Post-surgery, Burnett out to prove that he can still pitch

BY STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

This is not the path Alec Burnett envisioned when he graduated from Columbus (Ind.) East High School in 2018.
He saw himself going to college to become a physical therapist.
Burnett didn’t know at the time that he would change his major. Nor did he realize he was still going to work with P.T.’s, only he would be the patient.
Born with an extra tricep in his right arm, Burnett began having pain when his arm muscles grew. The muscle slip was entwined with the ulnar nerve in his elbow, causing numbness and pain as he pitched for the University of Indianapolis baseball team.
“I was experiencing extreme pain,” says Burnett. “It was if it was hitting my funny bone 1,000 times. We weren’t sure what it was. I knew it was on the outside of my arm. It felt muscular.
“And it was taking my 88 to 90 mph (fastball) down to 80 to 84 mph. But as frustrating as that was I was still getting outs so we kept rolling with it.”
Bulked up to 205 pounds from 160 when he entered college, the distance between the muscle and nerves for Burnett had narrowed.
Add to that the violent motion that comes with pitching a baseball and something had to give and the condition revealed itself.
“It’s not if you’re going to get hurt, it’s when you’re going to get hurt,” says Burnett. “That motion is just not sustainable.”
A posterior shoulder impingement caused Burnett to sit out the 2019 UIndy season as a redshirt.
He tossed two innings for the Greyhounds before the 2020 campaign was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, Burnett had a role to fill on the Indianapolis staff.
“I was the jam guy or fireman or whatever you want to call it,” says Burnett, who ripped five or six pitches in the bullpen then came into a high-intensity situation on short notice. “There might be runners on second and third with one out in a one-run ball game and I’d come in and mitigate the damage.
“I did tremendous out of that role.”
Pitching through pain, Burnett worked in 13 games and 19 innings in 2021 and went 2-0 with 3.79 earned run average, 30 strikeouts and 11 walks for then-pitching coach Landon Hutchison. His WHIP (walks and hit per innings pitched) was 1.263.
Burnett did not pitch in the summer of 2021.
“It was my hope that rest is what my arm needed,” says Burnett.
But with the beginning of velocity training before going to back college, the pain was back in a big way.
“As soon as I picked up a baseball it hurt more than it ever had,” says Burnett. “I knew I had to get it checked out.”
Through a teammate, Burnett consulted with well-respected Cincinnati-based orthopedic surgeon Dr. Timothy Kremchek and a nerve specialist.
The tricep slip was discovered through Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).
An EMG (Electromyography) was done to see the location of disturbance in the nerve pathway.
Burnett was told that surgery was indicated if he wanted to continue in the game.
“It was an easy decision for me,” says Burnett. “I was told if you want to pitch after college (teams) want to see that this is fixed. I love baseball and I love playing baseball. Maybe more than that I love the competition in general. Competition is wanting to be the best version of yourself.
“If I didn’t get that nerve pathway fixed I wasn’t going to be at my best. And with the pain, it hard to focus on the game.”
Ulnar nerve transposition surgery was set for Sept. 21, 2021 in Cincinnati.
The recovery was rough.
