EMERSON, Ga. – Chet Lemon’s Juice improved to 2-1 at the 16UuWWBA National Championship on Sunday with a 4-2 win over ASBA Futures East. The win keeps the Juice very much alive in the Pool Z standings.
The trio of Parker Reyes, Jacob Hartman and Dalton Robinson combined to keep the ASBA Futures lineup quiet for most of the afternoon, allowing just five hits and the two runs on the day. At the plate, Carter Geier had two RBI without recording an official at-bat, and Brandon Fields had a strong day, going 2-for-2 with a triple that left the bat at 94 mph.
Since Chet Lemon retired from Major League Baseball in 1990, he has been committed to helping kids in Florida achieve their baseball dreams. The Juice program has historically been one of the best programs in the country, and Lemon himself feels extremely fortunate to see these kids succeed.
“We are now approaching 70 first round draft choices way back from the time we had guys like Fielder and Greinke and all those guys. Our latest guy is Brady Singer who was a youngster that came through the program,” said Lemon. “Our goal is just to develop our kids. We kind of raise our kids in the program, and that is something we take great joy and pride in.”
Outside of the three mentioned above, notable Juice alumni include Sean Burnett, Billy Butler, Rickie Weeks, Casey Kotchman and Brad Miller. Many of these alumni are still connected to the program, and testimonials for the program can be found on the program website.
The next great player in a long line of standouts for this organization is dual-sport athlete Brandon Fields. Fields, who is a native of Orlando, Florida, is ranked as the 15th-best player in the class of 2020.
Fields returned to LakePoint on Sunday after a good showing at the Perfect Game Jr. National Showcase last month. Fields ran a 6.65 second 60-yard dash at the showcase, and has been putting up great numbers at Perfect Game events for quite some time.
“It was pretty exciting. Any chance you get to come out here and play with the best in the country is special,” said Fields of the Jr. National Showcase. “You have to find a couple of guys you know, and then you’re all able to come together and have a good showcase.”
Fields has used both his skills on the diamond and the gridiron to land himself a spot as a dual-sport athlete at South Carolina in the fall of 2020. Fields is ranked as the fourth-best baseball player in Florida’s 2020 class, as well as the 65th-best football player.
“I was really able to trust the [baseball] coaching staff of them being flexible of me doing two sports at South Carolina. I really wasn't able to get that at some of the other colleges that recruited me.”
With such a quick turnaround between the college football and baseball seasons, it can be hard for a student athlete to make the time to excel at both sports as well as in the classroom. Somehow, Fields has been able to do that and more during his time at Dr. Phillips High School.
“When it’s football time I hit the gas and it’s all football all the time,” said Fields. “When I can find a breaking point sometime in the football season I try to swing the bat a couple times a week and try to pick it up whenever I can.”
A special talent like Brandon Fields does not come around often, and it is important for these players to be around the right people for their baseball career and their life. Coach Lemon knows he has a good one in Fields, and he can’t wait to continue to see him grow.
“He [Fields] is one of those kind of guys that are exciting to watch play. He is a five-tool guy that can do a lot of unique things on the baseball field. He is a gamer, he plays hard, and he wants to play in every game,” said Coach Lemon. “Those are things that you love to see in youngsters, but they are also the things you can’t teach. Those are inherited skills, and you have his parents to thank you for that.”
With Fields playing at high-level alongside the other talent this Juice team has, this team has the ability to make a run this week. This tournament is from done, but Coach Lemon believes his guys can go all the way.
“This team right here definitely has a shot of making it all the way,” said Lemon. “We do have a tough pool with the Arsenal and Knights in it. It was a tough loss to the Knights but from this point forward we can only put our best foot forward and hope the ball bounces our way.”
Time will tell, but this Juice team looks poised to make a run here at the 16u WWBA National Championship. With a well-rounded leader like Brandon Fields in center field, anything is possible.