BROOKSVILLE – Even without looking, the sound tells the story of J.P. Gates. As soon as one of his fastballs hits the catcher’s mitt, it becomes quite clear that the Nature Coast sophomore throws hard. Real hard.
The Shark southpaw has attracted plenty of attention, from fans to scouts, with his 90-plus mile per hour heat. “He’s a special player. You don’t get too many of those guys. He’s a battler. He likes the competition,” Nature Coast head coach Frank Vitale said. “He’s a rarity. Those kids don’t come around much.”
Gates’ impressive numbers aren’t limited to the radar gun. After Tuesday night’s 3-1 victory at Central, he’s 3-0 with a 0.56 earned run average. In 25 innings, he’s given up 16 hits and seven walks while striking out 44. Even at the plate, he’s hitting .515 with eight doubles, a triple and two home runs, tallying 19 runs batted in. By the way, the Sharks are 10-1 overall and sit atop the Class 5A, District 7 standings at 8-1.
“Hitting pretty well. Pitching’s a little bit better,” Gates said. “As a team, we’ve done a lot better than last year. We’re actually not selfish, and together as a team.
“It’s huge. We really haven’t had that much success at our school, so it’s kind of big for us.”
Against Central (7-3 overall, 4-3 5A-7), Gates threw five innings yielding a run on seven hits and a walk, striking out nine. He set the tone before even taking the mound, hitting a solo home run to center field in the top of the first inning. “I was rough in the beginning, and then I eventually got comfortable. And I got better command of my fastball, and started establishing my off-speed pitches,” Gates said. “I thought it (the home run) was pretty big. Get on the board first, get the momentum on our side instead of having a 0-0 ballgame going into the fifth. So I guess it was big for our team to get on the board first.”
Zach Funkhouser scored on a wild pitch in the top of the third to make it 2-0, before Matt Warner singled in a run for the Bears in the bottom half. Brandon Riera doubled and came across on a wild pitch in the fourth. Ryan Lotito pitched two scoreless frames to close it out for Nature Coast, which avenged its only loss on Feb. 12, 13-10 against the Bears. The Sharks are on pace for their first winning season since 2008-09.
“We have a good, solid team. We’re 10-1 now. We’re playing really well. We’re getting good hitting, good pitching,” Vitale said. “We’re happy, but we need to be playing like this at the end of the season, not now.
“We’re excited, the team’s excited, the coaching staff’s excited. That’s nine in a row for us.”
Vitale was quick to point out that the Sharks are far from a one-man show, hitting .300 as a team while scoring 84 runs. They also have a 1.68 team ERA and have given up just 30 runs.
Gates does garner headlines, though, as is often the case for a young pitcher with a power arm that just seems to come naturally. “Why did Nolan Ryan throw 100 miles an hour? I keep thinking maybe you’re born with it,” Vitale said. “His uncle, which is one of my assistant coaches, Patrick (Freeman), works really hard with him. He pitched at USF. So he’s worked really hard with J.P. from the time he was really, really young.
“He’s got great mechanics and he’s a battler out there. Plus he’s physical. He’s what, 6-1 ½, 185 pounds, so he’s not a small kid. So he’s got some size and he’s going to grow even more.”
The coach also pointed out that Gates is only 16 years old, and he has two more seasons left in his prep career. He has already committed to play at the University of Miami. “Miami’s been my favorite college ever since I was a kid,” Gates said. “We grew up in Key West, so it was huge where we were. And it’s a really nice school and they have a great baseball program.”
However, ultimately Gates hopes to never have to join the Hurricanes. He has dreamed of playing professional baseball since the age of 5, he said, adding it’s “the biggest thing I’ve ever wanted to do.”
“He’s got a bright future. I think that I’ve been around long enough to know that I think that he’s got the ability to be maybe a first-round draft choice,” Vitale said. “They’ve already got scouts coming to see him. He’s only in 10th grade. Last game he pitched, he threw 7-8 pitches at 92. He’s a 10th-grader, 16 years old.
“If he grows a little more and gets a little stronger, what’s he going to throw, 94-95 maybe? And then hopefully he stays out of elbow problems and arm problems. But right now he works hard in between his starts. He gets a lot of running in. He’s mature for his age. He’s beyond his years maturity-wise. And he knows what he wants. He wants to be a professional baseball player, and I think he’s got the ability to do it.”
Follow Chris Bernhardt Jr. on Twitter on @cpbernhardtjr.