Rafe Schlesinger (Sachem East 2021) is a Miami-commit that is among the top pitchers in the region. He helped Sachem East to the postseason in 2019 as a sophomore and was slated to be their ace this season.
Here’s what he had to say on last night’s IG Live…
-He has been long-tossing weekly as well as throwing bullpen sessions. He likes to long-toss up to 100 yards on a football field to stretch it out because it’s tough to ease back on the effort.
-Throws weekly bullpens with Neal Heaton, he has been going to him for several years and is comfortable with his style of coaching.
-Developing a change up has been important because you can’t blow fastballs past every hitter so harness a good feel for it to progress in the game.
-He feels that he struggles more against lefties than righties because it feels like you are going to hit them.
-Despite striking out Tommy Verga the first time he faced him, he has been unable to retire him since then. Nick LoMonaco is another hitter that impressed him.
-Playing with two Division-I catchers has been a blessing (Don Wille and Ryan Micheli). They are both great leaders and important to a team. He has been impressed with Don’s natural strength. Despite seeing him in the gym frequently, he is the type of athlete that doesn’t need to lift weights to be strong.
-When he first got to varsity as a 9th grader he felt like a boy among men but last year he began to feel like he belonged. The turning point was his 13-K performance against Brentwood even though he was a year younger than most of them.
–Ty Acker‘s opening day walk-off hit was a ton of fun and it was a thrill to beat a league rival in that fashion.
-Pitching in Georgia in front of big-time schools was a little nerve-wracking on the way to the stadium but he performed well (5 innings) and they offered him when he got back to the hotel.
-Many people noticed on Axcess Baseball that he had committed to Miami and began to congratulate him and it was a surreal feeling.
-He went to Miami in November was loved how amazing the facility is and also how they made him feel special despite the fact that there was between 11 and 15 other players there.
-He will be participating in the Area Code Games this summer.
-He was worried that Body Armor players would be very serious and not joke around but he has been pleasantly surprised that they have sense of humors to keep the mood light and the players have great chemistry. He only played against one player during school ball (Gio Cocchiaro) but he did not pitch that day.
-He’s hoping to face some of them in the playoffs next season.
-He touched 92 on the radar gun during a workout this winter – which was the hardest he’s ever thrown.
-Favorite athlete: Gleybar Torres
-Favorite movie: The Sandlot
-Favorite Netflix Show: Too Hot To Handle
-iPhone or Android: iPhone
-Favorite App on phone: Instagram
-Dream car: Tesla
-Favorite vacation: Cruise to anywhere
-Best baseball trip: Georgia
-Favorite meal: Jersey Mike’s Italian Sub