“I would not wish nerve pain on anyone,” says Burnett. “I just sat on the couch and cried.
“It was like having your arm over a bonfire and you can’t move it.”
Even so, he started the rehabilitation process the next day and was determined to be ready to pitch for UIndy when the 2022 season opened in February.
“It was a point I wanted to make to myself,” says Burnett. “It wasn’t coming from anybody else.”
Led by athletic trainer Makenna McAteer, Burnett went to PT three or four times a week.
“She went far beyond athletic training,” says Burnett of McAteer. “She got me out of the rut I was in.”
McAteer also put Burnett in-touch with sports psychologist Nate Foster.
“There was a a bunch of bruising and swelling and my range of motion was very, very limited (after surgery),” says Burnett. “I could not bend elbow back and forth at first. I was told to move it as much as I could as soon as I could. I could not afford to lose much range of motion.
“At the beginning, I bet I couldn’t squeeze any hard than an infant. It was that bothered.”
He did his best to get back in the weight room with his teammates. As soon as the incision was closed up, he was working his legs and the left side of his body.
Burnett first threw a baseball in Nov. 15.
“My buddies were so amped up for me,” says Burnett. “That was the cool part.”
He pitched a scoreless frame in the Greyhounds’ season-opening series at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind. The “Real Feel” temperature on Feb. 20 was 17 degrees.
“I didn’t have a great year,” says Burnett, who went on to toss 11 2/3 innings over 15 games with an 0-1 mark, one save and 4.63 earned run average while striking out 18 and walking 16. “My struggling performance was a physical issue until I had several in a row, leading to the issue becoming a mental struggle.
“I wouldn’t change anything about this season. This season tested me as a ballplayer and a person. I am now better for it, knowing who I am and just what I am capable of.”
Burnett, 22, has earned several honors for his work in the classroom, including four times Academic All-Great Lakes Valley Conference, twice a GLVC Brother James Gaffney FSC Distinguished Scholar and recipient of a GLVC Council of Presidents’ Academic Excellence Award.
He graduated from UIndy and will pursue a Masters of Business Administration and play baseball as a graduate transfer at Wagner College in Staten Island, N.Y., in 2022-23.
“It’s the best fit for me,” says Burnett of the NCAA Division I program he connected with through his 2022 summer team, the Northwoods League’s Wisconsin Rapids Rafters. “I’m going to have a role. They play a they play a crazy out of conference schedule. I’ll get a chance to play very good college baseball programs.
“I’ll be an MBA student in the business hub of the world. I’ve never been to New York. I’m taking a big leap. But I know I can figure it out.”
With the Rafters, he’s already logged 16 innings in 13 games and is 1-0 with two saves and a 2.25 ERA. He has struck out 26 and walked 10.
Born and raised in Columbus, Alec (22) is the middle child of construction worker Rob and Columbus East teacher Michelle Burnett.
Older sister Jade (25) graduated from Columbus East in 2014 and Franklin (Ind.) College in 2018 and is married and living in the Center Grove area. Younger sister Kyra (16) is heading into her junior year at Columbus East.
Alec played for Olympians head baseball coach Jon Gratz. One of his travel ball stops was with the Indiana Twins where he developed with pitching coach Scott Haase.

