GILROY—Only the 40 best baseball players in the country receive an invite from USA Baseball to go to North Carolina. Gilroy’s Alex Benavides is one of the chosen few.
The soon-to-be Gilroy High sophomore was named to USA Baseball’s 40-man 15U National Team Trials roster on July 21 and will travel to Cary, N.C. on Aug. 9. Once there, he will contend for one of 20 spots on the 15U National Team, which will play in the Pan American Championships in Aguascalientes, Mexico Aug. 21 through 30.
Benavides discovered he had made the team by checking USA Baseball’s website, but at first he didn’t believe it.
“When I first saw (my name), I didn’t really think it was true,” he told the Dispatch. “It was a dream of mine since last year and I was very, very excited.”
Benavides didn’t make the team by accident. He’s engulfed himself in all things baseball over the past year, playing with DUB Baseball’s development program in Morgan Hill and with the Mustangs’ varsity team.
Through playing with GHS and working with DUB’s Erik Wagle, Benavides said his skills have developed tremendously.
“High school was very eye opening because I was playing at a very high level as a freshman and playing with DUB has helped me a lot,” Benavides said. “I really didn’t know that much about pitching; I was just a baseball player. (Wagle) taught me to be a real pitcher.”
Wagle described Benavides’ pitching style as “unique” and said it’s reminiscent of the Giants’ Tim Lincecum as he lifts his leg high and hides the ball well when he’s on the mound.
While Benavides has natural talent, Wagle said he needed to hone it. He has attended numerous tryouts—including one in North Carolina—for various teams over the last year and has been working with DUB since it was founded in 2013. He’s played on DUB’s Dynasty teams, taken pitching lessons and spends nearly everyday in weight room getting stronger. Benavides also played in the Junior Olympics earlier in the summer, which Wagle called the “final evaluation” for making the National Team Trials.
“He kind of got to us as a tall, lanky kid and now he’s turned into one of the best baseball players in the country,” Wagle said. “Sometimes 15 year olds don’t like to work that hard, but he shows up and does it everyday. Now, we’re starting to see the results from all that work.”
Benavides isn’t sure what to expect when he heads to North Carolina, but he is looking forward to rubbing elbows with the elite coaches who will be there. The dream, he said, is seeing his name among the 20 players who will head to Mexico.
“I’ve just gotta keep working,” he said. “It can be taken away in a second.”
