Tommy Bergjans had no aspirations of playing pro ball coming out of high school.
The Manhattan Beach, Ca., native had a fastball that topped out at 84 mph; he was hoping that was good enough to help him land in a strong academic setting.
“I don’t think I was a particularly desirable high school prospect, by any means,” said the Reading Fightin Phils’ 24-year-old right-hander. “I didn’t throw particularly hard, and didn’t look athletic.”
One of the few recruiting letters he received came from Haverford College baseball coach Dave Beccaria, who had seen him at a showcase.
The Fords’ coach didn’t have to ask twice; Bergjans happily enrolled at Haverford College, hoping to earn an economics degree.
He never imagined he would end up breaking just about every pitching record in school history or get drafted.
“I was just interested in having baseball help me get into a good academic school,” Bergjans said, “and Haverford was that.”
It turns out the Division III school was more than that. It became a launching pad for one of the greatest careers ever in the Centennial Conference and has led to an unlikely journey into professional baseball.
Bergjans, who landed in the Phillies organization late last summer as part of the package offered by the Dodgers in exchange for catcher Carlos Ruiz, has become an instant sensation with the Fightin Phils.
In his second Double-A start Tuesday, he struck out the first three batters he faced, took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and likely earned a spot in the Reading rotation.
“(He’s a) great story,” said Reading manager Greg Legg. “You need more of ’em like that.”
The 6-foot Bergjans weighed just 150 pounds coming out of Loyola High School, but he grew and got stronger after arriving at Haverford in 2012.
Early in his freshman season, he set a school record by striking out 15 batters in a game.
A year later, he topped that with 18.
By his sophomore season, he was throwing in the low 90s; a year later, when he pitched in the Cape Cod Summer League, his velocity was in the mid 90s and he started to get noticed by pro scouts.
“My ‘velo’ started increasing, I was becoming a better pitcher (and thoughts of a pro career) definitely started creeping into my brain,” he said. “Going into my junior year, I recognized it was a real possibility.”
As a senior, he struck out 111 batters over 671/3 innings, tops in Division III, and averaged 14.84 strikeouts per nine innings – the best rate in the NCAA across all levels.
He posted a 1.07 ERA, was named a D3baseball.com All-American for the second straight year and Centennial Conference Pitcher of the Year for the third straight time.
He set program career records for ERA (1.69), strikeouts (374, in 2822/3 innings) and wins (27).
He became just the third player in school history to be drafted when the Dodgers took him in the eighth round; he was signed by Dodgers scout Rich DeLucia, the former big league pitcher and Wyomissing star.
Bergjans spent the first two months of this season pitching in extended spring training after developing forearm and elbow tightness late in spring training.
He’s far from fully stretched out, but was able to throw 92 pitches in his second outing.
His fastball topped out at 92 mph, but he expects that to increase as he pitches more.
Some may have wondered if a Division III star could make it in pro baseball, against top draft picks and guys who played in top-tier college conferences.
Bergjans has a lot of movement on his pitches, especially a spike curveball that breaks sharply like a slider. He struck out seven and walked just one over six innings Tuesday; he continues to average better than a strikeout per inning, over 2011/3 professional innings.
“My approach hasn’t changed too much,” he said. “I want to be aggressive, throw my three pitches for strikes, and just continue to compete at a high level.”
Contact Mike Drago: 610-371-5061 or mdrago@readingeagle.com.
