There’s a saying in sports that to be the best, you have to beat the best, and having the desire to compete against the best is a characteristic that, many times, separates the prospects from the suspects. It’s also a characteristic that Jacob Cantleberry, a left-handed pitcher in the Dodgers organization, has shown his whole life.

Center Grove High School

Cantleberry went to Center Grove High School in Greenwood, Indiana, and had an award-winning prep career under Keith Hatfield, the 2022 District Coach of the Year as awarded by the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association. As a Trojan Cantleberry was named the Johnson County Player of the Year, the two-time Indiana Daily Journal Player of the Year, was also recognized as a Central Region Preseason All-American, and was rated as the #3 Left-handed pitcher and #11 overall recruit in Indiana by Perfect Game. He was widely known as one the most talented pitchers in his Region, but he was equally as well known for his desire to compete against the best and showed that when he chose San Jac. to further his career in College. San Jacinto Junior College is one of the most historic college baseball programs of all time and is led by Tom Arrington who is one of the winningest coaches of all time. When asked about his time at San Jac., here’s what Cantleberry had to say:

San. Jac. was one of my favorite baseball experiences. I was there for 2 years. The way they ran the program, and the talent I got to play with every year was fantastic. We had 10+ draftees in my Freshman and Sophomore years, and we had a lot of guys that went to big schools, so it was very competitive, and I made a lot of really good friends there.

San Jac to Mizzou

After 2 great years of playing against the best competition at the JUCO level, the lefty from Indiana had offers from Arizona, Arizona State, and Houston to further his career, but eventually settled in on Mizzou after taking a trip to Columbia. While on his visit he loved everything about Mizzou, its campus, its facilities, the coaching staff, and the fact that they could offer him the chance to play in college baseball’s best conference, the SEC. Cantleberry chose to be a Tiger and he’s glad he did.

I went on a visit not expecting too much, but the campus was beautiful, the facilities were great, I really liked the staff there with Coach Bieser and Coach Corral, and I wanted to play in the SEC. I wanted to play against great competition and I was really big on playing the best amateur baseball I possibly could.

Mizzou to Dodgers

Cantleberry spent one very good year at Mizzou, and flashed big stuff in the premier role as the Friday night starter for the Tigers striking out 97 hitters in 72.1 innings, and got drafted by the Dodgers in the 13th round of the 2019 draft after his Junior year. Turning pro, especially with an organization like the Dodgers, was a no-brainer of a decision for the young lefty as he was ready and excited to get his professional career started. Here’s what he had to say about turning pro.

I was ready, and playing professional baseball has always been my goal, and, when the Dodgers drafted me it was a no-brainer. It was a surprise because the Dodgers were not one of the teams I talked to before the draft, so it was a blessing. My experience as a Dodger has been fantastic. The development, the staff we have, and the amount of things I’ve learned since I got drafted is incredible.

Cantleberry finished 2019 in Rookie ball at Ogden, then spent most of 2021 in High A Great Lakes where he started this year before being moved to AA Tulsa in Mid August.

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Cantleberry has always had a + changeup, but worked really hard with the developmental staff and developed a slider to add to his 4-seam fastball that sat 91-92 towards the end of this year.  Click the video to get a good look at his fastball, and one thing to notice is how well he hides the ball, so it seems to get “on” the hitter quicker than they expect.

Slider

Cantleberry has always had a deceptive fastball and a + changeup, but added a slider to his arsenal this year and it has turned into a really good pitch. His fastball gives hitters the “rising effect and his change up gave hitters the tumbling effect, and it also gives him a “right-turn”. By developing a slider, he now has a pitch that can take a right turn, so now has every different shape to present to hitters. He can throw his slider to the back-door or the back-foot. Click the video to see his slider for yourself.

Changeup

Cantleberry’s changeup looks identical to his fastball coming out of his hand, and the way he hides the ball, trying to figure out the velocity and/or movement of his pitches is very tough for hitters. Click on the video to see a sequence of Cantleberry changeups.

Deception

I’ve eluded to it on a couple occasions, but one of the things that makes Cantleberry so effective is how he hides the ball. If you click on the video you will see this effect in action and notice how the hitter can’t see the ball until right at the release point. That deception makes the hitter feel as if the pitch gets on them faster than they expect, and it also makes identifying spin much tougher because Cantleberry makes it impossible to find tips like the type of grip he has on the ball.

Final Thoughts

Cantleberry is used to playing in the most competitive of environments and against the best competition, so the competition that he faces in the Dodgers system is something that he will embrace and will make him better. I would like to finish by saying thank you to Jacob for taking the time to talk, it was a pleasure to get to meet this young man and I am very grateful to have had the chance to tell at least a part of his story. Jacob is an incredible young man and one that fits in perfectly with the Dodgers culture between his work ethic, the kind of person he is, and the talent he possesses. He has the world at his fingertips and it is going to be fun to watch his future in the organization.

Kyle Hurt is a prospect in the Dodgers organization that fits all of the descriptions of what clubs are looking for in a pitcher. He has great size, big stuff, and the bloodlines of a champion. Prospects with the background and talent of Hurt don’t come from the “old school”, nor do they come from the”new school”, rather, they come from the “right school”, and know how to maximize their potential.

Featured Image by Tim Campbell/Milb

Around Greatness

Hurt’s dad Kevin played football at Ole Miss and his grandpa played at the University of Tampa and eventually the NFL, so they understood the value in playing as many sports as you can as a kid and encouraged Kyle to do so. As a result, Kyle played just about everything as a kid in San Diego, and it gave him a wide variety of experiences that taught him all about how to handle both success and failure, and how to earn everything he gets.

