Even though he’s only a sophomore, shortstop Jacsen Tucker has developed a reputation that precedes him for Oswego East.
Being ranked the No. 3 player in his class in Illinois and the No. 30 at shortstop in the nation by Prep Baseball Report will definitely grab some attention.
It’s also led to teams attacking Tucker with off-speed pitches, rarely giving him a fastball to hit.
“Everybody knows who he is,” Wolves coach Brian Schaeffer said. “They’re pitching to his weaknesses. He’s done a really good job of adjusting. He’s still hitting around .330 — he just doesn’t have the numbers he had last season.
“When he sees a mistake, he’s going to do what he does.”
Tucker saw one of those mistakes in the first inning of Thursday’s Southwest Prairie Conference game at crosstown rival Oswego. He promptly deposited that pitch well over the left-field fence, giving Oswego East a three-run lead.
The Wolves wound up pulling away for a 10-4 win as Tucker finished with three hits, three runs, three RBIs and a stolen base.
Devin Wheaton added four RBIs, a double, a run and a stolen base for Oswego East (16-18, 7-8). Carter Rapp scored twice, while Wilson Terrutty chipped in with an RBI double.
Dylan King hit a solo homer for Oswego (20-14, 4-11). Jacob Fehrmann had two hits and an RBI and Quinn Stanley notched two hits.
Four pitches into the game, Tucker showed why college recruiters and MLB scouts are hot on his trail. He tattooed a pitch to left for his fourth homer of the season, stunning the crowd.
“He got down 3-1, so I knew I had a pitch coming,” said Tucker, who gave the Wolves a 3-0 lead before an out had been recorded. “I settled into the box, relaxed, took a deep breath.
“When I saw that pitch, I just killed it. I kind of shocked myself. I didn’t think I hit it that hard until it got up to its max.”
Oswego coach Joe Giarrante has seen a lot of home runs hit at his home park. Tucker’s shot was one of the more impressive.
“That got out of here in a hurry,” Giarrante said. “Just give him credit. He made a mistake and you can’t do that to a good hitter. He’s really matured a lot over the years.
“That was a good way for them to start the game.”
Tucker’s second hit, a one-out single in the fifth, showed off his new-found approach.
Tucker battled the count to 3-2, then connected to the opposite field for a single. He was along for the ride on Wheaton’s three-RBI double that broke open a one-run game and made it 8-4.
“He’s a very patient hitter,” Schaeffer said of Tucker. “When he sees what he wants, he goes after it, but if it’s not exactly what he wants, he’s patient. He gets deep into counts quite a bit.”
This isn’t the first time Schaeffer has had a prospect the caliber of Tucker on his hands. It was only four years ago when Noah Schultz was a first-round pick of the Chicago White Sox and teammate Ashton Izzi was a fourth-round pick of the Seattle Mariners.
“It’s almost like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, now twice in four years,” Schaeffer said. “Just enjoying baseball and enjoying high school is important.”
Tucker is grateful to have a resource in Schaeffer who has gone through this process.
“It does help on my side,” Tucker said. “If I need to talk to him about certain things, he’s been through that. I lean on him a lot.”
College offers are stacking up for Schaeffer, who has even heard from some pro scouts. The advice of just having fun is first and foremost for Tucker, though.
“That’s just the key to it,” he said. “You’re not in high school long, so I’m taking in the moments.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
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