Jesus Medina has already been clocked in the high 80s with his fastball and led Manhattan Center last year with a .410 batting average, 20 runs scored and 13 RBIs. He has several Division I schools looking at him, from Sacred Heart to Wake Forest.
Yet, the senior right-hander/shortstop isn’t the Rams’ most important player, according to coach Edgar Leon. In fact, there is no one player the longtime coach is leaning toward. There are three – sophomore Jerry Liang, Alex Sanchez and Michael Pena – who will break or break their season.
“That’s the key,” Leon said. “Our season will roll with our sophomores.”
Denis Gostev
Manhattan Center's Jerry Liang is one of three sophomores the Rams are counting on for big years.
Medina is clearly Manhattan Center’s top talent, Leon said, a quiet leader with an advanced skill set and determination to match. But the underclassmen are vital, vital because Liang will follow Medina in the rotation, all three will hit in the middle of the order and play important positions in the field, Sanchez behind the plate and Pena at second base.
Leon is high on Liang, who will be at shortstop when Medina is on the mound and in center field or on the hill himself otherwise. As a freshman, he went 2-0 pitching with a 3.48 ERA and scored eight runs.
“He’s playing phenomenal right now,” Leon said. “You wouldn’t know he’s a sophomore; he’s playing like a senior. He might become the best player I’ve ever coached.”
Medina and Liang will get the ball in the season’s biggest moments and have help with hard-throwing senior Dabian Canales and Gregorio Luperon transfer Jesus Garcia. All four can throw in the mid-80s and have solid off-speed stuff to rely on.
“Every game we’re gonna be in,” Leon said. “These four kids can get on a roll. We just have to play good defense.”
Leon is cautiously optimistic because of youth, but sees potential for a memorable May based on the preseason and how his young kids performed as freshmen. Pena and Sanchez both hit over .300 and all three have made strides offensively thus far.
“If Jerry and the other sophomores come through, we’ll have a better year than last year,” Leon said. “If they keep hitting, it will be a fantastic year.”
Manhattan Center is coming off a solid season, a second-place finish in Manhattan A East behind defending champion George Washington. The year, however, had a familiar ending: a first-round playoff loss to Lane.
Manhattan Center hasn’t gotten out of the opening round in Leon’s 11 years, losing first round contests each of the last three seasons. Leon thinks this could be the year the Rams avenge their playoff demons.
“This is the most talented team I’ve ever had,” he said. “This team is limitless. We want to win a few playoff games and see what happens. It could be a very exciting year.”
zbraziller@nypost.com
Manhattan Center, Manhattan Center, Edgar Leon, Jerry Liang, Michael Pena, Alex Sanchez, Jesus Medina, Leon
No comments:
Post a Comment