05/19/2009

The first time Jacob Turner heard that one of his pitches had tipped 90 mph on a radar gun, he had a typical teenager's reaction to the quite atypical teen accomplishment.

"I thought it was the coolest thing in the world," he said.

It also was a moment that gave him pause as his mature-beyond-years side produced a more enlightened observation.

"That's when I thought, 'I can really do something special with this.'"

The 6-foot-5 senior at Westminster Christian Academy in Ladue has accomplished a great deal since the summer of 2006, when he was 15, that might qualify as special.

He could include his career 23-5 record and 1.24 earned-run average in that category. Or last summer's berth on the U.S. under-18 national team. Or a scholarship to North Carolina.

But he might top it all June 9, when many analysts expect Turner to become a first-round choice in baseball's first-year player draft. It will be another step in an ascent overseen by many, including instructor Jerry Daniels, who has worked with Turner for six years.

"There's a whole chemistry of creating a Jacob Turner," Daniels said. "If any one thing faltered, you don't have the complete chemistry. I've trained 20,000 kids over 20 years and have seen his makeup, all this stuff, but they were all missing one or two ingredients. That's why it's a freak thing that it could all happen to one person to have it come out this tremendous."

Above average size and velocity, which has peaked at 98 mph, have always been Turner's most notable attributes. But those who have witnessed his development give just as much credit to his drive and determination.

Between starts, Turner works out three times a week — once for 75 minutes at a St. Louis sports training center and twice on his own. In the offseason he visits the training center three times a week and has weekly sessions with Daniels.

"He's extremely diligent and it's kind of fun to sit back and watch what he does," said Turner's father, Mark. "He's up at 6 or 6:30 on Saturday out with a personal trainer. When the family's out for pizza, he's eating salmon. It'll be 10 (p.m.) and I'll hear things banging in the basement and it's a 20-pound medicine ball."

The routine has paid dividends this season. After Monday's 4-0 win over Clayton in the Class 3, District 5 playoffs, Turner is 7-1 with a 0.40 ERA. He has allowed 19 hits in 52 innings and has 105 strikeouts with only eight walks.

He points to his recent 18-strikeout, one-hitter against John Burroughs as possibly his best effort. But there are many to choose from, and he attributes the consistency to his regimen.

"I've really been dedicated the last two years just realizing if I want to maximize the gifts God gave me I have to do all I can," he said. "When I saw the impact of those workouts, it was a driving force. If I went a week without it, I wouldn't feel prepared for my next start.''

Westminster coach Rich Van Gilst first noticed Turner as an eighth grader when his brother, Ben, played for the school. Van Gilst put Jacob to work on the varsity a year later. Turner has benefited from working with former Cardinals pitcher Todd Worrell, who serves as Westminster's pitching coach.

Unlike most young pitchers, Turner avoided offspeed pitches until his junior year. He credits his emphasis on the fastball for strengthening his arm. He has since developed a curve and changeup.

"I'd never heard anything good come out of throwing a curve (too young)," he said. "I think it's paid off."

As his arm strengthened, the velocity continued to climb: 90 mph as a sophomore, 93 to 95 mph as a junior and 95 to 98 mph this season.

"I don't know where that arm came from," Mark Turner said. "I played college tennis and could serve a ball pretty hard, but I never played much baseball."

Last summer, Turner became a national commodity with a strong performance at a showcase event in Minneapolis. On the first day college coaches could contact players, he heard from almost 40 schools, including some of the best programs in the country.

Mark Turner said that virtually every major league team visited the family's St. Charles home last fall. The Turners have lined up prominent agent Scott Boras to serve as an adviser.

However, Turner and his father both talk about Jacob attending college. The combination of North Carolina and Boras has prompted some websites to predict he will be difficult to sign.

"Last summer was about finding out where I want to go to school the next four years," Turner said. "The draft isn't a sure thing. The only thing that's guaranteed is the scholarship, and that's what I'm looking forward to."

For now, he is focused on Westminster's progress through the playoffs. But soon, he will face a major life decision, one that will involve some number crunching — another area where Van Gilst has seen Turner excel.

"I had him in statistics," he said. "He's good with numbers, business and accounting. He's a good thinker, a good reasoner.''

That will come in handy, considering the average bonus for a 2008 first-round selection was $2.3 million.

For a 17-year-old, that just might be the coolest thing in the world.