St. Ambrose standout Newsome eager for MLB draft

Font Size:

By Steve Batterson | Sunday, June 01, 2008 |

Brett Newsome’s travels in baseball have taken him a number of different directions.

But, he said he believes the year he spent as a member of the team at St. Ambrose might be leading him to an opportunity when Major League Baseball holds its annual free-agent draft starting Thursday.

“That’s the hope,’’ said Newsome, who was named the player of the year in the Midwest Collegiate Conference after leading the Fighting Bees to a 34-12 record with his .470 batting average.

“Playing professional baseball has always been my dream. My coaches at Ambrose have been supportive, and I feel like I’m positioned now to make it a reality. If the chance is there, I’m going to take it.”

The 6-foot-2, 203-pound first baseman arrived at St. Ambrose last fall as a junior, transferring from Western Michigan. The Palos Heights, Ill., native played there after spending his freshman season at Missouri Southern, an NCAA Division II school.

“My freshman year was my first time away from home. It was a different experience, and it gave me a chance to be out on my own and learn,’’ Newsome said. “I’ve seen competition at a number of different levels and I’ve tried to learn something at each one of them.”

He said he made the most of his first season in a Fighting Bees uniform.

“The Division I coaches didn’t believe I could hit lefty pitching, but I’ve never seen that as the case, and I feel like I proved that this year,” Newsome said. “Ambrose gave me the chance to play every day, work on my game, get better and put my talents on display. That’s all I ever wanted, and I got that chance in a winning environment, which felt great.’’

Newsome played in all 46 Fighting Bees games this season, and in addition to leading the team with his league-best .470 batting average, he led St. Ambrose with a .792 slugging percentage, 70 hits, 63 RBIs, 20 doubles, two triples and eight home runs. He led the Fighting Bees with 36 walks.

Since the St. Ambrose season ended last month, Newsome has been busy.

He was one of 50 players who participated in a regional draft camp hosted by the Cardinals last Wednesday in Memphis.

Working in front of St. Louis scouts, cross checkers and front-office personnel, Newsome was among 15 infielders who participated. Another 15 outfielders and about 20 pitchers took part as well.

Newsome participated in both infield and outfield drills, hit and was timed in the 60-yard dash during the day-long camp, one of four regional events the Cardinals host across the country each year in the weeks leading up to the draft.

“It’s an opportunity to put your best on display. Sometimes it’s difficult to know exactly where you stand, but the feedback has been pretty good,” Newsome said.

“I feel like the numbers I put up this season are getting me looks, but I know in the end it comes down to producing when people, scouts, are watching me. I feel like I’m showing them that I can play more than one spot, and that will be important.”

Newsome took part in the recent Perfect Game Showcase in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, competing in front of scouts. He has had individual workouts or spoken with representatives of the Phillies, Orioles and Rangers and had an invitation to participate in a weekend camp hosted by the Tigers in Florida.

The draft process isn’t entirely foreign to him.

His brother, Tyler, was a 49th-round selection of the Orioles in June’s draft as a high school player. He did not sign and spent this season as a first baseman and pitcher at Michigan State, appearing in 29 games.

“I learned a lot by just being around last year when he was going through everything,” Newsome said. “He eventually didn’t sign, but by watching the way things worked, it’s given me a good handle on the procedures and the unpredictability of it all this year.”

Still, he expects this to be a week filled with anticipation, a little anxiety and some curiosity.

“It’s an exciting time, not knowing how it is all going to play out,” Newsome said. “I feel like I’ve done what I need to do. Now, I just need to see how everything goes down.”

Steve Batterson can be contacted at (563) 383-2290 or sbatterson@qctimes.com.

Draft hopefuls

Quad-City candidates for this week’s Major League Baseball draft:

Brett Newsome, St. Ambrose

6-foot-2, 203 pounds, 1B

Originally from Palos Heights, Ill. … left-handed hitter had extraordinary junior season at SAU, batting .470 with eight homers and 63 RBIs in 46 games … slugging percentage was .792 and on-base percentage was.584 … played at Western Michigan as sophomore.

Cody Adams, Sherrard

6-2, 180, P

Just completed his junior year at Southern Illinois University … fastball has been clocked consistently in the low 90s … projected last fall to probably go in the first five rounds and recently was rated the No. 120 draft prospect by Baseball America … had somewhat disappointing junior season, going 6-4 with a 3.75 ERA after going 11-5 and 3.01 as a sophomore … 21-13 in three years as a member of the SIU rotation.

Brance Rivera, Muscatine

6-3, 175, SS-P

Has signed letter of intent to play at TCU … batted .354 as sophomore and .400 last season with 45 stolen bases in 47 attempts … has been invited to tryout camps by Yankees and White Sox.

Willie Argo, Assumption

6-2, 200, OF

Quad-City Times male high school athlete of the year … has signed with University of Illinois … batted .508 last season and .480 the year before … led team to state title in 2006 and runner-up finished in 2007.

Kirk Clark, Moline

6-2, 200, P

Just completed standout career at Iowa Western CC … has signed to play next year at Creighton … fastball has been clocked in low 90s … slated to play for Okotoks Dawgs in Western Major Baseball League this summer.

Wes Freie, Wilton

6-3, 215, 1B-DH

Recently finished his junior season at Iowa … emerged as clean-up hitter this spring, batting .342 with four homers and 28 RBIs in 47 games … set 15 school records at Wilton and was Iowa Class 2A player of the year in 2005.

Other possibilities

Marc Blakeley, OF, Augustana

John Wagle, 3B, Augustana

Chris Larsen, Moline

Elliott Kelso, Alleman

Seth Hood (above), IF, Moline