It’s almost like Jack Slightom is a completely different person than he was four years ago.
“I was 5-6 freshman year,” the Lyons senior said.
He was a catcher then, too.
Now he’s a 6-5 pitcher, lighting up radar guns and wearing size 16 cleats — well, when he can locate some.
“Oh my gosh, those are impossible to find,” Slightom said. “I’m shoving (my feet) into 15s right now.”
That’s been about the only complication this spring for Slightom, who is one of the top prospects heading into the MLB Draft on July 11-12.
He had a no-decision when the Lions fell 5-4 to St. Laurence in the Do It Stevie’s Way Tournament semifinals May 22 at Ozinga Field, pitching two-hit ball over six innings with two walks and 12 strikeouts.
The key stat, though, was 97 mph: the speed of the right-hander’s fastest pitch of the night, according to the Windy City ThunderBolts’ speed gun. He had many more pitches in the 90s, including some at 95 and 96.
That was nothing new, according to Lyons coach Kevin Diete.
“He’s been topping out at 96 and he’s been consistently 92, 94 through most of the game,” Diete said.
Combine that with some effective offspeed pitches — a slider, a sinker and a changeup — and it’s no wonder Slightom sits at 123rd in ESPN’s draft prospect rankings.
“To be honest, I didn’t start truly working on those pitches until about a year ago,” Slightom said. “That’s pretty much when I started becoming a pitcher. I started throwing harder. And then once I started throwing harder, I started to learn how to spin the breaking ball and throw the changeup.
“And my pitching coach, Logan Schmitt, has helped me with that like crazy, We’ve worked all offseason to really dial down those pitches, get the shapes how we want. We’re still trying to get the slider a little harder.”
Slightom, who is committed to Cincinnati for baseball, was a three-sport athlete as a freshman. He stopped playing basketball, but has continued with football and baseball — even as it’s become clear where his future lies.
“I was always a little guy until junior year I started to grow and then senior year I started to really put on muscle and grow,” Slightom said.
At that point, there was no way he wasn’t going to play one more football season.
He was the starting quarterback for the Lions, who went 8-3 and reached the second round of the Class 8A playoffs last fall.
“Not many people can experience that,” Slightom said. “And being able to do that is something I was so happy I did.”
Not many prep baseball players get drafted, either. Slightom will deal with that when the time comes.
“I mean, right now I’m playing high-school baseball,” he said. “That’s what I’ve told pretty much everyone who has asked me that question — like people who’ve asked me, ‘Do you see the scouts?
“You just kind of block them out — you get too caught up in high-school baseball and having fun and playing with your guys, guys you’ve played with forever.”