Speed, size and oh yes, talent, have allowed Justin Lange to make his pitch for a spot on a major league team. He has reached a rung of the ladder that maybe as many make it as one designated piece of rice would be picked from a box.
One June 10, the Llano High right hander was not simply chosen in the Major League Draft, but he was picked in the first round by San Diego, 34th overall from all the high school and college youngsters in the country. Maybe the first Jacket chosen in this grab-bag of a Macy-store full of gifts.
“Growing up {yes} I was hoping I’d make my way to the big leagues,” Justin said at his celebration party. “It’s great to represent my town and school.”
ESPN.com “He’s the highest riser of kids.” Why? “A dreamy fastball.”
The fastball of Justin has been clocked at 95-98 miles per hour. Scouts have visited ballparks for a couple of years. The ultimate night was February 24, the opening game of this season at Marble Falls. More than two dozen filled the stands behind home plate with their speed guns aimed as well as if they were Wyatt Earp at the OK Corral. Justin told me, “The scouts didn’t bother me.” Neither did the Mustangs: Nine strikeouts in the 12 men he faced; no hits, one walk.
“They couldn’t hit anything he threw,” offered catcher Kimble Schuessler, a Texas A&M commit. “{When} he throws like that, nobody’s going to hit him.”
Justin’s dad, Craig, surprised longtime baseball observer, John Crabb, by admitting, “It wasn’t till between his junior and senior year that we really thought seriously about the draft.” Lange spent time that summer at some pretty exclusive baseball camps.
“He worked like no one I’ve seen before,” declared LHS Head Coach, Todd Doucet. “I told scouts he was a workhorse.”
In 13 innings of the painfully shortened 2020 season, Justin struck out 27 and gave up a run on four hits. In 2019, his earned run average was near 2.00, and he fanned a batter per inning. In complete games on March 29 and April 18, Justin allowed no earned runs and K’d 14 in 14 innings.
MLB Pipeline: “Lange repeatedly reached the upper 90s this spring and touched 100. He has one of the best bodies in the class.” That would be 6-4, 220.
Can he handle the adjustment of high school to pro ball? “100 percent {yes},” answered his trainer Justin Rippy. “Adjustment period {yes}, but he’s physically and mentally ready; he’ll catch on quickly.”
What he needs to catch on to, apparently, is throwing an effective slider and a changeup. Teammate Case Kuykendall says: “He’ll have the best coaches,” and, echoing Doucet, “He’s the hardest working guy I know.”
“I feel they’ll come around,” contends Lange, concerning the two aforementioned deliveries. He even believes, “The fastball can get faster.”
Mad Friars says, “The {Padre} organization seems to see a lot of upside in the young righty.”
Justin Low, who will pitch for Angelo State this school year, was as close to Lange as first names can get. About this draft day success: “He deserves every bit of it,” Low said at the June 11 party. And about San Diego: “Best place for a pitcher.” The weather is awfully nice.
Oh, the money is awfully nice, too. Lange is in line for a $2-million bonus. Decent starting-job pay.
The young man has earned it with years of workouts, throwing in the bullpen, hurling on days off, and on the mound on Game Day. Doucet states: “What a tribute to the Lange family and the town of Llano.”
