Burgos pitches at JC Series

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Burgos pitches at JC Series

Sports

Saturday, 29 May 2010 12:20

By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer
In his final two years at Osceola High, Alex Burgos was a dominant high school pitcher. His numbers reflect it.
Burgos had 207 strikeouts in 144 innings and he posted a 1.38 ERA as a junior and a 1.81 mark as a senior, when he rolled to an 11-0 record.
That’s not uncommon at high school when a hurler with potential dominates his competition. Those guys move on to another level, college or pro, and never put up stats like that again.
Or, do they?
Burgos did.
The righty, who is bound for Florida Southern College in the fall – if he isn’t drafted in the MLB First-Year Player Draft June 7-8 – put up more gaudy numbers this spring at the State College of Florida (formerly Manatee Community College) in Bradenton.
As the No. 1 pitcher in Coach Tim Hill’s rotation, Burgos was 13-1 with a 1.42 ERA. He struck out 109 in 95 1/3 innings while surrendering just 76 hits and 29 walks.
He helped the Manatees win their 13th state title, the sixth under Hill, at the FCCAA/NJCAA Gulf District tournament at Lakeland’s Joker Marchant Stadium two weeks ago. The title put the team into the NJCAA World Series beginning today in Grand Junction, Colo.
He earned an 8-2 victory over St. Johns Community College at the state tournament when he struck out 13 in eight innings, then he won the championship game, 8-1, over Miami-Dade State College.
Pitching with a small margin for error (it was a 2-0 after eight innings), he struck out nine in his only complete game of the season.
“That was the most intense I’ve ever been on the mound,” Burgos said of his 117-pitch outing on just three days rest. “It was double-elimination, so we had two chances to win, but I wasn’t thinking about that. I wanted to win to get us to Colorado.”
Hill called the outing “a masterpiece.”
“Everything was working for him that day,” he said.
He earned All-Tournament Most Outstanding Pitcher honors. Before the tournament, he was named the Suncoast Conference Pitcher of the Year, an honor that impressed Burgos’ Osceola High coach, Jim Murphy. Murphy stepped down after Burgos’ senior season.
“I saw him play this spring, and he just dominated,” Murphy said.
His sophomore year was a far cry from his freshman one at SCF. Burgos struggled uncharacteristically before playing in the Northwoods League, a collegiate wood-bat league, where he played for Mike Orchard, a former Osceola High pitching coach.
“Up there I added a cutter, and over the summer I got stronger,” Burgos said. “My fastball is now up to 90, 91 (m.p.h.) and mentally I stay focused throughout the game.
“I was a little surprised at the success I had this year, especially after last year.”
Burgos enjoyed a familiar face this spring when his former Osceola high teammate, B.J. Zimmerman, transferred from UCF and became a roommate. Zimmerman, who plays first base, also earned all-tournament honors in Lakeland.
Hill said more was expected of Burgos in his freshman year, but he delivered this year.
“He came back from the Northwoods League and he’d increased his velocity and had command of all of his pitches, including the cutter,” Hill said. “He was dominating every time out, and he gave us a cushion so he didn’t have to go the distance.”
Burgos thinks that the Manatees have a lot going for them at Colorado, and the team has a good shot to win a World Series title.
“It’s going to be hot and we’re used to playing in the heat,” he said.
After that, things are up in the air for Burgos – but that’s not a bad thing. He’d planned to play in the Northwoods League again for the Mankato (Minn.) Moondogs – where Murphy will be coaching – before reporting to Florida Southern in the fall.
That’s if the draft doesn’t intervene.
“I’ve talked to some scouts. If it happens, it happens,” Burgos said. “If not, I know where I’m going isn’t a bad place to play.”
Murphy said Burgos has a good chance to be drafted.
“People that I’ve talked to make it sound like he has a good shot of going in the first 10 to 12 rounds,” he said.
Hill said Burgos’ future is bright: “He’s in really good shape for next year.”