David Wright, Dustin Pedroia and Jorge Posada, Brandon Phillips and Nelson Cruz.
What do all these current or past Major League Baseball superstars have in common? Besides being clients of the Staten Island-based ACES Baseball Academy, they all began their baseball journey in the same fashion as many young players do today: on a ball field, in front of the right people.
That same opportunity will be afford to local players by ACES, a local training facility founded by agents Seth and Sam Levinson.
For an entire week in August, from the 13th to the 17th, Aces is offering that service at Mid-Island Babe Ruth, located at 1322 Travis Avenue on Staten Island. Professional scouts, including a scouting supervisor, college and highschool coaches will appear throughout the week to instruct and evaluate players.
There will be two groups separated by age. The 14-15 year olds will workout from 9-to-11:30 a.m. while the older group (16-and-above) will go from 12:30-to-3 p.m. Perhaps the most appealing facet of all is the cost. While most showcases range from $300-$600, a player can workout for the whole week for an affordable $150. On three separate days, players from the Texas Rangers will appear and greet the registered prospects. 2011 ALCS MVP Nelson Cruz, All-star pitcher Matt Harrison and reliever Mike Adams will all be in attendance.
“This is a tremendous chance for players throughout New York City to come down and workout in front of a high quality staff of baseball decision makers. supervisors, pro scouts,” said Kevin Hughes, an associate scout with the Washington Nationals and hitting coordinator at ACES. “The name Aces is synonymous with the pinnacle of Major League baseball, so what better place to learn and come show what you can do.”
Also in attendance for the workouts will be Philadelphia Phillies scouting supervisor and former New York Mets outfielder Eric Valent; associate scouts From the Kansas City Royals, Washington Nationals and Seattle Mariners; and coaches representing Wagner College, Southern Illinois, the College of Staten Island, St. John’s and LIU. Local college standouts John Ziznewski (LIU) and Kevin Krause (Stony Brook) will be on hand to discuss college baseball. Brooklyn Cyclones director of new business development Gary Perone will also be on hand.
ACES will be additionally holding a camp for little league players the same week at the same complex. Kids ages 6-13 can sign up for the “Meet the Pro’s” camp with the Texas Rangers players.