Alec Burnett (Jordan Menard/University of Indianapolis Photo)

Alec Burnett’s 2021 elbow surgery.

Alec Burnett’s 2021 elbow surgery.

Alec Burnett’s 2021 elbow surgery.

Alec Burnett’s 2021 elbow surgery.

Alec Burnett’s 2021 elbow surgery.

Alec Burnett (Jordan Menard/University of Indianapolis Photo)

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UIndy ‘late bloomer’ Rivas grows into D-II Midwest Region Pitcher of the Year

BY STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

University of Indianapolis sophomore left-hander Xavier Rivas was named 2022 American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings NCAA Division II Midwest Region Pitcher of the Year.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder in his second year in the Greyhounds starting rotation went 7-0 with a 2.24 earned run average, 128 strikeouts and 31 walks in 80 1/3 innings over 12 games. His WHIP (walks and hits allowed by innings pitched) was 0.98. Opponents hit .170 off the southpaw.
All this from someone who refers to himself as a “late bloomer.”
“The winter before my senior year I was throwing 78 to 82 mph, but I wanted to play (in college),” says Rivas, a 2020 Portage (Ind.) High School graduate. “I didn’t want to go and sit.
“I was a big kid but I hadn’t grown into my body.”
Rivas made a visit to UIndy, threw a bullpen for the coaches and was offered a spot on the team.
“The rest is history,” says Rivas, who credits several people for his ascension.
The winter before his junior year at Portage, Rivas began training with Joe Plesac (who was the pitching coach at Andrean High School Merrillville, Ind.).
“My dad go word of him through my strength coach in Valparaiso (Bub Pullins, whose son Gunnar Pullins was a senior first baseman on the Olivet Nazarene University team in 2022),” says Rivas.
At UIndy, Rivas has learned from head coach Al Ready and two pitching coaches — first Landon Hutchison and then Adam Cornwell. Trevor Forde is another Greyhounds assistant.
“He’s big on trust,” says Rivas of Ready. “He’s do anything for the players.
“It’s nice hearing his opinion. He was a real good hitter.”
Hutchison assisted the lefty with his mechanics and Cornwell with the mental side of things.
“When I came I had a real robotic back-side arm action,” says Rivas. “(Hutchison) was a big numbers guy. We used Rapsodo (cameras) and he taught me my slider.
“(Cornwell) played some pro ball and at UIndy. He’s taught me a lot. He’s helped me with some mechanical cues that added on a few miles per hour.”
Throwing from a three-quarter arm angle, Rivas employs a four-seam fastball, curve, slider and change-up.
During the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament with warm temperatures that the Greyhounds rarely saw in 2022 (he only pitched two times with the game-time thermometer reaching 60 and one start it was 17 with the wind chill), Rivas was above to get a sweat going on the mound and get his four-seamer up to 92 mph.
“We would have themes for bus rides,” says Rivas. “One time it a beach theme and we wore shorts and flip-flops. When we left Indianapolis it was in the 60s or 70s. It was in the 40s when we got there.
“That’s the nature of the beast in the Midwest. It’s bipolar weather.”
Rivas delivers his curve over the top close to 12-to-6 on the clock face.
In an attempt to “tunnel” his pitches, he wants them to look the same coming out of his hand and as they near the plate then they move in different ways.
Throwing his slider and change-up around the same speed — 80 to 84 mph — he tries to get the slider to dive down and to the right back foot of right-handed hitters. The change-up goes away from righties.
Rivas played one varsity season for Portage head coach Bob Dixon in 2019 (the 2020 season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic).
“He was an older school guy and a nice guy,” says Rivas of Dixon.
The pitcher underwent knee surgery from a wrestling injury and played junior varsity ball as a Portage sophomore.
Wrestling is a big deal in Xavier’s family. His father Jeremy Rivas went to the IHSAA State Finals three times and was a state runner-up at 125 pounds as a Portage senior in 1993.
Jeremy coached at Hobart (Ind.) High School and helped Alex Ramos to a pair of state titles (1999 at 119 and 2000 at 125) and a fifth-place finish (1998 at 119).
Xavier Rivas wrestled from sixth through ninth grade for Portage (Leroy Vega was his high school coach). A torn meniscus as a sophomore put an end to his mat career.
“I knew baseball was my future,” says Rivas, who was coaxed by friends to play football as a senior. He was a wide receiver and tight end for the Indians in the fall of 2018.
Rivas did some powerlifting as early as high school freshman, but nothing was organized.
“When I got to college I saw how strong everyone was,” says Rivas. “I’m very competitive. I wanted to be the strongest one on the team.”
He got serious about lifting and began getting workouts from friend and competitive lifter Aaron Blake and went heavy with all his lifts when there was a two-month break at UIndy during the winter of 2020-21.
“I got up to 230 pounds,” says Rivas.
A Mechanical Engineering major, Rivas expects to graduate in five years. He is heading into his true junior year. He did not get an extra year of eligibility since he was not in college during the pandemic.
He took a heavy course load during his freshman season — 18 hours — and struggled while doing all online courses and being on the road frequently with the baseball team.
“I tried to study on the bus but that didn’t work,” says Rivas.
This year has been better with in-person classes and 17 hours in the fall and 15 in the spring.
“That was much better,” says Rivas, who mentors freshmen teammates so they don’t suffer the same as he did.
This summer, Rivas is with the Northwoods League’s Wisconsin Rapids Rafters.
Looking for innings, he spent part of the summer of 2021 playing American Legion ball for the South Haven Post 502 Blaze. He spent part of the previous summer with the Midwest Irish.
Born in Hobart, Rivas grew up in South Haven and moved to Portage in the middle of his sixth grad year.
He started at South Haven Little League at 4. He was playing there and in travel ball at 9. The Portage Tribe and Morris Chiefs were two of his other travel ball teams.
Xavier’s mother is Nina Rivas. Sister Mya Rivas (18) is a 2022 Portage graduate who is headed to Purdue University.

