By Pete Cava
PBR Indiana Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS – “Never pitched here,” said Jeremy Kehrt, gazing out at Victory Field’s confines prior to this year’s final regular-season meeting between his team, the Pawtucket Red Sox, and the Indianapolis Indians.  “I watched a million games though, down the third-base line with my family.” 

Kehrt didn’t get a chance during the four game series.  The right-hander, a graduate of Plainfield High School and the University of Southern Indiana, has been on the disabled list since April 25.  “I’m ready to go right now,” he said.  “I’m waiting for a spot to come open to come back off it.” 

As far back as his days in Little League’s PeeWee Division, Kehrt wanted to be a hurler.  “I told my parents I wanted to pitch as soon as I got the chance,” he recalled.  “Once I turned nine, I was pitching ever since.”  

At Plainfield, he took part in two sports.  “I played basketball right up to my junior year,” he said.  “Then I wanted to focus on baseball for the final two years.” 

The center fielder on the Plainfield baseball team was Kehrt’s brother Eric.  “He's two years younger than me,” said Jeremy.  “He could hit.  He was the one that could hit home runs.  I was the one that could just throw.” 

In 2004, his senior year, Kehrt went 8-2 with a 3.09 earned run average to help the Quakers win county and conference titles.  “We had a big group of seniors that really stuck together,” he said.  “It was the first time we had a winning record in probably eight or ten years.” 

Kehrt, who also played for the Indianapolis Bulldogs travel team, had college offers from Southern Indiana and Indiana University.  “I grew up a Kentucky fan, so there's no way I could have gone to IU,” he joked.  “And USI seemed a better fit for me, even though it was Division II.” 

The transition to college baseball was a challenge.  “You go from high school, where it was pretty easy, and then you get to college,” Kehrt said.  “And all of a sudden, you're just some skinny little 18-year-old kid, and you're facing 21- or 22-year-old guys.  You're at the bottom of the totem pole, as far as getting the work in, and being an important factor on the team.”  

During his first two seasons at USI, Kehrt made 23 appearances and compiled an unimpressive 3-8 record.  He didn’t think he had a future in professional baseball until the summer between his sophomore and junior years, when he pitched for the Geneva Red Wings of the New York Collegiate Baseball League.  “I went 4-and-2 and started opening up eyes,” he said.  “Before that, I was just excited to play college baseball.” 

After a strong college campaign that autumn, Kehrt continued to impress as a junior in 2007.  “I think I started out the year something 3-0 or 4-0,” he said.  “Then I hit a rough patch for a month, but I was able to remain undefeated.”  He finished the season with a 6-0 slate, fueling hopes for a shot at pro ball. 

Kehrt’s eight strong innings in the regional championship game at Akron, Ohio, gave USI a berth in the eight-team Division II World Series in Montgomery, Ala.  The Screaming Eagles reached the Final Four, with Kehrt making two appearances.  “I threw twice in relief,” he said.  “The first game (against Columbus State) was pretty good.  The second game (in the semifinals), was against a better team (Tampa, which went on to win) and I had a difficult time.” 

In 2008 Kehrt closed out his college career with an 8-3 slate.  Unsure about a baseball career, he took an internship in Evansville and awaited draft day.  “I was just trying to prepare for the future,” he said.  “I didn’t know if it was going to happen or not.”

Kehrt was following the draft on his laptop when he saw his name come up.  The Boston Red Sox had taken him in the 47^th round.  “I jumped for joy,” he said.  “And five minutes later I had a phone call, saying:  ‘Hey, you’re gonna leave in three days to go to Florida!” 

Reporting to Boston’s rookie club in the Gulf Coast League, Kehrt finished the 2008 season with Greenville, S.C., in the high-A South Atlantic League.  In the off-season, he went back to school.  “I was four classes short,” he said.  “So I went back and graduated in December with a marketing degree.”  

The road through baseball’s minor leagues was just as educational.  “You're facing guys from all over the country, from the Dominican, Venezuela – the best of the best,” Kehrt said.  “Every level you go to, there's something small that speeds up in the game – something small that you learn.” 

