Allow me to introduce myself as a career educator. My job is to identify, develop, and bring out the best in individuals. My favorite side job has been coaching and leading my son’s travel baseball team for the past nine years. I have had the best spot in the world to watch him and kids like Jake Mulvehill do what they love, while helping them develop into some high level baseball players.
I worked in sales a few times before I got my teaching license. I graduated from Purdue University with a degree in communications and marketing, so I know what it takes to try and sell a person on a product or an idea. The problem was, that I never really found anything I believed in or loved to sell. I hated the idea of trying to sell someone on something for the sole purpose of padding my own pockets. That is why I wanted to get into the world of teaching and coaching. I wanted be able to impact people’s lives and help them reach their potential.
It is also why I am writing this message now. I know what Jake has to offer a baseball program at the next level. I know how important continuing his baseball career beyond high school is to him. So, I’ve come full circle because it is my goal to help sell anyone that isn’t sure or isn’t convinced about who Jake is as a ballplayer, that they will be missing out on landing a great person who happens to be a really good pitcher.
So, before I get into things, let me clarify what Jake is not:
- Overpowering against an entire lineup of high level hitters. Jake isn’t going to rare back and blow the ball by college hitters multiple times through the lineup.
- If he doesn’t have good stuff or command, he’s going to be hit. Jake has command of multiple pitches, but if he is a little off against a high level team he’s going to get hit. However, he will always limit the damage and avoid the huge inning.
If you’re still reading, then let me tell you what makes Jake special and why I’ll go to battle with him any day on the mound against any team in the country:
- He will not be outworked. All I hear from other coaches in our organization about Jake is that every time they are at our facility they see him in there working or lifting. While he has constantly put in the work he added over 40 pounds of muscle since starting high school. He also works in silence. He doesn’t post constant pictures or videos broadcasting all of the work he’s doing to get noticed by others. He knows that hard work is done when others are not watching or asking. He does it for himself, not for the approval of others. He also takes great care of his arm with conditioning and armcare. However, he also puts in all of the work on his own because he has never been the top guy on our team growing up. At various points growing up, he was probably in the bottom third on our roster in terms of production. While he was never at risk of being cut, he also understood that if he wanted to continue seeing the field and significant playing time he needed to start putting in the extra work outside of practices and games. He was teammates for years with a kid that has commited to Purdue University and another player who has hit 90 MPH and commited to Indiana Wesleyan. He has worked hard to maximize his potential and to be considered the top guy on our team, and last summer he undoubtedly became one of the top pitchers on our team. He will accept his role when he enters your program as a freshmen, but he will bust his tail to be top a contributor before he exits.
- He is a pitcher. Yes, he has developed into a guy with a good arm because of the work he has put into the weightroom, but growing up he rarely could just throw the ball by most high level kids and teams. He had to learn how to hit spots and mix his pitches. As a result, he is a strike-thrower that has great command. He can command multiple pitches, and knows how to set up hitters. He also has been conditioned to start. When you see him hit a “max fastball” number, understand that he is going to sit right around there the entire outing. We have the pitching charts to demonstrate that there is not much of a dip between pitch #1 and pitch #85 in velocity. When you see that he is hitting 87-85 MPH, that is where he is going to stay for 5-6 innings. Bottom line, you will not have to teach him a ton of mechanical refinement to increase velocity or work on command. While he may not have the raw talent of a kid already hitting 90MPH, I would trust him to get outs against the same lineups than a kid who throws 90 down the middle or with minimal command of secondary pitches.
- In travel baseball, we have faced a number of guys that PBR loves because of the max fastball, but by the second time through the lineup they have come down 3-4 MPH from the first inning. The “max fastball” is something that cannot be taught or coached, but maintaining velocity throughout an outing is something that is learned from developing consistent mechanics and hours in the weightroom. Jake also has a fastball that jumps at you because of his high spin rate. In addition to that, he has the natural lefty run that allows him to get plenty of swings and misses and weak contact off his fastball.
- He is also a great culture guy. He is a tough-minded, hard-nosed guy, but he is also the first to congratulate his teammates when they do well. He is always looking to pick other guys up and celebrate their success. However, he will use others success to motivate himself to do better. When he comes to your program, he will not be intimidated by others talents and success. He will use that to drive himself to get to that level, but he’ll be in the dugout cheering them on instead of hoping they fail so he can get an opportunity. He is a fantastic listener, and he will do whatever you ask or instruct him to work on to get better. He is also fantastic with younger players that look up to him. His high school coaches would also attest that he does a good job of working with the underclassmen to develop culture and inclusion.
- Some players are workout warriors but struggle on the field, and then there are others that step up and perform when eyes are on them and/or in the big moment. Mulvehill went from being one of our better depth options to a stud these past two years. I watched him throw a complete game in the Sectional Championship for his high school against top 10 LaPorte this spring. The previous summer he outperformed a kid who is now signed as a pitcher for Butler University. https://gc.com/game-60f2a4465d810ecc77000025/stats In the fall of 2021, he faced the Indiana Bulls Black and went 4.1 IP 2H 2ER 6K’s 3BBs against the top team in the state. This summer, Mulvehill threw a complete game gem against the Indy Rawlings Tigers going 6IP 4H 1ER 7Ks 4BB. Later in the summer he took down the GBR Rays who advanced to the Elite Eight of the ABC’s at Grand Park when we faced them in bracket play in Milwaukee going 6IP 6H 1ER 8Ks 3BB. After he struggled when we got PBR Indiana to come watch him the first time, he responded by throwing a perfect inning and running his fastball up to 85MPH at Canes Scout Weekend in October with scouts and coaches present. Since then, his velocity has only continued to climb as he hit 86.9 MPH at the JKR Battle of the States at the end of January. He is a proven winner at the high school level and in the summer. https://app.virtualcombine.com/profile/cddb6056-60f3-4c00-a6e7-2279a19910a2/photos/expanded/video/5b799470-ecb2-11ec-90ed-ad98dcdc0c3e/baseball/f2a774e0-7587-11e9-ad24-8ff64eb19f45
6. In addition to what he does on the field, he is also an outstanding, honor roll student.
I am putting this together because I believe Jake is still undervalued as a recruit in the 2024 class. I am willing to stake the reputation of our organization behind this kid. I would ask you to speak to the director of our organization, Brian Blondell, about Jake. (canesgreatlakes@gmail.com or 574-310-3924) You would also get high praise on him from our assistant coach and player at Indiana Wesleyan University, Tyler Bortone. (574-855-8423) Another point of contact would be longtime assistant coach, Tim Trenerry (574-339-6105) whose son is commited to Purdue University.
As of this writing, Mulvehill was up to 86.9 last week at the JKR Battle of the States podcast. Here are his stats from the past two summer seasons on the mound. In 2021, he was our #3 or 4 starter, but by this summer he emerged as our ace by the end of the year. Another compliment to his hard work and persistence. He continued his dominance at numerous Division 1 camps in the fall including: St. Louis, Wright State, and Pennsylvania. Here are his stats from the past two summers:
2021 34IP 6-1 24H 28Ks 19BB 2.47 ERA 1.324 WHIP .213 BAA
2022 32.1IP 4-0 26H 40Ks 15BBs 2.17 ERA 1.268 WHIP .224 BAA
This kid will always have a special place in my heart, and I will fight for him to play at the school of his choice at the next level. If you decide to bring him on board, I know you will look back on what a great decision and addition that was for your program. You won’t hear a word from his parents either, as they are both great hard working, family-oriented people.
Mike Gallo Head Coach Canes Great Lakes
574-850-8808 mike.gallo314@mikegallo314
@canesGL2024
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