Crack of the Bat
By David Rawnsley
JOSE CUETO: AN UNSIGNED SENIOR GEM
At the end of the 2004 Braddock High School baseball season, Jose Cueto had no scholarship offers waiting to encourage him to keep playing baseball. Not even any offers from local junior colleges. Obviously he was passed on by all 30 MLB clubs in the draft.
That's when his mother, Anna, came to him and told him about a Perfect Game event coming up, the Unsigned Senior Showcase, a new event then on the Perfect Game calendar. The Unsigned Senior Showcase features players from across the country who have not signed with a college, many of whom are talented prospects who have just slipped under the recruiter's radar.
"She said that it sounded perfect for me," recalls Cueto. "I really went to it just for her. I was thinking that it was maybe my last chance to play baseball in front of my mom."
Cueto had excelled for Brito Prep in Miami as a junior, hitting .438 on a team that lost in the state 1A championship game and being named honorable mention All Dade County. But his family moved between his junior and senior seasons. Cueto originally started off his senior year at Southridge HS. But because of rules on transferring, Cueto would have been ineligible to play at Southridge, so he transferred again to Braddock.
According to Cueto, he didn't play much early in the year because of the returning players to the Braddock outfield, then came on late after all the recruiters and scouts had passed the team over. Thus the lack of college offers and the resignation about his future baseball chances.
To say that Cueto's motivation to please his mom was a bit premature wouldn't be much of an exaggeration. Cueto attended the Unsigned Senior Showcase held in Fort Myers June 16-17, 2004 and although there were many Division I caliber prospects at the Boston Red Sox Complex, the multi-tooled Cueto stood out.
Here is the scouting report that Perfect Game filed on Cueto after the event.
Cueto was far and away the best prospect at the Unsigned Showcase. He's a 6-2, 185 lb. athlete with very draftable tools and well above average grades and academic standing to boot. We understand that transferring schools twice in the very competitive Miami high school environment cost him playing time and exposure during his senior year, thus his unsigned status. Cueto's bat speed and power are first rate, he's a 6.8 runner and throws 91 mph from the outfield. Cueto also threw an inning from the mound and his arm strength carries over, although his pitching mechanics are very raw. He threw 86-87 mph when he kept his release point up and snapped off a couple of nice sliders in the mid-70's. He can play and be a major factor at any Division I program in the country. He's a potential early round pick out of college and he's an excellent student.
Says Cueto, from his cell phone on the team bus on the way to a weekend series with North Carolina State, "The day after the event ended, the coach from Virginia Tech called, along with numerous other coaches from Division I schools, smaller schools and some junior colleges. I went up to Virginia to visit about a week and a half later and signed shortly after that."
Anna Cueto has her choice of games to watch her son play now. As a freshman, Cueto has started all 17 games for Virginia Tech entering their April 1-3 series with North Carolina State. He has played both right field and centerfield and has moved from 7th in the lineup to his present clean up position. Cueto is hitting .366 with 3 home runs, 15 Rbi's and 15 runs scored, putting him on pace to be one of the top freshman hitters in the country. Included in those impressive totals was the March 6 game against ACC rival Maryland, when Cueto went 3-5 with 2 home runs, a double and 5 Rbi's in a 13-12 win.
Coming up after the North Carolina State series is a home weekend against new ACC member Miami. As a Miami native, Cueto is definitely aware of that match up.
"I caught a lot of grief back at home growing up because I was a big Florida Gator fan instead of being for the Hurricanes. All I want to do now is help my team win some games against them. But it will be extra fun next year when we go down to Miami to play them."
Now that his baseball career has been resurrected, Cueto knows that he might have a chance of playing professional ball after college. But he is also a National Honor Society student with other big plans. Cueto is a Biology major at Virginia Tech on a pre-med path and wants to become a pediatrician eventually should baseball not work out. He almost shyly admits that he's a pretty good student. He is certainly a well spoken, bright young man with a great future in either of his potential careers.
This year's Unsigned Senior Showcase will again be held at the Boston Red Sox 5-Plex in Fort Myers, June 13-14. There may or may not be as talented a prospect as Jose Cueto there, especially one ready to step right in and star at an ACC program, but there are sure to be numerous quality DI college players. A Virginia Tech coach will certainly be among the many, many college representatives in attendance, too.
If you would like to request an Invite for 2005 Unsigned Senior Showcase, please fill out this form.