Baseball in Fort Wayne

Posts Tagged ‘Taylor Kinzer’

Derek Kinzer (Homestead) has signed a letter of intent to continue his academic and athletic careers at Taylor University starting this fall. Kinzer, an infielder and a pitcher, hit .402 and scored 20 runs as a senior as he helped lead Homestead High School to a sectional championship with a 23-4 record.

Playing second base for the Spartans this season, Kinzer committed just two errors in 27 games for a .977 fielding percentage. As a junior, Kinzer played a role in guiding Homestead to the Indiana Class 4A State Championship game.

“We are excited to add Derek to our recruiting class,” said Gould. “He had a great career at Homestead and helped lead them to another great season this year. He has the ability to play several positions on the field, help us on the mound, and swing the bat from the left side. Derek has worked very hard to put himself in a position to excel at the college level.”

Derek is the younger brother of Taylor Kinzer, who played for Taylor University before signing a professional contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the 24th round (741st overall) of this year’s MLB Amateur Entry Draft. Derek and Taylor’s father, Matt Kinzer is a NEIBA Hall of Famer and a former pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. He is also Taylor University’s pitching coach.

Another coaching local tie is Matt Talarico, who has been named volunteer assistant baseball coach at the University of Toledo. He will work with all aspects of Toledo’s baseball program, but his main responsibilites will be working with the outfielders and assisting with baserunning and bunting. He will also assist in coordinating Toledo’s baseball camps.

“I’m very excited to have Matt join our program,” Coach Cory Mee said. “He is a great addition to our staff. I know he’ll bring a lot of enthusiasm and positive energy to our team. He’s a very good teacher and he already has experience coaching in the post-season. I look forward to seeing the impact he has on our program as he begins to share his experience and knowledge with our players.”

Talarico joins Toledo following two successful seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at NCAA Division III member Heidelberg University. Prior to Heidelberg, Talarico enjoyed a four-year playing career at Manchester College, where he helped guide Manchester to a 124-54 record from 2004-07, while claiming two Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Regular Season Championships (2004, 2006) and two tournament titles (2004, 2005). In his final season, Talarico was named first-team all-conference and third-team All-Mideast Region.

A native of Fort Wayne, Talarico attended Bishop Dwenger High School and graduated from Manchester with a degree in History in 2007. He later earned a master’s of arts in Education from Heidelberg.

One final local tie note: Dave Bone sends word that his nephew, Drake Everson (Snider) has chosen Parkland College in Illinois. After putting on a spectacular performance to help his team get to the IHSAA Class 4A Baseball championship game, Everson was honored by the IHSAA with the the L.V. Phillips Mental Attitude Award. He was also a member of the 2006 championship squad. He earned first team All-Summit Athletic Conference honors in 2008 and 2009.

Taylor Kinzer achieved a lifelong dream Wednesday afternoon when he signed a professional baseball contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at the team’s spring training complex in Tempe, Arizona.

“This is my dream,” Kinzer said after the signing. “It’s what I’ve wanted to pursue my entire life.”

Kinzer will report to a five-day minicamp in Arizona with other Angels draft picks who signed early with the organization. The next stop will be Orem, Utah, where he will suit up for the Orem Owlz, one of the Angels’ two rookie league affiliates.

Opening day for the Owlz is June 23, followed by a two-and-a-half-month season consisting of approximately 80 games.

A right-handed pitcher who played the last two seasons for Taylor University, Kinzer was 8-0 on the mound for the Trojans this past spring as they captured the Mid-Central College Conference Tournament championship and a trip to the NAIA National Tournament.

“My experience at Taylor has been life-changing,” Kinzer said. “The community is awesome and my team was the best group of guys I’ve ever played with. Coach [Taylor head coach Kyle Gould] has prepared me and pushed me to be the best I can be—both on and off the field. I really respect him and it’s been a blessing to have him as my coach.”

By signing a professional contract, Kinzer will forego his final two years of eligibility at Taylor, but the Angels will help Kinzer financially to complete his Taylor education.

“I definitely had my mind set on playing, but it depended on getting school paid for,” Kinzer said. “When the Angels made that happen, it made my decision that much easier.”

Following the signing, Taylor head coach Kyle Gould had high praise for his former ace.

“I knew when we signed Taylor two years ago, that his goal since he was a little kid was to play professional baseball,” Gould said. “Although we would have loved to have him back for his final two years of eligibility, I couldn’t be happier for Taylor as he has earned the opportunity to pursue his life-long dream of playing professionally as a member of the Los Angeles Angels organization.”

Even with Kinzer’s departure, the family ties to Taylor baseball will continue. Kinzer’s father Matt Kinzer, who played professionally for the St. Louis Cardinals, is the pitching coach for the Trojans. He will be joined by Taylor’s younger brother and incoming freshman, Derek Kinzer, this fall.

See also: WANE TV Story and Video of Kinzer leaving Fort Wayne to Report to Angels’ Camp

Related BBIFW Posts:

• Taylor Kinzer Drafted by Angels and Other Picks of Local Interest
• Kinzer Leads Taylor in Debut
• Local Ties: Area Standouts Lead Taylor University

Taylor University and former Homestead standout, Taylor Kinzer was drafted by the Angels with the 741st pick, which was the final pick of round 24.

The ace of Taylor’s 2009 MCC Tournament championship team, Kinzer was a perfect 8-0 on the mound for the Trojans. This is the second time Kinzer has been selected in the MLB Draft.  In 2006 he was a 34th round pick of the Washington Nationals as an outfielder, but Kinzer chose to continue his education and he landed at Taylor in the fall of 2007.

“We are really excited for Taylor,” said Taylor head coach Kyle Gould. “This is a major accomplishment for him and a testament to the hard work that he put in over the past two years in becoming a great pitcher.  His efforts on the mound down the stretch were key to us winning a conference championship and advancing in the NAIA National tournament.  Taylor’s selection by the Angels demonstrates that playing baseball at Taylor can provide the opportunity and exposure to move on to professional baseball.”

Through two seasons at Taylor, Kinzer is 13-5 on the mound including his perfect record in 2009.  In 135 career innings pitched, he has walked only 28 batters while striking out 95. At the plate he has batted .316 each of the last two seasons to go along with 45 extra base hits in 351 at bats.

Major League Baseball allows draftees until August 17 to sign with their team. Kinzer would forego his final two years of eligibility at Taylor if he signs with the Angels.

Related BBIFW Posts:

• Kinzer Leads Taylor in Debut
• Local Ties: Area Standouts Lead Taylor University

Other Local Ties Notes:

St. Louis native, Josh Worrell - who is a student at Indiana Weslyan University – was selected by the Royals in the 30th round (902nd overall).

The TinCaps may soon have an almost local player. Carmel High School standout and current University of Michigan baseball player, Christopher Fetter was chosed by the Padres with the 264th overall pick in the 9th round.

Photo is courtesy of Taylor Univeristy and Don Rogers.

MARION, Ind. – The Taylor University baseball team hit seven home runs in total; including one from North Side standout, Nathan Hillary, to top the University of St. Francis before bowing out at the hands Huntington University in the Mid-Central Conference Tournament where they fell 9-2, ending their season at 27-19.

Starting pitcher Chris Howell (Bishop Dwenger) picked up the win for the Trojans in the first game to improve his record to 5-1.

In the second game, Taylor Kinzer (Homestead) got the starting nod. He pitched three innings and gave up three earned runs in the loss.

After finishing the regular season third in the MCC standings, Taylor matched that effort with a third place finish in the conference tournament.