JUPITER, Fla. – When the Cardinals Scout Team/FTB Chandler fills a dugout at the Roger Dean Stadium Complex during this weekend’s Perfect Game WWBA World Championship, they fill it with star-power.
This elite outfit, the winner of its first two games at the tournament under the direction of head coach Jered Goodwin, arrived at Roger Dean with five prospects that played in the Perfect Game All-American Classic in San Diego on Aug. 10, each one ranked in the top-46 nationally in the class of 2015.
There is shortstop Ryan Mountcastle (ranked No. 16, committed to Central Florida), left-handed pitcher Juan Hillman (No. 26, Central Florida), outfielder Chris Chatfield (No. 37, South Florida), middle-infielder Jonathan India (No. 39, Florida) and catcher Wyatt Cross (No. 46, North Carolina).
Casual observers – few and far between at the PG WWBA World Championship – might not be able to see the forest through the trees when they look at all that elite talent on this Cardinals/FTB Chandler roster. Professional scouts and college coaches – and Goodwin, a Florida high school coach, in particular – see much more.
They will look at long-time contributors to the FTB (Florida Travel Ball) program, guys who may have missed out on PG All-American status but have always been on scouts’ radars.
Players like Jason Heinrich, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound 2015 outfielder from Spring Hill, Fla., a University of Central Florida commit ranked 111th nationally. Or maybe Tyrone Perry, a 6-foot-1, 220-pound 2015 first baseman from Avon Park, Fla., a Florida State recruit ranked 350th.
It is battle-tested high school seniors like Heinrich and Perry that make the FTB engine purr and keep the train on the tracks at an event like the PG WWBA World Championship. Those two have played in a combined 22 Perfect Game tournaments with the organization since 2012 and have been named to a combined eight all-tournament teams.
“The best part about those guys is they’ve been just so true to the way that we want to run things with a ‘team-first’ atmosphere in the clubhouse,” Goodwin said. “They’re both guys that want to compete against the highest level of players and want to compete in the highest level tournaments, but also want to get the work done in between.”
This is the second PG WWBA World Championship experience for each of them – Perry was with the Cardinals Scout Team/FTB Chandler while Heinrich was with Central Florida PG Royal last year – and they’re both enjoying the return trip.
“It’s an honor to be a part of it all and to be able to play against the best competition and perform in front of all these scouts,” Heinrich said. “This is a really great event and it’s amazing how many people are actually out here watching us. It gets you pumped up, and when you put on this Cardinals uniform you feel like a big-leaguer already.”
Perry not only put the Cardinals uniform on a year ago but also earned all-tournament honors for his efforts while wearing it. “It’s an honor to be here and play in front of a lot of scouts and put on this Cardinals uniform; it’s just a blessing,” he said.
Both prospects swung hot bats during the Cardinals/FTB Chandler’s first two games at the tournament, particularly in their 12-2 win over NJ PG Kelly Green on Friday.
Perry was 2-for-2 with a home run, three RBI and three runs scored in that win, while Heinrich was 2-for-3 with a triple, three RBI and a run scored. After two games, Perry was 3-for-4 with the home run, three RBI and four runs and Heinrich was 4-for-6 with a pair of triples, six RBI and three runs.
This is the 12th PG tournament Perry has played in with FTB. In addition to his all-tournament recognition at last year’s PG WWBA World Championship, he was also wearing an FTB uniform when he was named all-tournament at the 2012 PG WWBA 16u National Championship, the 2012 PG WWBA Underclass World Championship, the 2013 PG BCS Finals and the 2014 PG WWBA 17u National Championship.
“Tyrone has really turned the corner since he’s been in high school,” Goodwin said. “He actually came and lived with me for a month this summer so we could work out every day – we were at the field 3 ½ hours every day in the morning so that he could get extra work in – and it’s paid off hugely. I view him as one of the more underrated players in the country.”
While he has not climbed the rankings as much as Goodwin feels he should have, Perry is not at all disappointed with the progression of his game while working with Goodwin and the FTB organization. And, obviously, Florida State has seen something it likes.
“It’s helped me out a lot; it’s helped me work on my maturity and especially my game,” Perry said of his relationship with FTB before thinking back on the month he spent this summer working with Goodwin. “He makes you work hard, man, but it really was a lot of fun.”
Heinrich has now played in 10 PG tournaments flying the FTB flag and earned all-tournament recognition at the 2013 PG WWBA 16u National Championship, the 2013 PG WWBA Florida Qualifier and the2014 PG WWBA Florida Qualifier.
“Jason Heinrich is an extremely, extremely hard worker and that’s one of the reasons he consistently makes jumps,” Goodwin said. “He was good when he was in middle school but he consistently makes jumps because he consistently wants to out-work people.”
Heinrich and Perry both played in tournaments during the summer of 2011 for the Florida Flash, a team put together by former big-leaguer Tom “Flash” Gordon that featured his son, Nick Gordon. When Tom Gordon shut the team down and urged his son to join Goodwin at FTB, Heinrich and Perry made the same move. Heinrich feels like it’s been a successful transition.
“There have been a lot of ups and downs, just like for everyone else,” he said. “But it’s been a family experience and I’ve had a really great time (playing) with FTB, and I’m glad I’ve been a part of the organization for so many years. I feel like they helped me develop more than any other team could have.”
Heinrich and Perry aren’t alone among the class of 2015 prospects in providing essential substance to the structure of the FTB backbone. There are other top-300-type guys like middle-infielder Keyshawn Lynch (No. 248, Central Florida), left-hander/outfielder Michael Zimmerman (No. 252, Florida) and right-hander Jordan Gubelman (No. 306, North Carolina), just to mention three, who have contributed to the program over the long haul.
“Those guys have all played with us for multiple years and made a lot of deep runs in Perfect Game tournaments, and they’ve all committed to very, very good schools,” Goodwin said. “They’re all guys that have kind of done it the way we run things at FTB and have made sure that the team aspect is the most important thing. They’ve all bought into it and they all want what’s best for their teammates just like they want what’s best for themselves.
“I think that’s one of the reasons that over the years we’ve been able to have some success and guys have gone on to the next level, whether it’s college or pro ball and continue to have success, because they start to see the bigger picture.”
The contributions of the PG All-Americans toward the Cardinals/FTB Chandler effort as a whole cannot be overstated, of course. Those five players are projected to be selected in the very early rounds of the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft in June, and are truly high-end prospects.
Goodwin contends there is never any animosity shown by the other players towards those who seem to always grab the headlines, insisting that every one of these guys goes out and plays hard for the FTB brand. And he’s also a firm believer that the presence of elite players will only make everyone else better.
“I think steel sharpens steel,” he said with a laugh. “I think everybody – as much as they root for each other – they want to play to the highest level they can. A lot of these other guys, I think, could have been (PG) All-Americans and very easily could be high draft picks out of high school or out of college.
“That’s the crazy thing about the baseball world, especially the exposure that Perfect Game gives people,” he continued. “It shows you how many good players there are across the country and a lot of those kids could have easily been in contention to be All-Americans.”
It is a belief and a standard Heinrich and Perry have definitely bought into. “Playing in the best tournaments with the best players definitely leads to big things,” Heinrich said.
“Playing for Jered, he just makes you a lot better. He gets you ready for the next level and all of these guys are moving on to the next level,” Perry added.
It’s the old saying about the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, personified.
“At the end of the day … it’s doesn’t matter to these guys if they are an All-American or if they’re not, the chemistry just makes everybody the same guy and they want to compete each other and sharpen each other’s tools,” Goodwin said. “They also all want to compete against the very best in the country and that’s what a place like Jupiter lets you do.”