and was 3-for-4 with 2 RBI in game No. 2 of the series ... Went 2-for-4 and drew the bases-loaded walk for the eventual win over Georgia (3/16) ... Batted 4-for-7 in two mid-week games against Mercer (3/23-24) ... Went 7-for-12 in the series against Clemson (4/16-18) ... Had the game-tying RBI single in game two, before hitting his second home run of the season in the finale ... Grabbed a pair of hits in a midweek win over Georgia Southern (4/21) ... Was 3-for-6 with an RBI in the series opener against Boston College (5/20) ... Named to the NCAA Atlanta All-Regional Team after batting .533 (8-for-15) with a home run and six RBI.

2009
Made 14 relief appearances on the mound, six of which were scoreless outings ... Posted a 4.82 ERA with 19 strikeouts ... Picked up one save on the year ... Struck out two in an inning of work against Rutgers (2/28) ... Had two strikeouts in two scoreless innings of work against Mercer (3/10) ... Struck out three in two scoreless and hitless innings of work against Georgia State (4/15) ... Struck out five in a career-long four innings of work against Western Carolina (4/21) to pick up the first save of his career.

High School
A three-sport athlete at Cretin-Derham Hall that earned three letters in baseball and football and two in basketball ... Played shortstop and pitched for baseball coach Jim O'Neill ... Tabbed the Pioneer Press Player of the Year in 2007 ... Tabbed All-State following his junior and senior seasons ... Led Cretin-Derham Hall to the state title in 2007 following a runner-up finish in 2006 ... Named to the all-tournament team in both state appearances ... Posted a career prep record of 16-1 with a 1.50 ERA and 125 strikeouts in 121 innings of work over a three-year span ... Also hit .445 with 13 HR, 21 doubles and 92 RBI at Cretin-Derham Hall ... Selected to the Lions All-Star Tournament and East vs. West game at Midway Stadium ... An academic all-state performer for football coach Mike Scanlan, playing both offense and defense ... Helped his high school team to the state finals in 2006 and 2008 ... Received all-conference accolades in 2008 ... Helped the Cretin-Derham Hall basketball team, under the direction of coach Jerry Kline Jr., to conference titles in 2007 and 2008 ... Captain of the baseball and basketball teams his senior season ... Played summer baseball for the Edina ESox ... Member of the National Honor Society and Math Team ... Recipient of the Van Buren Spirit Award for Attitude and Athletics at Cretin-Derham Hall ... Attended the same high school as current Minnesota Twins Star Joe Mauer and 2000 Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke.

http://ramblinwreck.cstv.com/sports/...h_jacob00.html
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Draft Tracker shows 2B but they're wrong on lots of stuff. For now I'm going with that
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from when he signed with GA Tech:

Esch is a two-sport standout at Cretin-Derham Hall in Minnesota, where he is a shortstop/pitcher for baseball coach Jim O'Neill and serves as the starting punter for football coach Mike Scanlan. Rated the No. 704 baseball prospect by PG Crosschecker, Esch helped his high school to its 11th state title in 2007, earning a shutout victory in the championship run before coming on in relief in the title game, where he also picked up the win. He is 3-0 in state tournament games in his career, tying the Minnesota record for wins in tournament play. The right-handed pitcher went 8-0 on the mound at CDH in 2007 and was named the Pioneer Press Baseball Player of the Year before earning all-state honorable mention honors at the end of the season. He earned all-conference honors in both his sophomore and junior seasons.

Danny Hall on Esch: "Jacob Esch was the top prep player in the state of Minnesota last season. He's a very good athlete that plays football as well as baseball. His high school football team played for the state championship this year in Minnesota, and his baseball team won the state championship last season. He's a good athlete with tremendous upside, he's a great student, and I think he's a guy that will be a household name here in three years at Georgia Tech."

http://ramblinwreck.cstv.com/sports/...113007aab.html

[Bucklin12]

Seems to be quite an athlete. Hit 8 HR on the year (good for 3rd on a talented team).

[emkayseven]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5xmeAe0uZk[/ame]

[Omar]

Has good defensive skills

Any word on exactly how good?

[Erick]

Any word on exactly how good?

Roberto Alomar good. Hopefully.

[tjfla]

Did we draft him as a 2B or as a reliever? The first guy said RHP and then the other guy said he was a 2B...

According to BA we drafted him as a RHP

The Marlins took Georgia Tech shortstop Jacob Esch in the 11th round, but as a righthander. He has a strong arm and touched 95 mph in the fall while sitting 89-91 this spring.

[emkayseven]

Jacob Esch, who was listed as a second baseman when he was drafted in the 12th round, will become a starting pitcher.

Esch was Georgia Tech's second baseman and pitched just five innings this season, but Florida's staff liked what it saw. According to Meek, Esch has a good delivery and a "fresh" arm from not pitching much.

"I think he's excited about it, and I think he wants to do it," Meek said. "From the limited look we got, we were really impressed with the way his body works on the mound. I think he has a chance to be really good."

http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/news/...s_fla&c_id=fla

[emkayseven]

On the second day of the major league baseball draft, Georgia Tech’s Mark Pope and Matt Skole went fairly early, as expected. The strange turn came later, when the Florida Marlins drafted shortstop Jacob Esch in the 11th round.

Strange not because Esch is a slouch. Esch was a productive hitter (.319, .490 slugging percentage) and a team captain as a junior. Strange because the Marlins want Esch to pitch, despite the fact he only threw five innings all season for Tech.

“Let’s put it this way,” Esch said Tuesday evening. “Throwing five innings and going in the 11th round – [hoping to get taken earlier] would be greedy.”