Xavier Rivas (University of Indianapolis Photo)

Xavier Rivas (University of Indianapolis Photo)

Xavier Rivas (University of Indianapolis Photo)

Xavier Rivas (University of Indianapolis Photo)

DeYoung embraces relationships, technology as instructor, pro baseball coach

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Devin DeYoung saw his future when he was a teenager and it was as a baseball coach.

“I knew from when I was 13 and hitting with John Mallee and Anthony Iapoce that’s what I wanted to do,” says DeYoung, 30. “(Mallee and Iapoce) had such an impact on me.

“I learned how to relate to people and to empower people just by interacting with them. They genuinely cared about every kid they worked with. I try to model how I approach the game after them.

Both men are major league hitting coaches — Malee with the Los Angeles Angels and Iapoce with the Chicago Cubs.

DeYoung will be a bench coach with the Double-A Birmingham Barons in the Chicago White Sox organization in 2020.

A 2008 graduate of Lake Central High Schoolin St. John, Ind., DeYoung played catcher for head coach Todd Iwema. He went on to play two seasons at the College of Lake County in Graylake, Ill., and one at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tenn.

After that came a very brief stint as a player with the Rockland Boulders of the independent professional Can-Am League. He finished out the 2015 season with the Pomona, N.Y,-based team as a player-coach.

In 2016, DeYoung was a coach with the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters in the Northwoods League, a college collegiate circuit. He coached catchers, outfielders and hitters for a team that won both halves of a split season and the playoffs. More than a dozen players on that team went on to sign professional contracts.

“It’s best preparation for professional baseball there is,” says DeYoung. “We played 72 games in 75 games.”

There were no days off for the Wisconsin Rafters staff with the league’s all-star game, showcase and postseason. That meant a stretch of more than 80 days without time off.

In 2017 and 2018, DeYoung was bench coach/hitting coach with the Crestwood, Ill.-based Windy City Thunderbolts of the independent pro Frontier League. At the time, the league was predominantly a rookie league and has since consolidated with teams in the Can-Am League.

“It revives guy’s careers and helps them get back into or have their first shot at affiliated baseball,” says DeYoung of indy ball.

DeYoung has pro hitters coming from all over Chicagoland to hit with him at the Omni 41 and Morris Baseball facility in Schererville, Ind.

One of those hitters was Ryan Fitzgerald, who went to Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Ill., and played for the independent Gary SouthShore RailCats in 2017 and was signed by the Boston Red Sox and for the 2018 season.

DeYoung spent the 2019 campaign in the Red Sox system with the Greenville (S.C.) Drive.

As bench coach on a staff led by manager Iggy Suarez, DeYoung did many things. He coached first base and third base, instructed players on catching and base running and assisted Suarez, hitting coach Nelson Paulino and pitching coach Bob Kipper.

When Ryan Johansen became assistant hitting coordinator for the White Sox, he asked DeYoung to join the organization.

“The White Sox seem to be a really good fit for me,” says DeYoung. “They’re moving in a really good direction.

“It’s exciting to see the steps they’re talking and I’m just glad to be a part of it.”

He will be a bench coach for Barons manager Justin Jirschele, who will be 29 when the Southern League season opens.

“I will aid in the work load and try to make everybody’s job easier,” says DeYoung. “I’ll collect data and just try to be the voice of reason.

“Genuinely caring about players. That’s how I go about player development.”

