Sports

Illinois High School Pitcher Joins Exclusive MLB Club By Pumping 102 MPH As 18-Year-Old Lefty

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Jack Bauer Pitcher High School 102 MLB Draft
Lincoln-Way High School Athletics / © Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

Jack Bauer is currently the most talked-about high school baseball player in the country after he made history earlier this week. No, not that Jack Bauer…

I am talking about the left-handed pitcher who will likely be drafted in the first three rounds of the upcoming MLB Draft!

Bauer, a newly-minted 18-year-old, serves as the ace for Lincoln-Way East High School in Frankfort, Illinois. He is considered one of the best southpaw in high school baseball and recently joined a very exclusive club that only includes the most elite of big leaguers.

At 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, Bauer looks every bit the part of a star pitcher. The University of Virginia received his commitment to play college baseball but it seems unlikely that he will make it to campus. MLB teams are chomping at the bit. There is a very bright professional career ahead of him.

Bauer has a high-energy, deceptive delivery with a low 3/4 arm slot. It bears striking resemblance to James Paxton.

He matches a wicked fastball with a sweeping curveball that can reach 3,000+ RPMs. He also mixes in a slider as well as the occasional funky gyro-cutter. Perfect Game already grades him as a perfect 10 prospect and he just keeps getting better.

Jack Bauer’s off-speed stuff pairs nicely with his nasty cheddar. The combination creates an at-bat that is impossible to figure out when he is throwing strikes.

His slider sits anywhere between 80-85 miles per hour. The changeup can drop as low as 80 but typically hovers between 85-89. And then there’s the fastball, which is Bauer’s best pitch!

There are only a few lefty starters in Major League Baseball history to throw 101+ miles per hour. Those names include James Paxton, Cole Ragans, Garrett Crochet, Chris Sale and reigning Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. At 102 miles per hour, there is just one — Randy Johnson.

Make that two! Bauer was clocked at 102 during his start on Tuesday and hit triple digits seven times in just the first inning.

Here’s another look at 102.1mph from the left side:

Johnson is a first-ballot Hall of Famer who stood 6-foot-10 inches tall. Jack Bauer is an 18-year-old high school kid who measures seven inches shorter than the Big Unit.

For the latter to throw just as fast as the former is insane. To do so against high school bats in downright unfair. That is the equivalent of approximately 114 miles per hour with the shorter mound distance. Crazy.

The Cavaliers would obviously love to get Bauer in their rotation for the next three years but it sure seems like a professional career is waiting. Remember the name!