the lineup card: Season 2; vol 1
Everyone knows the story of Babe Ruth, the Red Sox ace-turned Yankees slugger who set records both on the mound and at the plate between the 1910s and the 1930s. The game changed dramatically in the decades that followed his retirement – average pitch velocity skyrocketed, breaking balls attained nastier movement, and in turn, hitting became exceedingly more difficult. Until recently, most baseball fans scoffed at the idea of any player attempting to do both again at the professional level for these reasons. Spectators were more likely to find an NFL star such as Bo Jackson or an ambidextrous pitcher like Pat Venditte on the diamond than a legitimate two-way talent.
Then, Shohei Ohtani arrived and completely changed the game.
Two-way stars are still few and far between in the big leagues — for now. However, a record of eight two-way prospects were selected in the 2023 MLB Draft, which is double the amount that were taken in the previous four drafts combined. This year’s College World Series even featured dual threat Jac Caglianone from the Florida Gators, signaling that there are more on the way. With MLB roster sizes being limited to 26 people for most of the season, having someone that can hit and pitch at a high level creates the illusion that a team is carrying two players for the price of one.
Among the top two-way high school prospects in the country are right-hander Jack Brown from Noblesville, Indiana and left-hander Boston Bateman from Camarillo, California. Both received the coveted 10-grade from Perfect Game, which scouts assign to “potential very high draft picks and/or elite level college prospects.”
Meet Jack
Toeing the pitching rubber at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Brown glanced at the area behind home plate. The indoor ballpark was mostly empty except for a few rows of scouts wearing bucket hats and sunglasses, pointing radar guns directly at him. Each pop of the glove and every crack of the bat echoed louder than normal throughout the enclosed venue.
It was the PG National Event – arguably the most prestigious showcase in amateur baseball. Among those watching in the crowd were college and big-league talent evaluators. A strong performance there could help catapult Brown’s draft stock for 2024.
“When you’re out there, you kind of blackout for a little bit,” Brown said with a laugh. The 6-foot-1 right-hander took a deep breath, stared down the catcher’s glove and tuned out all distractions. “You’re so focused on what’s in front of you that you’ve got blinders on…I know it sounds cliché but I felt like I was so locked in that I didn’t hear anything.”
Brown, 17, was no stranger to the pressure of the big stage. At the age of three, he entered gymnastics and began tumbling. By age 10, he was a three-time state champion.
“[Gymnastics] definitely help me get to where I’m at today,” Brown said, citing how body strength, flexibility and mobility translate to baseball. He recalled practicing up to 21 hours a week, which instilled a work ethic in him at a young age but simultaneously steered him away from the sport. “That’s when I started to like baseball a lot more.”
The game came to him naturally. At that age, most ballplayers at least test the waters on the mound but much fewer continue to star as a true two-way as they get older. Brown excelled both ways in travel ball under head coach Rick Stiner, following him from the Indiana Bulls to the Midwest Canes. Once his freshman year began, Brown knew he had the potential to take his abilities to the next level.
Brown fell in love with the weight room. At first, he focused a bit too much on building strength but by the end of his sophomore campaign, he shifted to primarily baseball-specific training, sprinting and recovery. In August 2021, Brown committed to the University of Louisville after a strong recruitment effort, expressing interest in him as both a pitcher and hitter. Louisville has a history of developing two-way stars, including Brendan McKay, who was drafted fourth overall by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2017.
On the mound, Brown features a three-pitch mix – a fastball that touches 94 mph, a changeup that drops to the bottom of the zone and a slider with a late bite to it. At the plate, Brown is more of a contact hitter than a power hitter. He recognizes pitches well, excels in two-strike counts and makes a living hitting the ball to the opposite field. According to MaxPreps, the Fishers High School standout had a 1.55 ERA with 70 strikeouts in 54.1 innings as a junior while batting .412 with three home runs. Prep Baseball Report ranked Brown as the No. 2 player in the state of Indiana, behind only Indiana University recruit Brayton Thomas, who recently played alongside him at the Area Code games in San Diego.
“J.B. has all the tools in the world,” Thomas said. “His work ethic and his drive got him there. He is in the gym 2-3 hours a day and will not let anyone outwork him.”
Meet Boston
Bateman’s future trading card may list Camarillo, California as his hometown but in reality, the now 6-foot-8 southpaw calls more than one place home. He was born and raised in Henderson, Nevada, where he spent the first seven years of his life playing baseball, football, basketball and soccer. From there, he moved to Utah for 10 months, then Texas for three years, then all the way up to the state of Washington before ultimately settling in California.
His father, Eric, wanted Boston and his three siblings to have different experiences growing up in various lifestyles. The former BYU offensive lineman was drafted by the Jets in the fifth round of the 1998 NFL Draft, spending time on a few practice squads before playing in Europe. Not only did Boston inherit his father’s height but also his ability to adapt to new places.