DeYoung is scheduled to report to spring training in Arizona Feb. 8. Before then, he will continue to teach lessons and clinics through Devin DeYoung Pro Baseball/Softball. But he’s carved out time to learn about players who may land in Birmingham in 2020 and for his family.

Devin and high school sweetheart Samantha DeYoung reside in St. John and have a daughter, Ella (7).

Much of what DeYoung knows about business came from working as a youngster at DeYoung Interiors of St. John, which was established in 1928.

DeYoung has cultivated a network of baseball people, including Justin Stone (Director of Hitting for the Cubs) and Travis Kerber at Elite Baseball Training in Chicago.

“Every time I’m around them I seem to grow,” says DeYoung. “The people I’ve had the privilege of being around helps with my obsession with trying to learn more about the game.

“I have a desperate pursuit of making baseball easier for other players than it was for me.”

DeYoung has learned how to incorporate things like Blast Motion, Edgertronic cameras, Force Plate, K-Vest and Rapsodo to assess players and build player plans.

He has started to do Electromyography (EMG) testing, which measures muscular activity through the swing.

“It helps you quantify things you can’t see within the swing,” says DeYoung. “You get a baseline and create a player plan. You can see deficiencies in the swing or a movement assessment. We can eliminate some guessing.

“We can find out what these players are capable of doing physiologically. We’re really early in the process.”

Devin DeYoung (11) talks with Dustin Pedroia during a Greenville Drive game. DeYoung, a graduate of Lake Central High School in St. John, Ind., was a coach in the Boston Red Sox organization in 2019. (Greenville Drive Photo)

Devin DeYoung (11) talks with Jonathan Ortega during a Greenville Drive game. DeYoung, a graduate of Lake Central High School in St. John, Ind., was a coach in the Boston Red Sox organization in 2019. (Greenville Drive Photo)

Devin DeYoung (11) coaches third base in 2019 for the Greenville (S.C.) Drive in the Boston Red Sox organization. The team’s home park has its own Green Monster. DeYoung is a graduate of Lake Central High School in St. John, Ind. (Greenville Drive Photo)

Devin DeYoung (left) sees relationships as the key to player development. He was with the Boston Red Sox organization in 2019. The graduate of Lake Central High School in St. John, Ind., is now with the Chicago White Sox system. (Greenville Drive Photo)

Devin DeYoung, a graduate of Lake Central High School in St. John, Ind., has known he wanted to be a baseball coach since 13. Here he is in 2019 with the Greenville Drive in the Boston Red Sox organization. (Greenville Drive Photo)

Devin DeYoung swings the fungo bat as a coach for the Greenville (S.C.) Drive in the Boston Red Sox organization in 2019. The graduate of Lake Central High School in St. John, Ind., is now in the Chicgao White Sox system. (Greeenville Drive Photo)

Devin DeYoung, a 2008 graduate of Lake Central High School in St. John, Ind., knew at 13 and taking hitting lessons from John Maleee and Anthony Iapoce that his future was as a baseball coach. He was with the Greenville Drive in the Boston Red Sox system in 2019 and will be with the Birmingham Barons in the Chicago White Sox organization in 2020. (Greenville Drive Photo)

 

 

Former Valpo U. catcher Kapers now receiving in Rangers organization

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Scott Kapers has a reason to show his choppers and it’s not just because his father is a dentist.

The oldest child of Dr. Scott A. Kapers, DDS, and Melissa Kapers, who both work at Creating Smiles PC in St. John, Ind. (across the Lake Central High School), Scott T. Kapers is enjoying his first taste of professional baseball with the Spokane (Wash.) Indians of the Short Season Class-A Northwest League.

Kapers, right-handed-hitting catcher and Schererville, Ind., native, was selected in the 17th round of the 2018 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Texas Rangers after three seasons at Valparaiso University.

After attending Forest Ridge Academy and Grimmer Middle School in Scherville, Kapers crossed the nearby state line and went to Chicago’s Mount Carmel High School.

