CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The Perfect Game scout-note arrived via e-mail on Friday night, Aug. 26, authored by PG Western Tournament Director/National Scouting Coordinator Justin Hlubek and originating from Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Hlubek was in attendance at the combined workout session for the PG Midwest Top Prospect and PG Midwest Underclass showcases and had witnessed something neither he or anyone else on the PG staff expected to see.
The subject of the in-house scout-note was Nate Wohlgemuth, a recently turned 15-year-old from Owasso, Okla., who is beginning his freshman year at national prep baseball juggernaut Owasso High School; he had decided to make the PG Midwest Underclass his first PG showcase experience.
The note on Wohlgemuth read: “Just threw 97 mph from the OF like it was no big deal … very easy actions.”
That was it, a note short enough to be a tweet but one directed at a very specific and immediately captivated audience. Wohlgemuth’s 97 mph throw from the outfield was a record at an event that was being held for the 13th straight year. Two days later, on Sunday, the 5-foot-11, 195-pounder pitched a couple of innings and delivered a 91 mph fastball, another event record. It’s true that Nate Wohlgemuth was a showcase rookie this past weekend but he had wasted no time in showing he belonged.
“I’m getting to meet some new friends and I’m getting to be around some good competition,” he said before his pitching outing Sunday morning. “I’m showing some things that I have a talent for and maybe some things that I need to work on. I like having a little pep in my step showing everybody what I’ve got and also seeing what everybody else has got.”
The PG Midwest Underclass Showcase was a regional event but there is nothing “regional” about the next event on Wohlgemuth’s calendar. He is one of 40 top underclass prospects – 35 from the national high school class of 2020 and five from the class of 2019 – to be invited to this weekend’s inaugural Perfect Game Select Baseball Festival in Fort Myers, Fla.
The PG Select Baseball Festival invitees will take part in two full days (Saturday-Sunday) of baseball and non-baseball activities, highlighted by a visit to the Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida in Fort Myers, the event’s beneficiary, Saturday afternoon.
The weekend culminates with the playing of the PG Select Baseball Festival all-star game at jetBlue Park, which is scheduled for a 7 p.m. first-pitch. The game will be televised live on Fox Sports Networks and streamed simultaneously on MLB.com.
“I’m excited to go and meet the kids that are at the children’s hospital,” Wohlgemuth said. “I think it’s going to be really good to meet them and chat and get some interaction with them. (When the game starts) I think I’m going to be even more (focused), trying to play for those kids.”
Nate’s dad, Jonathan Wohlgemuth, is proud that his son will be involved: “I know it’s a big deal for Perfect Game and I know this is the first time they’re doing it, and I’m sure it will grow in popularity as time goes on, just like the All-American Classic has out in San Diego,” Jonathan said Sunday. “I know he’s really looking forward to it. Those are a lot of kids he’s played with and against and he’s just lucky to have the opportunity, honestly.”
Based on his Top Prospect List showing over the weekend and a couple of PG all-tournament performances during the summer of 2015, it looks like Wohlgemuth’s invitation to the Select Baseball Festival was a no-brainer. He was the only 2020 named to the Top Prospect List at the PG Midwest Underclass, and his scouting report read in part:
“(Wohlgemuth) shows very good raw power at the plate with a naturally lifted plane through extension; baseball explodes off the barrel with plus jump to the gaps … Fastball jumped out of his hand very well with heavy actions to the plate. Maintains arm speed with a changeup that had solid fade (and) proved to be a very effective pitch for him, as well.”
“This is the first time Nate has ever been to a showcase, and it’s been a good time for him,” Jonathan Wohlgemuth said. “He’s met some new kids, and he’s never really played in the Iowa area so that’s been a good experience.”
Despite celebrating his 15th birthday just three months ago and despite the fact he still has four years of high school baseball in front of him, Nate Wohlgemuth has packed a lot of high-level baseball experiences into the last two or three years.
He was named to the all-tournament team at the 2015 13u PG BCS Finals in Fort Myers while playing with the Memphis Tigers-Lindsay and was all-tournament again about a month later at the 13u PG World Series in Cartersville, Ga., playing with the champion MVP Banditos; he played with the Houston Banditos Black at the 2015 15u PG WWBA National Championship in Cartersville.