Each location holds a special significance to Boston. Henderson is where he fell in love with baseball and got his start. Texas taught him to be respectful, learning to say “yes sir” and “yes ma’am” when speaking with others. Now, he enjoys living five minutes away from the beach in California, where the weather is so nice that he can eat outside at school most days.
When asked what his favorite class was, Bateman kiddingly replied, “I’d say number one is lunch” before mentioning art and Spanish class instead. While he is not fluent just yet, Bateman said he enjoys learning about their culture, especially considering that so many locals and some of his teammates speak the language fluently.
Bateman played first base from day one and started pitching when he turned five. He played both positions regularly by the time he was living in Texas and nearly helped lead his team to the Little League World Series in that role. Even before names like Ohtani and Caglianone made it seem more possible, Bateman dreamed of making it as a two-way player.
“I was just gonna mark my own path,” Bateman confidently stated. His workouts have always been pitching-specific, just like Brown, since pitching is considered more complex and more of an injury risk if done improperly. A typical day includes throwing in the morning during his dismissal period, and then working out. Later in the night, he will do up to two hours of hitting drills swinging from the right side. “It’s pretty easy because I recover really fast,” adding that he often rolls out on a lacrosse ball, wraps his arm with floss bands and occasionally uses NormaTec air compression for his legs when available to him.
Bateman, 17, struck out and average of 14.6 batters per nine innings and had a .929 OPS as a junior for the Camarillo Scorpions. The highlight of his season was when he pitched a perfect game against Oak Park in April, striking out 17 of the 21 batters he faced. He overpowers hitters with his 94 mph heater, but also tunnels a swing-and-miss curveball and has a deceptive changeup in his back pocket. The imposing 240-pound fireballer is in the early stages of developing a slider, which could potentially make life even more difficult for local sluggers next spring. Once Bateman steps on the mound, he flips the switch and becomes an extra intense competitor, according to high school teammate Nick Tostado.
“He keeps to himself more but when we need him to, he will step up and say something,” Tostado said, describing Bateman as energetic and competitive. “He doesn’t mess around during games. When he plays, it’s always business…never a game to him.”
The next step for Bateman will be deciding his future. While wrapping up the summer with the San Francisco Giants scout team, he chose to reopen his recruitment after previously committing to play college ball at Arizona State. The two-way talent plans to take four official visits this fall, though it is too early for him to tell which schools he is eyeing. He said that he is looking for a coaching staff that meshes with his “big” personality and has a proven track record of developing MLB talent.
Alter egos
Off the field, Brown is an avid fan of Batman. His fandom for the caped crusader originated in junior high while playing the Arkham video game series. Even though the plot was not 100% realistic per se, Brown connected to the human-like element of the movies, which differed from the more supernatural heroes and villains fighting on TV. Word got out about his favorite superhero, earning Brown the nickname “Batman” in high school.
Much like Bruce Wayne, Brown can transform into essentially two different people – Jack Brown the pitcher and Jack Brown the hitter – although it is no secret that both are the same person. In fact, Brown believes that he hits better on the days that he pitches.
“Most of the time, I’m thinking about pitching in the game…I’m not overthinking the hitting part as much,” Brown explained. Deep down, Brown assumes that his future is likely on the mound but he still plans on swinging until he is told not to. “Baseball is about throwing and hitting. When you can do both, I really feel like I’m part of the game every single day.”
The Midwest Batman left the PG National Event and Area Code games with a “reassured sense of belonging” after performing well against the top players in the country. He is confident that he will be ready to compete both ways collegiately, also placing his name in the conversation for next year’s draft.
Brown is not the only two-way player who embraces an alter ego. Bateman is nicknamed “Sasquatch” due to his large frame and shoulder-length curly brown hair. Every time takes the ball, he transforms into a different animal.
“When I get on the mound, I go into Sasquatch mode,” Bateman said, describing his intense demeanor that differs from his relaxed approach at the plate. “I don’t really think about it. It just happens.”
Facing against a downhill-throwing power lefty that is two inches taller than CC Sabathia is uncomfortable, if not intimidating for opposing batters. Bateman joked that even the hitter side of him would be terrified to step in the box against himself.
What is even scarier? The Sasquatch may not be done growing. Bateman claimed that his body is changing every day, forcing him to constantly tweak his mechanics and adjust the timing of when his hands break to consistently throw strikes.
Bateman knows he has a strong inner circle with his parents and godfather, James, who have believed in him since the beginning. Yet, he still trains with the mentality that he has plenty of doubters since those people will inevitably present themselves the further he goes. The monstrous southpaw is currently ranked No. 47 on Baseball America’s Top 100 draft prospect list for the 2024 high school class. That said, Bateman has no plans of slowing down or resting much during the offseason. He strives to separate himself from the pitchers and hitters in his class.
“I’m going full Sasquatch mode,” Bateman said. “I’m training every single day because this is kind of my first year ever lifting weights. So, these next six months I’ll be lifting five days a week, improving my mechanics, and making everything the way it should be.”