Australian Prospects Article

[DBAHO]

This article was in my local paper today, thought it was an interesting read, and further re-inforces my view that the Sox need to get more scouts out down here if they don't already;

 

NAPIER Park, in suburban Glen Waverley, is very much the heartland of Victorian, if not Australian, baseball.

 

There's not so much a hint of a cornfield or the ghost of Shoeless Joe Jackson, but it has been a field of dreams for thousands of budding Roger Clemens or Barry Bonds in the past 45 years.

Phil Dale, regarded by many as one of Australia's finest pitchers in the past 30 years, emerged from the fields of Napier Park, the home of the Waverley Wildcats.

 

David Clarkson, Matthew and Simon Sheldon-Collins, David Buckthorpe, Adam Burton and Glenn Reeves, all outstanding Australian Baseball League representatives, graduated through Waverley's outstanding junior program.

 

More recently David McWatters and Donovan Hendricks have followed the lead.

Each Friday night and Saturday morning/afternoon, hundreds of players live out their dreams at Napier Park and, for the past 10 years, James Beresford has been one of them.

 

Just like his brothers, Michael, who 20 years ago accepted a "bring a friend" night invitation, and Simon, James has played domestic and representative ball for Waverley and, for the past four years, state baseball for Victoria.

 

Now, just weeks shy of his 16th birthday, the youngest of the Beresford baseball clan shapes as the focal point of the upcoming national under-16 championships at Lismore, New South Wales.

 

Beresford will be a primary focus not only for Victoria's hopes of securing the title, but also for scouts from 15, maybe 20, Major League Baseball teams.

 

In some ways he's not unlike a young David Nilsson, whose presence, poise and professionalism were part of the package that took him all the way to an All Star while playing for the Milwaukee Brewers. Yes, Beresford, is also a left-hand hitter.

 

Many teams have Australian-based scouts, such as the Atlanta Braves' Phil Dale, Boston Red Sox's Jon Deeble and Minnesota Twins' Howie Norsetter.

 

Others send scouts from the US.

 

All have Beresford high on all their short-lists.

 

It doesn't faze the Year 11 Wesley College student. He knows as a second-year player in the championships, he's expected to be a leader.

 

And, yes, he knows all his pitches will be charted, scrutinised and analysed. So, too, every play he makes at shortstop and how he swings the bat.

 

You see, Beresford does it all. Although still 15, he has played seniors for Waverley for some of last season and all this season, mainly as a relief pitcher.

 

He's also showed he's a strong-hitting, solid defensive infielder.

 

It's a dilemma. Beresford is a two-position prospect: a pitcher -- he's hit 137km/h on the radar gun -- and shortstop/infielder. One scout believes the youngster's ticket to the majors is as a left-hand hitting catcher.

 

Beresford has never considered that option. In fact, he doesn't have a preference. "I like doing both," he said.

 

Many say he should be representing Victoria not at under-16 level, but in the Claxton Shield, the national showcase that replaced the Australian league.

 

Eyes, radar guns, stopwatches will be putting immense pressure on Beresford, but he said he'd dealt with that during the summer while playing for Waverley. "There's a little more pressure on me to stand up more for the team, but all the scouts being there doesn't bother me," he said.

 

Beresford, whose brother Simon has spent the past two years in the Milwaukee Brewer minor league system, knows what he wants: to play Major League Baseball.

 

He says it in a matter-of-fact way, but Beresford has learnt through Simon's experiences not to get too far ahead of himself.

 

"Simon was one of the big prospects going into the tournament, but he never got an offer. They (the scouts) were all over him, but he got sick and no one wanted to know him," Beresford said.

 

"People tell you that you are one of the top prospects, but you can't really control how they (scouts) view you. All you can do is do your best.

 

"If they make an offer, they make an offer. I think about it, but it doesn't consume me."

 

Apart from his natural ability, another of Beresford's fine qualities is how he carries himself. There's not a hint of show-boating.

 

Major league teams cannot sign him until the second week in July, but Beresford would like to finish his education before joining the 60 other Australians at various levels of the minor league system.

 

Beresford's signature won't come cheap. While the dizzy days of the $1 million-plus signing bonus received by Sydney teen Glenn Williams 15 years ago are gone, MLB teams are prepared to shell out six-figure sums for the right prospect.

 

Baseball prospects can vary markedly in price, depending on a scout's assessment. Beresford, according to several scouts, is somewhere in the $50,000-$100,000 mix.

 

He recently had dinner with a prominent baseball player manager, but monetary matters will be left to his father/manager and prospective suitors to hammer out.

 

It's an unwanted distraction for an uncomplicated young man whose focus is simply to go out and play ball. The only difference is James Beresford plays it better than most.

[danman31]

Good article. It's good to see other countries take to baseball. It seems Australia is gradually growing more interest.

[DBAHO]

Good article. It's good to see other countries take to baseball. It seems Australia is gradually growing more interest.

Especially after our performance in the Olympics, Baseball is probably growing a little more down here. I read a lot of stories of how teams like the Red Sox, Mariners and Padres come down here and sign lots of good young pitchers, and I think the White Sox need to send more scouts out down here. At least they have focused more on the Dominican Republic over the past few seasons I guess.

[YASNY]

The dominican Republic should be where their main focus is, but there's nothing wrong with having a presense in Oz just in case a key player comes out of there.

[DBAHO]

The dominican Republic should be where their main focus is, but there's nothing wrong with having a presense in Oz just in case a key player comes out of there.

My thoughts too. It seems over the past decade the Dodgers had a stranglehold on the Dominican Market especially in the 90's, and were getting some great prospects like Joel Guzman. At least recently the Sox have gotten Francisco Hernandez and now Salvador Sanchez who Phil Rogers said was built like a young Juan Gonzalez.

 

It's just that in Australia recently especially over the past 2 to 3 years, there are a lot of good young pitchers here that are getting signed mainly by the 3 teams that I mentioned already. If we had a bigger presence down here we could start boosting our minor stocks.

[LDF]

why couldn't they, the sox, have a baseball camp and invite anyone who is interested in trying out for a contract, try outs.