Simley's LaShomb: Big bat in the making

Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune

Simley High School catcher Alex LaShomb, 15, has been on varsity since eighth grade and is already attracting attention from major-league teams.

Simley catcher Alex LaShomb is a 6-3, 230-pound sophomore who's finding his power stroke.

By BRIAN STENSAAS, Star Tribune

Last update: April 8, 2008 - 5:08 PM

It's 15 minutes before practice, and Simley's baseball team is getting antsy.

The restlessness becomes increasingly loud in a narrow hallway outside of a locker room. By the time coach Scott Karlen unlocks the doors to the gym, the bulk of the team's manner has become sophomoric.

That is, save sophomore catcher Alex LaShomb.

When approached by a reporter, the 15-year-old is a polite player of few words. But his play on the field is speaking volumes.

"He's big, he's strong, he hits for power and he has a strong arm," Karlen said. "He's the best catcher we've come across. He has a bright future ahead of him."

LaShomb is already 6-3 and 230 pounds, and Karlen said he doesn't believe he is done growing physically or as a player. He is not alone.

The Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox have inquired about LaShomb's skills.

"He's handling it well," Karlen said of the attention. "He's a good kid."

As a seventh grader, LaShomb was already one of the bigger players in Simley's program and led the JV team in hitting. The next spring, he made varsity and hit .290 mostly as a designated hitter. Last year, he hit .300 catching every game for the Spartans.

Following Simley's 9-15 season -- a vast improvement for a team that was 1-20 in 2005 -- LaShomb joined the 16-year-old summer VFW team and had his coming-out party.

Against players a level older, Karlen said LaShomb hit .688 with six home runs over the summer.

"He really started to dominate," Karlen said.

After successful stints with Simley's football and wrestling teams this year, LaShomb now is ready to help the baseball team emerge.

"I've always wanted to be a leader," LaShomb said. "I want to set a good example that others can follow. I like having people look up to me."

With his frame, that's an easy task, literally. Figuratively, it's coming around as well.

Aside from honing his skills behind the plate at offseason catching camps with former Twins player Tim Laudner, LaShomb has also gotten better at recognizing pitches.

And then there's that magical bat.

Karlen tells a story of how LaShomb borrowed a teammate's bat last summer and hit a pair of opposite-field home runs. Immediately, LaShomb talked of fundraising enough money to get an exact model.

"That shows the fun part of the kid," Karlen said. "He believes it's the bat. 'Gosh darn it, I need that bat.' The 15-year-old in him thinks that's what hit the 360, 370-foot home run, not that he can take an outside fastball and knock it out of the park."

LaShomb has not yet hit a varsity home run. Ask anyone, though, and they'll tell you it's just a matter of time.

"He brings a lot of talent for a young guy," pitcher Matt Hanse said. "It doesn't matter how old you are. If you have talent, you play."

This is a Simley team that has a lot of skill up and down the line and is hoping to erase the not-too-distant memory of being a one-win team.

Aside from standouts LaShomb and Hanse, the Spartans also return pitcher Rick Rooney and have a speedy center fielder with some power at the plate in Mic Berg.

If the team can deliver runs, it figures to be a contender in the Classic Suburban Conference.

"We need to do the right things; move runners over at the right time," Karlen said. "And we need a break here and there. With that, I think we'll surprise a lot of people this year."