MINOR LEAGUE NOTEBOOK : Beltran’s Career in Baseball Longer Than He Expected

College fees paid, class schedule in place, Rigo Beltran was all set to embark on life after baseball in August, 1987.

Little did he know then that one day he would lead every professional pitcher in strikeouts as he does today with 100 for Savannah, a Class-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals.

That’s 100 strikeouts in 77 innings. Beltran is also 5-1 with a 2.22 earned run average and this week was selected to pitch in the South Atlantic League all-star game on June 22.

“I’m surprising myself right now,” Beltran said. “I never thought I could throw this well.”

Certainly not in 1987. Beltran had just been graduated from Point Loma High then and was preparing to attend San Diego State when he got a call from then-San Diego Mesa Coach Eric Swanson.

“I was just going to go to San Diego State and get my degree,” Beltran said. “I wasn’t going to play baseball. I figured I was done. Coach Swanson called me one day at home and asked me if I wanted to continue playing.

“I was hesitant at first, but he convinced me I could play there.”

Still, Beltran never envisioned becoming an All-American, a status he reached last year at Wyoming.

Predominantly an outfielder at Point Loma, he would be an outfielder at Mesa, too. Or so he thought.

One week before Mesa’s opener, Beltran sprained his right wrist and was told not to hit for six weeks. Being left-handed, though, he could pitch.

His attitude was that if he couldn’t hit, he’d throw. “I didn’t want to redshirt,” he said.

Beltran credits Mesa pitching coach Don Alexander, now a minor-league coach in the Houston Astros’ organization, for his development.

“He taught me mechanics and how to throw a screwball,” Beltran said. “That’s what made it work. That’s my main pitch. That and my change.

“I don’t throw very hard. I’m no Roger Clemens. My fastball ranges from 82-86 (m.p.h.). It’s the change of speed that does it. My screwball comes in around five miles per hour slower than my fastball and the changeup about 10.”

A key for Beltran is confidence in his changeup, something many young pitchers lack. He attributes that confidence to not being able to hit one.

And Beltran could hit.

While at Mesa, Wyoming assistant coach Dave Legg, a former assistant at SDSU, recruited Beltran as a position player, not a pitcher. He wound up playing first base and pitcher.

When the Cardinals selected Beltran in the 26th round of the amateur draft, they did so as a pitcher. To date, they have not been disappointed.

Beltran was 5-2 with a 2.63 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 48 innings last year for Class-A Hamilton (Canada) of the New York-Penn League.

This year, he has two shutouts and missed a third on May 9 when he yielded only one hit in nine innings before his teammates lost a 1-0 13-inning game to Fayetteville (La.). His high strikeout game (15) came in a 1-0 shutout of Macon (Ga.) on April 29.

“He’s got one of the best motions to the plate I’ve ever seen at this level,” Bob Lewis, Savannah’s broadcaster, said. “He’s miles ahead of some of these guys because of his fluid motion.

“A lot of people compare him to a young Fernando Valenzuela because they are both left-handed screwballers from Mexico. But Rigo is a lot less herky-jerky in his delivery. He doesn’t turn his back to the plate like Fernando did.”

Born is Tijuana, Beltran moved to Salt Lake City with his family when he was three and to San Diego when he was five.

“I was just starting school then,” he said. “I remember struggling trying to speak English. It was especially hard since I had nobody to help me at home. I was the oldest (of four children) and neither of my parents spoke English at the time.”

Listening to him now, you get the feeling Beltran would have been just fine even if he had chosen life without baseball.

Old tricks: As a three-year standout at Castle Park, Benji Gil never ceased to amaze Trojan Coach Bob Korzep. More than once, Korzep insisted Gil was not only one of the most talented players around but also one of the craftiest.

Some things never change.

Gil, now playing shortstop for the Class-A Gastonia (N.C.) Rangers after a terrific spring with the big league Rangers, swiped a game from Columbus on May 25 with some heads-up base running in the 12th inning.

As Columbus catcher Nick Sued went to the mound to talk to his pitcher, Gil, who was on third, alertly observed that Sued had failed to call timeout. Sued will never repeat that mistake, the sight of Gil trotting home with the winning run forever haunting him.

Getting easier: Ex-SDSU left-hander Jim Campbell was promoted to Omaha (Neb.), a triple-A club in the Kansas City Royals’ chain.

At double-A Memphis (Tenn.), Campbell was 4-2 with a 0.86 ERA in 63 innings. For Omaha, he’s 2-0 and has allowed only one earned run in 14 innings.

Just hit, baby: After a tremendous RBI season at double-A El Paso last year, Milwaukee Brewer prospect Jim Tatum (Santana High) had 40 RBIs, seven home runs and a .335 average through 55 games this year at triple-A Denver.

Tatum (two stolen bases) can play third or shortstop, but the Brewers feel his range is better suited for the hot corner.

Last week, he hit into a 5-4-3 triple play.