A middle infielder going into a high school, Kapers converted to catcher to get a chance at playing time on a Caravan team that featured a shortstop (Jerry Houston Jr.) two years ahead of him and a second baseman (Ako Thomas) in his class. Houston went on to the University of Oregon and Thomas to the University of Michigan.

During his sophomore year (2013), Kapers finally cracked the varsity lineup at playoff time and helped coach Brian Hurry’s Caravan to a Illinois High School Athletic Association Class 4A state title (Mount Carmel edged Libertyville 2-1 in Joliet).

Two other Mount Carmel seniors in 2013 — Jason Gasser (Northern Illinois University) and Jeremy Kravetz (University of Kansas) — also went on the NCAA Division I baseball.

Kapers, who played for numerous travel teams over the years (Region Redbirds, Futures Baseball, Northwest Indiana Shockers, Indiana Bulls, Team DeMarini, Grinders Baseball and Cincinnati Reds Fall Scout Team), emailed five college programs a week before being approached by Valpo at a Prep Baseball Report showcase.

He made a verbal commitment in the fall of his junior year and signed his letter of intent with the D-I Crusaders as a Mount Carmel senior.

The Redbirds were a team coached by Scott A. Kapers and other fathers.

John Mallee, who is now the hitting coach for the Philadelphia Phillies and formerly served in that role with the Florida Marlins, Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs, was a Shockers founder and talked to Kapers about attending Mount Carmel.

At VU, Kapers played head coach Brian Schmack and learned about “playing the game the right way” and following routines from him and assistant Ben Wolgamot.

As a catcher, he did much drill work with Nic Mishler. He credits Kory Winter with aiding in improving his physical and mental strength. Kapers played in 45 games as a freshman, 52 as a sophomore and 50 as a junior before being drafted. In 2018, he hit .263 with four home runs, nine doubles and 28 runs batted in.

He also played 92 summer collegiate baseball games for the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters of the Northwoods League in 2016 and 2017.

Through July 6, Kapers had played in seven pro games — two with the Arizona League Rangers and five with Spokane — and was hitting a combined .217 with no homers, two doubles and two RBIs.

Kapers’ approach in the batter’s box revolves around having competitive at-bats.

“It’s about being a smart hitter and not just a swinger,” says Kapers. “Quality at-bats are huge. You string quality at-bats to score runs and that’s how you win games.”

Rangers minor league stops above Spokane, where Kenny Holmberg is the manager, Jared Goedert the hitting coach and Jono Armold the pitching coach, are the Low Class-A Hickory (N.C.) Crawdads, High-A Down East (N.C.) Wood Ducks, Double-A Frisco (Texas) RoughRiders and Triple-A Round Rock (Texas) Express.

Following in his older brothers’ footsteps as a catcher at Mount Carmel and heading into his freshman year at Valpo U. is Jake Kapers (18). Sister Madison Kapers (20) will be a junior at VU. She played softball at Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights, Ill.

Scott Kapers gets ready to fire the baseball for the Spokane (Wash.) Indians. The former Mount Carmel (Chicago) High School and Valparaiso University player is now in the Texas Rangers organization. (Spokane Indians Photo)

Scott Kapers seeks “quality at-bat” for the Spokane (Wash.) Indians. The former Mount Carmel (Chicago) High School and Valparaiso University player is now in the Texas Rangers system. (Spokane Indians Photo)

Scott Kapers grew up in Northwest Indiana and played baseball in Indiana and Illinois. The former Mount Carmel (Chicago) High School and Valparaiso University player is now in the Pacific Northwest with the Spokane (Wash.) Indians in the Texas Rangers organization. (Spokane Indians Photo)

Scott T. Kapers, son of Dr. Scott A. Kapers, DDS, is all smiles as he gets set to take the baseball field for the Spokane (Wash.) Indians in the Texas Rangers organization. (Spokane Indians Photo)