"So when 17-year-old Joseph Contreras took the mound for Brazil against Team USA in the World Baseball Classic last night, we were rapt. The son of former White Sox pitcher Jose Contreras is just five months older than my son, and he's a senior at Blessed Trinity Catholic School in Roswell, GA. He is pitching for Brazil because his Houston-born mother is of Brazilian descent, and it helps that the roster is thin enough to allow for a prep player to make the cut."
"It also helps that the young man is 6-foot-4 and just shy of 200 pounds with a fastball that approaches triple digits. As fun as it was to see the kid firing upper-90s heaters, what I liked the most about his 33-pitch outing is that he was clearly rattled by the magnitude of the moment. So many of these phenoms seem to be almost robotic, but Contreras looked like a teenager. And that's a good thing."
"He had trouble finding the zone as he misfired glove-side frequently, likely because he was jacked on adrenaline and was trying to do too much. Even so, he managed to record four outs against the best lineup in the world, even forcing Aaron Judge to ground into a broken-bat double play."
Joseph Contreras, a 17-year-old senior at Blessed Trinity Catholic School in Georgia, pitched for Brazil against Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. The son of former White Sox pitcher Jose Contreras qualifies for Brazil through his mother's Brazilian descent. Standing 6-foot-4 with a fastball approaching triple digits, Contreras threw 33 pitches and recorded four outs against the American lineup. Unlike many young phenoms who appear robotic, Contreras displayed visible nervousness, struggling with control as he misfired glove-side frequently due to adrenaline. Despite his struggles, he forced Aaron Judge into a broken-bat double play, demonstrating composure against elite competition.
#world-baseball-classic #youth-baseball #joseph-contreras #high-school-pitcher #international-competition
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