Kehrt split the 2009 campaign between Lowell, Mass. (short-season New York-Penn), and Greenville.  He pitched for Salem, Va. (high-A Carolina), and Portland, Maine (AA Eastern), in 2010.  

Through those first three seasons, he shuttled between the bullpen and the starting rotation.  “Deep down, I’d rather be a starter,” he said.  “But for me, it doesn’t matter.  In the pen, I’m usually the long guy.  I’m going three or four innings.  So I treat it like a start, even if I’m in the bullpen.  Because I’m the guy who can go out there and give them 50 to 80 pitches an outing and be durable."

Early scouting reports on Kehrt indicate sound mechanics, very good control, and a repertoire that includes a four-seam fastball (91-93 mph) with inward movement, two-seam fastball (87-88 mph), splitter (mid-80s) and curve (75-79 mph).  “I don’t throw too many four-seams now,” he said.  “I’ve relied on my two-seam sinker to get that hard movement into the righties.  The split’s actually just a change-up that I’ve been able to throw like a split, so it’s easier on my arm.  When it’s on, it moves like a split, so it’s good for me.”  

Kehrt divided 2011 between Portland and Pawtucket and shuttled between the two clubs in 2012 and again last year.  In organizations like the Red Sox and New York Yankees – teams that are expected to contend every year – competition for jobs at the top level can be fierce.  “It’s absolutely brutal,” he said.  “But it’s good.  It makes you work harder, makes you go out there and run harder, and try to throw harder.  It makes you better-day-to-day.  I think you would be better to have the great competition we have here, than to be somewhere where you’re maybe not going to push yourself as hard.”  

In 2012-2013 Kehrt joined the Indios de Mayaguez of Puerto Rico’s winter league.  “When you get older, you want to play year-round,” he said.  “So I'm playing baseball nine, ten months a year, competitively.  Either here in the Red Sox system, or going to Puerto Rico and playing for three  months down there, just to get better and get noticed.” 

Baseball in the Caribbean, he said, is “like the big leagues.  They’re trying to win every single game.  Not that you’re not doing that here, but down there, it’s cutthroat.  It’s a business, where they’re trying to win or you’re going home.” 

Mayagez was successful during Kehrt’s two seasons with the club.  “The first year, we came in second,” he said.  “We lost in Game 6.  Last year, I got an opportunity to go back, and we ended up winning it in Game 6 against the same team (Criollos de Caguas).” 

Jeremy and his wife Meagan enjoyed spending the winter months in Mayaguez, located on Puerto Rico’s west coast.  “We felt very comfortable,” he said.  “We were able to go to all the beaches and explore down there, and they treat you very well.” 

Meagan, who was Kehrt’s high school sweetheart, learned Spanish.  “She’s kind of like my translator when I go down there,” Jeremy said.  “She can do enough to start a conversation.  I can order food, so when I go into a Burger King or a restaurant, I won’t look like an idiot.” 

Throughout his professional career, said Kehrt, Meagan has provided terrific support. 

“She travels around with me and works random jobs,” he said.  “Right now she’s working at the Sheraton Hotel in Providence.  No matter where I am, she said she’d go around and support my dream.”  

Along the way, Kehrt has been willing to give back.  At Portland in 2011, he received the team’s Citizen of the Year Award for community service.  “I enjoy going to schools and talking to kids,” he said.  “It’s kind of cool to go to schools and say, ‘I play baseball, but I also have my degree, so whenever I’m done, I’ll have another option."

For the past four seasons, Kehrt – who turns 29 next December – has spent time in the AAA International League, just one step away from the majors.  Is it ever frustrating to be that close for this long? 

“The chance that you know you’re just a phone call away is more exciting than frustrating,” he said.  “And you actually have an opportunity to go out there and have a good month, a good two months, and maybe get that phone call.”  

“I always told my wife and told my family I’d give myself to 30 to see where I’m at in this game.  I’m getting pretty close there, and I feel like I still have a lot more to give.  So I’m just going to play this game as long as my body – and as long as a team – will give me an opportunity to go out there and pitch.”