Prep Baseball Report

Underclass Spotlight: RHP/3B Jake Eissler



By John Cackowski
Director of Scouting-Colorado

When you get an opportunity to talk to talented high school baseball players and you ask what their goals are for their upcoming season, most would say things like: win a state championship, lead the state in home runs or lead the state in wins. Not Jake Eissler. His main goal for this upcoming season is to get anotherJake Eissler academic letter.

"Like I said earlier, academics are the most important to me. I have a 3.93 GPA and I got a 31 on the ACT. I have not taken the SAT. I received an academic letter at the end of my sophomore year for maintaining a 3.75 GPA or higher for 3 straight semesters. I plan on earning another at the end of my junior year."

The 6-foot 1, 200 pound junior will be the anchor of the ThunderRidge pitching staff in 2015. Jake has a strong, thick, body with more room to fill out. He pounds the strike zone with 85 mph fastballs that have been up to 87, from ¾ arm slot, with a change-up that's 77-78 mph, and curve ball that is 73, in which he can throw all three for strikes.

Jake wants to go to a college that is not only known for prestige on the baseball field, but also for their academic prestige.

"I know baseball will only take me so far in life, and as much as I value playing baseball and becoming a better player, I value my academics and success in the classroom even more. Ultimately I want a school with a strong academic program, but I also do not want to go to a school where the baseball is not played at a high level."

As a sophomore Eissler helped lead ThunderRidge HS to an Elite 8 appearance in the 5A state playoffs. Eissler went 7-0 on the mound, made the 2014 Continental League All League Second Team. Along with 7 wins on the mound, Eissler had a 2.66 ERA in 44.1 innings pitched, with 44 strikeouts and 8 walks. He helped his cause as well, hitting for a .344 average in 61 at-bats, with 5 doubles and 10 RBI. Eissler is a pretty versatile player as he played 3rd base, 1st base, Left Field and Right Field, only making one error all season.

"I am very excited for this spring because I will be playing with a lot of my closest friends. Our team will not have the same caliber we had last year with 3 D1 commits in a very talented senior class, but my expectations for the team will not change. We will need some senior pitchers to step up and take charge of games, while we will also need a few juniors to fill in some key holes in positions that were left by the last group of seniors. I will try my best to carry on the traditions that Brody Westmoreland set forth on the team last year, and I will make sure the team settles for nothing but success and perfection on and off the field."

Eissler has made visits to Duke, Stanford, Santa Clara, North Carolina, and the Air Force Academy.

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