Friday, May 01, 2009

Rex Brothers' dreams and explosive fastball were too big for the tiny high school he attended as a sophomore.

As difficult as it was to leave behind childhood friends, he transferred from Class A Community High School to AAA Shelbyville, where the competition on the diamond was far more intense.

"Community is a great school and there's a lot of good people there,'' Brothers said. "But I thought if I ever wanted to pursue a baseball career, transferring to a bigger school was the best thing to do."

It turned out to be a smart move.

A little more than a month before the Major League Baseball Draft, the left-handed junior pitcher is right where he hoped to be.

He earned a scholarship to Lipscomb, where his blazing fastball is attracting a steady stream of professional scouts to every start he makes for the Bisons.

"He's pitched pretty consistently at 94 to 96 (mph) and touching some at 97,'' Lipscomb pitching coach Lantz Wheeler said.

Brothers typically pitches on Friday nights, the opening games of series against Atlantic Sun opponents. As such, he'll take the mound tonight as the Bisons host Belmont at 6 p.m.

Heading into the season, Brothers was ranked 77th on Baseball America's Top 100 prospects list. Since then, he's turned so many heads that he's now expected to be among the 32 players selected in the first round of the June 9 draft.

Full Article by Mike Organ
Nashville Tennessean