Esch knew from interaction with scouts that they saw him as a pitcher. That being the case, considering he was almost exclusively a field position player this season and had only thrown 23.2 innings total in his college career, Esch wasn’t even sure he’d be drafted at all.

“I hoped someone would pull the trigger on me as a position player,” he said.

Esch is substantive evidence of the desperate need teams have for pitchers and also what sort of arm he has. He can hit 94 or 95 with his fastball and can locate with precision.

Further, he said, “I’ve got a real loose arm. It’s pretty easy. I think that’s the biggest thing that guys like when I throw.”

Esch was “kind of a closer” at Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul, Minn., and threw once a week in summer ball but mostly played shortstop. Still, Esch said, when the team held a day last fall to meet with major league scouts, “most of the scouts seemed really geared towards what I’d done in fall practice as a pitcher.” In the spring, scouts often asked him when he was going to pitch, which turned out to be not very often.

Esch didn’t complain Tuesday about not getting more than six opportunities to pitch this season, in which he threw 5.0 innings with 1 earned run, 6 strikeouts and 2 walks. (He also pitched 18.2 innings as a freshman with a 4.82 ERA.) He and Skole were the only two starting position players to return and the Jackets were deepest at pitcher.

Esch has reason to hold off on pro ball. He is a phenomenal student one semester shy of a civil engineering degree. He has a 3.65 GPA and has done research work for a professor developing a device that tests poured concrete to “make sure that the proper amount of air is in the concrete,” he said. Further, with starting pitchers Jed Bradley and Pope headed for pro ball, there’s a possibility Esch could get more opportunities to pitch and improve his draft prospects.

But he sounds like he’s ready to give pro ball a shot.

“I’ve told everyone that I want to get into their system as quick as possible,” he said. “You can’t win a World Series until you make it to the big leagues.”

http://blogs.ajc.com/georgia-tech-sp...ia_tech_sports

[emkayseven]

similar but different story:

Jacob Esch pitched five innings for Georgia Tech this season.

That was enough to convince the Florida Marlins.

In this week’s major league baseball draft, the Marlins selected the Tech shortstop in the 11th round — as a pitcher. They did that despite the fact that Esch played infield almost exclusively for the past two seasons.

“Let’s put it this way,” Esch said. “Throwing five innings and going in the 11th round — [hoping to get taken earlier] would be greedy.”

What Esch made such a tempting commodity were the 95 mph fastballs he flashed in front of scouts in practice last fall. On top of that, Tech coach Danny Hall said, “his arm works real easy.”

Marlins scouts were unavailable to comment. Baseball America magazine draft expert Conor Glassey said it’s rare that a team would spend a pick on a pitcher with as little experience as Esch. In his 18 seasons at Tech, Hall has had only one draft case similar to Esch’s. The rate of infrequency might compare with the scarcity of shortstops who can unleash 95-mph fastballs with location.

“When scouts see something once, they know it’s in there, even though it might not show up all time,” Glassey said. “They can dream a little bit, and think it’s pretty likely it’s going to show up again, especially with a player like Esch that is very athletic.”

Hall recruited Esch from Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul, Minn., as a pitcher and an infielder. He pitched as a freshman, making 14 appearances, and then won the second baseman job as a sophomore and didn’t pitch at all. This season, after his showing last fall, scouts routinely asked both Hall and Esch when he would pitch next. They didn’t get their wish often.

Esch started every game, mostly at shortstop, and hit .319 with a .385 on-base percentage. Hall said he wanted to pitch Esch more, but felt that the wear and tear on his arm from playing shortstop made it difficult. Esch made six appearances, totaling five innings, six strikeouts, four hits and two walks.

Entering this week’s draft, Esch knew teams liked him as a pitcher. Given his minimal body of work, though, he had no idea if he would be drafted.

Said Esch, the last of four Tech players drafted, “I hoped someone would pull the trigger on me as a position player.”

Esch, who is in line to receive a high five-figure signing bonus, has reasons to stay at Tech. A civil-engineering major with a 3.65 GPA, Esch is one semester shy of graduation. He has done research work for a professor developing a device that tests poured concrete to “make sure that the proper amount of air is in the concrete,” he said. Hall said Esch would “definitely” pitch more as a senior, which, if he produced, would raise his draft stock.

While acknowledging the decision is Esch’s, Hall said, “I think there’s definite benefits to coming back.” If the Marlins make an acceptable offer, though, the would-be pitcher sounds like he’s ready to jump.

“I’ve told everyone that I want to get into their system as quick as possible,” he said. “You can’t win a World Series until you make it to the big leagues.”

http://www.ajc.com/sports/georgia-te...ch-972459.html

[LocoMarlinFan]

Signed

http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/team/...11&team_id=146

[LocoMarlinFan]

Jacob Esch, the former Cretin-Derham Hall and Georgia Tech baseball star who was the 11th-round draft pick of he Florida Marlins, this week accepted a signing bonus of about $200,000.

Although Esch played about 50 games at shortstop for Georgia Tech this season, and pitched just five innings, the Marlins signed him as a pitcher. He has a fastball in the 94-mph range.

"I'm pumped," Esch said this morning. "I'm living the dream."

The Marlins might send the 6-3-1/2, 200-pound Esch, 21, to Jamestown (N.Y.) in the New York-Penn League for the rest of the summer, or have him wait to pitch in the Fall Instructional League.

http://www.twincities.com/twins/ci_18476680

[Chewford]

Championship!

[Bobbob1313]

This signing has been vacated.

/hadto