Prep Baseball Report

Q&A with William Woods Commit RHP Mitchel Brown (St. Louis Patriots Homeschool, 2015)



Shon Plack
Missouri Scouting Director

RHP Mitchel Brown (St. Louis Patriots, 2015) is a projectable 6-foot-2, 185-pound right-handed pitcher.  At the Class of 2015 Prospect Games, Brown showed a delivery with deception and a high ¾ delivery with short arm action. Mitchel throws with easy effort and is slightly uphill. Brown's fastball velocity ranged between 81-84 MPH, and his curveball was at 69-73 MPH with 11/5 tilt with late break. He picked up 2 strikeouts during his outing on August 17.

Brown will play for William Woods after graduation. Here is a look into his recruiting process. 

PBR: Did location or distance from home play a factor in your decision?

Brown: Yes, it was a “large” factor in a way.  In one sense, the schools that were too far from us did not contact us.  Distance was a factor though we wanted a school close enough for parents to make visits, but not close enough for parents to drop by randomly.

PBR: Where did the college you chose first see you? How did your relationship develop with them?

Brown: I am unsure when they first saw me, but in some ways it was my entire 16U year.  My coach, Tim Canavan, actually brought William Woods and I together.  Then in my 17u year Coach Munns saw me and then we exchanged some emails and phone calls.  He watched me throw and I made a campus trip and all was good.

PBR: Who is the best player you have faced in Missouri, and why?

Brown: I don't know if there was a single best player that I have played against, but the 18u Rawlings Prospects gave me the most trouble by far.  Due to their presence at the plate and their ability to burn me for mistakes. It made for a very hard time.

PBR: At what point in your career did you realize you were an elite player and became serious about taking your game to the next level?

Brown: Last year was really the first year I became a threat as a pitcher.  I had not yet developed speed but I had accuracy and my sinker to jam hitters and force ground balls and pop ups.

PBR: What were you looking for out of a college program to continue your baseball career at?

Brown: I was looking for a Coach who used to be a pitcher, so he knew exactly how to handle me as a player.  I was also looking for a team on the rise, that had a similar atmosphere to the team I was already on. 

PBR: What advice would you give to young baseball players striving to get where you are?

Brown: Find the right coach or team, who will be able to help and guide you.  Then work as hard as you can, and take every game seriously.

PBR: What do you do in the offseason to keep yourself in baseball shape and prepare for the upcoming season

Brown: During the off season I play fall ball with both of my club teams, Stl Pirates and homeschool Stl Patriots, while during the winter I work out with the P3: weight lifting, yoga and pitching drills with Brian Delunas and Josh Kesel. To hopefully gain mileage and recoup my arm for the next season.

PBR: What is the most memorable moment in your baseball career to this point?

Brown: I have no one memorable moment.  I remember all sorts of meaningful encounters and events that I either enjoyed or took pride in.

PBR: hat do you like most about William Woods and what were the key factors in making your decision?

Brown: The key factors were: distance, campus size, campus style (pace of life on campus), the athletics, the academics (making sure the major I wanted was available), coaching style, food possibilities and the recommendation of my former coach.

PBR: When did the recruiting process really start to heat up for you? Was there a particular game or event that you feel turned the corner for you?

Brown: The reason I knew this summer was going to be good, is that during the end of high school season I had a game where I started throwing harder then normal.  At this point I could not hit the strike zone for my life but speed was speed.  The next outing, a week or so later, I went out throwing just as hard only accurately too.  Then my coach, Rick Strickland, asked me to start throwing a cutter and that quickly escalated into a slider/slurve which became my out pitch, and really gave me a strong offensive pitching style.

PBR: Preview the 2015 high school season for us. How do you feel your team will be? What are your expectations and goals?

Brown: I do not know how my high school season will go with the Stl Patriots, We lost 10 seniors this year which means we will have a young varsity team, but last year our younger team was very solid so I  have high hopes. My goals for the spring are namely just to keep improving to be ready for college baseball.

PBR: Where do you play in the summer? And what has been your most memorable experience with them?

Brown: I played with the St. Louis Pirates.  There were many memorable moments ,but the most memorable event at this point only recently happened.  I told my coaches, Rick Strickland Brian Delunas and Tim Canavan, that I commit and they were ecstatic for me, because they knew the many hours of hard work I had put into reaching this level.

    I have loved my time with the Pirates and would not trade anything for it, the hard work and long hours were worth the effort.  The friends I have made and hope to see later in life, as well as the coaches and players I have grown to respect and rely on.  I am glad I am a player who gets to carry on the Pirate “legacy” and I hope to see many more join me in the years to come.

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