Growing up my grandfather and my father were big dudes, and I always wanted to be as big as them, and they had a huge impact on me. My dad always wanted me to play multiple sports and I played football, basketball, baseball, and I even played Lacrosse competitively for a while so I did a lot of things.  My dad was always there watching practice and taking me to Tournaments and all that stuff so he’s been through it all with me, and I’m happy when he gets to come out and watch games and see the success that I have.

Torrey Pines

Hurt has had great mentors around every corner in his life, starting with his family, but he has also been trained by great coaches as well. In High School, at Torrey Pines in San Diego, his coach was MLB veteran Kirk McCaskill who had a 12-year career in the Major Leagues. Getting the opportunity to train and tutor underneath a 12-year MLB veteran in High School is an opportunity most kids don’t get and Hurt took advantage of it and learned the process of how to approach baseball, the feel for how the game works, and how to act professionally, all lessons that he is very thankful for.

It was really cool because he obviously has been around baseball for a long time and he treated me well. He coached me on the things I needed to be coached about and taught me about feel and what not to do and what to do on the field especially.

Under the tutelage of McCaskill, Hurt was a 4-year starter, became an Under Armour and Perfect Game All-American, was named to the All-CIF second team during both his Junior and Senior years, was all League his last 2 years as a Falcon, pitched 4 shutouts as a Junior and had a 1.51 ERA overall for his career. After finishing his great career at Torrey Pines, the big right-hander had options and eventually decided to play for Dan Hubbs at USC and to be a Trojan. Hurt knew all about the history of the school and also knew some of the players on the Trojan team, which helped his decision to move North to LA.

Yeah, it was pretty cool. CJ Stubbs and Garrett Stubbs went to Torrey Pines and I got to play with them at USC so that had an impact on my decision. But I visited a whole bunch of other schools and USC seemed pretty cool and I’ve always known about their football and baseball history and Coach Hubbs is a good guy who is definitely a players coach. On the field he’ll bark at you a little bit, but, at the end of the day he has trust in you and he wants you to do the best you can, so I appreciated all the trust he had in me.

Coast to Coast

Hurt recorded 170 strikeouts in 172.2 innings during his 3 years at USC and had a WHIP of just 0.89 and it was enough to catch the attention of the Marlins who drafted him in the 5th round of the 2020 draft. Although the San Diego native still had 2 years of eligibility left when he was drafted, being drafted in the 5th round makes it a pretty easy decision. Also, keep in mind that there were only 5 rounds in the 2020 draft, so the day he got drafted was a day he will never forget.

Yeah, it was a weird day because of Covid but it was a good time. It was just me and my family watching the draft together so it was definitely a moment to remember that day.

Although the Marlins drafted the former USC Trojan, as fate would have it, he would never pitch in a game for them. In February of 2021, just ahead of his first professional Spring Training, the 6’3 flame thrower was traded with Alex Vesia in exchange for Dylan Floro sending him back to Southern California where he grew up. Although being traded came as a shock, Hurt, his family and his agent were very excited that he was joining one of the best organizations in all of baseball.

The trade was definitely something I was not expecting. I was in West Palm getting ready for Spring Training and on my way to play golf one day and I got a call and was told to pull over. I was like why? I was told that I had just been traded and I was in complete shock because I hadn’t even thrown in a game for the Marlins yet. I called my parents and my agent and they all said that it was huge because the Dodgers are one of the best organizations in baseball.

With a big Kyle Hurt smile he added:

Later I got an ESPN notification, and I was like Wow, it must be official.

On to the Dodgers

Hurt started last year, 2021, at the complex in the ACL league, was promoted to Rancho Cucamonga at the beginning of August, and finished the year strong by posting a 1.17 ERA in September as well as a WHIP of just 0.65. He carried a lot of momentum into this year and hasn’t let it slow. He started in 2022 with High A Great Lakes and threw a 5 inning no-hitter for the Loons before being moved to Tulsa at the beginning of July. He has 7 performances with the Drillers and in his last outing on August 11, he showcased just how good his stuff is going 4 innings scoreless and striking out 9. The 6’3 right-hander has a big fastball, and a big future as well.

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Hurt is a 4 pitch pitcher that features a fastball that has been hitting 97, a slider at 87, a change-up at 87, and a curve ball at 80. Here is a sequence of fastballs that range from 95-97. Because the pitch has good spin rate he is able to carry the bottom of the zone with it and get a good “riding” effect at the top of the zone.

When you can hit 97 with your fastball, then throw a changeup that looks identical coming out of the hand, it makes it extremely difficult on hitters. The change-up is a great pitch for power pitchers like Hurt because there is very little if anything for the hitter to pick up that would let them know that the change-up is coming instead of the fastball. Then, when you can get it to tumble and fade as Hurt can, you have the ingredients for something that is very special.

Hurt also features a slider that has hit as high as 91 this year but is generally in the 87-88 range.

Hurt also features a 12-6 shaped curveball that ranges from 78 to 80.

Wrapping Up

As you can tell, Hurt has all the big stuff needed to be a Major League pitcher for many years. He has the big fastball, and 4 pitches, he’s very competitive and he has grown up in an environment with his family and coaches where everything has been earned.  There are so many talented players in Minor League baseball that, many times, the ones who get the breaks are the ones who understand the concept of earning everything you get and putting a daily process in place to make it happen. Hurt has that process, he’s put it in place, he understands the value of it, and when you match that with a 97 mph fastball, a 91 mph slider, a tumbling and fading 90 mph changeup, then a 78-80 mph curveball, it’s easy to see that he has a big future ahead.

I wanted to finish by saying thanks to Kyle for spending time to talk and allowing me to tell at least a part of his story. It was an honor to meet this young man and I can not wait to watch his future.