Ask Enrique Genao where he will be next Tuesday and the 20-year-old North Bergen resident will quickly tell you.
"I’m going to be right beside the phone," Genao said. "I’m going nowhere. I’m staying home all day, waiting for that call."
Ask Enrique Genao where he will be next Tuesday and the 20-year-old North Bergen resident will quickly tell you.
"I’m going to be right beside the phone," Genao said. "I’m going nowhere. I’m staying home all day, waiting for that call."
More than likely, Genao, the former North Bergen High School standout pitcher who later went on to pitch at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, will receive the most important phone call of his life, either next Tuesday or Wednesday.
On the other end of the phone, there will be a scout, who will be informing the 6-1, 200-pound right-hander that he has been selected in the annual Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.
Genao’s talents have skyrocketed since he entered the collegiate ranks. Now much bigger and stronger than his high school days, his array of pitchers have attracted several scouts, who are certain that Genao has professional potential.
Genao has been clocked as high as 91 miles per hour by some scouting guns this spring and throws four different pitches, which is rare for someone his age. He also throws what scouts call a "heavy ball," meaning that his pitches have a natural sink and are very difficult to hit hard and with any lift. Scouts adore pitchers who throw the "heavy ball," which is good news for Genao.
"My pitches do have a natural sink to them," Genao said. "My two-seamer (fastball, held with the fingers across two seams of the ball) sinks and my four-seamer (held across four seams) has action where it takes off. Both pitches have late movement and make hitters jump at them. But honestly, the key to my success this year has been my changeup. It’s become a real good pitch for me."
Needless to say, Genao’s prospects are a lot different from when he was a youngster growing up in North Bergen.
"There really has been a big change and I can’t even describe it," said Genao, who earned First Team All-Region 19 Junior College All-America honors at Brookdale this season, posting a 6-2 record with a 1.90 earned run average and 87 strikeouts in 73 innings. "There’s been a complete 100 percent turnaround from when I was in high school. No one ever expected it of me. But I never gave up on myself."
Genao said that perhaps the biggest difference has been his own maturity.
"I think just becoming a man has made an amazing difference," Genao said. "There was a time when I didn’t know what I was supposed to do when I got out on the mound. I would get all nervous and frustrated. If I made a mistake, that’s all I would think about. I just realized that baseball was supposed to be fun. If I was having a good time, then nothing was going to be able to stop me."
Genao’s more relaxed approach led to greater success this year – and the attention from the professional scouts. At least seven major league organizations have expressed interest in Genao, and Baseball America currently lists him as one of the top 150 prospects in the Northeast. Numbers like that usually project to a middle-to-late round draft pick in the draft.
"That’s great to hear," Genao said. "It’s been a nerve-wracking time for me, because I don’t know what to think and I haven’t received many clear answers. I haven’t given getting drafted a lot of thought, because I don’t want to be disappointed if it doesn’t happen. I’m getting ready for whatever happens."
If Genao doesn’t get the call, or a decent contract offer, he will more than likely return to a four-year college and continue his collegiate career in the fall. St. John’s and Virginia Commonwealth are two schools that have expressed interest in Genao, if he doesn’t get drafted or doesn’t sign a contract.
"I still have a long way to go," Genao said. "The way I look at it, this is just the beginning, whatever happens. I’ve worked very hard to get to this point, but without bragging, I’ve expected to have a day like this. This has been my life and if I get that call, I will be as happy as anything."
Although there are some scouts who project Genao to eventually become a relief pitcher in the professional ranks, Genao doesn’t want to hear that now.
"I’ve thought about it and I know I could do it, but I don’t think I will accept it," Genao said. "I think I’m a starter and I’m never going to stop trying to be a starter or what I think I should be."
Genao is happy for the people closest to him that he will get this chance, namely his mother, Marianna, who raised him alone, or his mentors, local coaches Steve and David Hepperle.
"My mother has been the biggest influence on me, but Steve and Dave have been there, like the guiding force," Genao said. "They’ve given me good guidance and told me which way to go and I never forgot that."
Genao was asked if had a message to those who doubted his abilities when he was a youngster, when he was told by some that he would never amount to anything on a baseball field, much less become a professional.
"I honestly never judge a book by its cover," Genao said. "I guess some people did that with me. I never gave up on myself. Never. I really believed that I would be a success in the game."
And that book of success is about to have its next chapter written.