Slugger who put High School Home Run Derby on map in 2013 resurfaces in Yankees system
BRIDGEWATER – More than a decade removed from an unforgettable performance, Jake Gatewood remains on a mission to make sure the game doesn't forget him.
Anyone at Citi Field during the 2013 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Home Run Derby surely never will.
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A relatively unknown prep prospect out of Clovis, Calif. who was a last-minute addition to the high school portion of the event that wasn't even televised, the now-Somerset Patriots infielder had fans and even big leaguers on their feet with a stunning power performance that saw baseball after baseball sent careening into the upper deck level club seats that also served as the auxiliary press box that night.
Nine homers and the unforgettable images of him being congratulated by a who's-who list of his major-league idols later, and the memories remain fresh for Gatewood, now 29.
'It was a whirlwind, for sure,' he said. 'It was a late call, I was at a tournament in Georgia, and I was flying home. My dad was like, 'Do you want to hit in the Home Run Derby,' and I said, 'No, I've done enough, I want to stay in Georgia.' He was like, 'No, the Home Run Derby,' and then he explained it all to me.
'So, I flew home and we did a mock derby at my high school the day before, and then I flew to New York. After that, it was kind of a whirlwind. I remember being on the field, and my first time out there, I was like, 'All right, just make sure you hit one home run.' But, I hit a lot more than one.'
Jake Gatewood is back in affiliated baseball for the first time since the end of the 2022 season in Somerset
It was Gatewood's first time playing in a big league park, and he soaked in the experience, particularly being around players he'd looked up to for the majority of his life. Players, Gatewood says, that never forgot that night when he eventually got to play with and against some of them.
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'I remember when I got to the Angels, (Mike) Trout, right away (remembered), so that was cool,' he said. 'Even some of the guys, like Manny Machado, I played against him in big league camp, and he came right up to me and said what's up. It's cool that a lot of those guys still remembered me. Having those guys there that night was nuts.'
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He ended up skyrocketing all the way into the first round of the following year's draft, taken 41st overall by the Brewers. He didn't start feeling the pressure of the expectations of the hype that came with both his lofty draft status as well that Derby performance until things started to not go well in the Brewers organization.
'Early in my career, I think that started to get to me,' he said. 'But later in my career, I think I did a better job of handling it, for sure.'
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Gatewood reflects on his seven years in Milwaukee's system – a stay in which he did not get past Double-A and was held back by both injuries and a strikeout rate common of a player with a power-first profile. He says e's grateful for the lessons learned there, and isn't bitter about the way things ended; Milwaukee didn't end up putting him on their extended 60-man player pool roster during the COVID year and let him walk in free agency.
Ultimately, it led to an opportunity that by many accounts should have led to his first big league playing time. Gatewood signed with the Angels and finally seemed to put it all together in the hitter-friendly Triple-A Pacific Coast League, hitting a combined 50 homers and posting a total of 150 RBI in two seasons there in 2021 and 2022.
But the call-up never came.
That was a bit more difficult to accept.
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'I had the COVID year to work on stuff, and I matured a lot, my faith helped me handle the pressure a lot better and I was able to put together a better approach,' said Gatewood, who also credited his wife and his work with a sports psychologist for his marked improvement.
'(The Angels) were honest with me. They were like, 'Hey, we think you have a chance.' I remember talking to (then-manager) Joe Maddon, and he said, 'We'd love to have you be a part of this team.' But, getting to the big leagues, it's not just playing well, it's being in the right spot at the right time. There were some moments where I thought this could be it, but if you get caught up playing GM? That's not my job.'
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A path to Major League Baseball became far more rocky after that.
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In 2023 A year spent playing in Mexico, away from affiliated baseball.
2024? A season in the independent Atlantic League with the Gastonia Baseball Club, where he put up video game-type numbers with a .295 average, 33 homers and 121 RBI, but received only minimal interest at best from MLB clubs during the year.
'I didn't feel like I was done yet,' Gatewood said. 'My faith kept me going. My wife was the same way, we talked, and we didn't feel it was time. But, there was a lot of ups and downs; going to Indy ball, there's a lot of times you're playing there and there's nobody there and it feels like you're the furthest away you can be from the big leagues and sometimes you wonder, 'How did I get to this point.' But, look where we're at now.'
Gatewood is back in affiliated baseball for the first time since the end of the 2022 season in Somerset, having signed a deal with the parent Yankees this offseason. After two years of seemingly being off the radar and on the cusp of being forgotten, he's now on a mission to make what may be a last chance to get to the big leagues his best one yet.
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An unforgettable one.
'After you have that year in Indy ball – I kind of had the year everybody wanted me to have … it was a thing where the talent was always there, I just needed to put it together consistently – having that year, and going into the offseason and hearing nothing from affiliated (baseball), I had to take a step back,' said Gatewood, who was hitting .281 with no home runs and five RBI through April 17 as the Patriots shortstop.
'… It's been a journey, but I'm grateful for my experiences,' he said. 'My goal here is to be the best player I can be; I know I have a unique skillset where I can hit with power, play shortstop and be a bigger guy.
'The development here is unbelievable, it's the best I've ever seen in my career,' he added. 'Using some of the stuff that they're helping me with … they have plans for me, and the goal is to get to the big leagues. I've been through the minor leagues. I've been here for a while. My goal is to be in the big leagues. I want to do well, and I want to help them win in the big leagues, and whenever that happens, that happens. But right now, my focus is on being the best player I can be in Somerset.'
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: High School Home Run Derby champ Jake Gatewood resurfaces with Yankees
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