“You can definitely find great talent at these (PG) showcases and tournaments,” Nate Wohlgemuth said. “You set your goals high and usually everything turns out pretty good once you get out here. I set big goals for myself and I always try to exceed them, and it usually turns out pretty well.”
The young Wohlgemuth has also been heavily involved with USA Baseball the last two years. He was with the 14u National Team Development Program in 2015 and this past summer played with the 15u National Team that captured a bronze medal at the WBSC U15 World Cup in Iwaki, Japan, in early August.
“These (events) will continue to gain importance as (Nate) gets older,” Jonathan Wohlgemuth said. “I think it’s important for him to understand what the process is and what people look for, and how to prepare yourself.
“Baseball is always a team game but he’s got to learn how to get himself ready regardless of what the situation is or where the environment is. That’s the greatest experience: Just learning how to get ready and be prepared on a day-to-day basis.”
Even more rarefied air awaits Nate Wohlgemuth over the next four years. He has officially become an Owasso High School Ram, part of a baseball program that has historically been the best in the state of Oklahoma. Owasso HS has won 13 Oklahoma big-school state championships overall, a total that includes 10 in the last 19 years (the most recent was in 2015).
It’s a program that has produced four current or recent big-leaguers, including 2010 Perfect Game All-American Dylan Bundy, now a right-handed starter for the Baltimore Orioles.
“Owasso (HS) has always been really good at baseball and I think it’s going to be a great school for me to go to; it’s a place I’ve always wanted to be around,” Nate Wohlgemuth said.
“It’s an honor for him to play for that program,” his dad added. “They’ve been doing it for a long time and they know how to win, so it will be a good experience for him and also for (the family) to sit back and watch.”
Jonathan Wohlgemuth began emphasizing proper arm care with his son when Nate was 12 years old, or at least as soon as it became evident the youngster could throw the ball harder than most of his peers. They’ve utilized bands and long-toss programs, but Jonathan believes the most important aspect of his son’s arm care is simply minimizing the amount he throws.
The environment in which Nate Wohlgemuth plays is very conducive to proper care. He’s been playing for the highly respected Oklahoma Fuel organization – his dad is one of the Fuel’s coaches – and will now move into the program at Owasso HS, where all the coaches will make sure he isn’t overused.
“I think a lot of it is just making sure he’s doing what he’s supposed to be doing,” Jonathan said. “On his off days he’s running and doing his rehab work … and he’s done a good of staying diligent with doing yoga and staying flexible and those kind of things.”
The elder Wohlgemuth played baseball collegiately at Oklahoma Baptist University (Shawnee, Okla.) in the early 2000s, so he is familiar with the college game and its demands. As a recently turned 15-year-old high school freshman, Nate is really just starting to become involved in the college recruiting process and his dad will be able to offer some guidance based on his own experiences.
Jonathan Wohlgemuth will make sure his son looks at the big picture when it comes to making a college choice. There are many facets of college life away from the baseball field and they must all be considered.
“That’s where the parents have to commit to putting in the time and putting the tires on the road to go look at (a school) and maybe not just looking at it once,” Jonathan said. “You’d love to think that he can have an opportunity to find a place that will fit with him and the family as well.”
The two-day schedule for the PG Select Baseball Festival is jammed with about 12 hours of activities each day. The event will be the biggest stage many of these young prospects have ever walked out onto, but for others, like Wohlgemuth, it’s merely an extension.
His West Team teammate Ethan Long (2020; Gilbert, Ariz.) was also a member of the USA Baseball 15u National Team this summer. The East’s Jackson Miller (2020; Trinity, Fla.) and the West’s Mick Abel (2020; Portland, Ore.), Robert Moore (2020, Leawood, Kan.) and Parker Welch (2020; Riverside, Calif.) were all part of the USA Baseball 14u National Team Development Program.
“They’re still kids and once they get between the lines it’s still going to be baseball,” Jonathan Wohlgemuth said of the Festival stage. “The stands are going to be bigger but I know a lot of those kids have played on TV already, so when it gets down to it they want to compete, they want to showcase their talent and they just want to go out there and play baseball.”
His son concurred: “I think it’s going to be a great experience,” Nate said. “Hopefully I can show off in front of the other 39 kids that have been picked and hopefully be one of the best.”