Western Nebraska Community College baseball coach Mike Jones can see a bright future for Gering’s Carlos Palomo on the baseball diamond. And for the next two years, Jones will get to see the development of his budding superstar as the right-handed pitcher signed a letter-of-intent to play for the Cougars next year last week.
“He’s got what we call a real quick arm. When he releases the baseball, his arm really speeds up and accelerates. I think everyone will see his velocity climb over the next 12-month period,” Jones said. “The thing with him is keeping him healthy because quick-arm guys have a tendency of where they can get hurt because they have so much acceleration in their arm. I am not sure where he will rank. I think it will be up to him with his work ethic, determination and how much he will put into it to see how far he can go.
“I have seen guys like Joba Chamberlain go from 85 and 86 to 99. I have also seen guys that throw 85 mph and they just don’t get there. I am guessing with him, with how fast his arm comes through, he will be an upper 80s guy. He will get there. We just need to keep him healthy and keep him strong, and let him develop and let him grow.”
Palomo, who received plenty of interest from other schools, pretty much had his mind set on attending WNCC.
“It was one of my top choices and it is more convenient,” the Gering Platte Valley Companies senior legion baseball pitcher said. “Coach Jones is an excellent coach. It is a great school. I just want to continue to get better and see far I can go with it. I want to see how much harder I can through and I am going to work hard so I can do that.”
Palomo was a dominating pitcher for the Gering legion program last season where Jones was not afraid to hand him the ball. Jones said he has a few mechanics that need fine-tuned, but he has the potential to be a force on the diamond.
“The first thing we are going to do with him is continue to let him smooth out his mechanics as he delivers the pitch. Sometimes he has a tendency to get in a hurry, and when he gets in a hurry he loses his balance and he loses his stride.
“His biggest attribute is he is just a competitor. When you give Carlos the baseball, he goes out there to win the game. He will do everything he can to get everybody out. He doesn’t back down one bit. When we put him in a pressure situation or tight spot, he doesn’t back down. Those are characteristics that you can’t teach. You got to have that and he has that, so for us it will be a few mechanical things to let him smooth out and develop.”
Palomo also realizes that you can’t win every game. He mentioned the Alliance game at the Area 7 tournament last week when he suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 loss on a walk-off hit. In that game, he struck out nine and allowed just five hits. Leading 2-1 with two outs in the final inning, Alliance’s Brandon Heckman hit a walk-off double to help the Spartans rally for the win.
“Anything can happen in a game like the first game I pitched in the area tournament,” he said. “We were up 2-1 going into the seventh with two outs and there was a runner at first and third. A guy hits a shot in the gap to win the game. Anything can happen, but that is what makes it fun, though.”
Palomo, who started playing baseball at a young age, said he didn’t start to develop as a player until a couple years ago. He was selected to compete in an Under Armour National Baseball Camp last year.
“I knew when I was younger that baseball was what I wanted to do. I went to those [Under Armour] camps because I wanted to get looked at, and they would help me,” he said. “I learned so much at that camp. My control is so much better this year. It was excellent to go to those camps and it It was very helpful.”
Pal0mo’ main pitch is the fastball, where he constantly throws around 82 mph. He also had a 2-seam and 4-seam pitch. The one thing he is hoping to develop his is change-up. He is anxious to had to his repertoire of pitches.
“I just want to continue to get better and see how far I can go with it,” he said. “I want to see how much harder I can through and I am going to work hard so I can do that. All my pitches are pretty good and I dominate a lot with my fast balls. Next year, I will learn how to throw a change-up better and we will go from there.”
Jones said that having coached Palomo this summer has been a plus because he already knows what he can do on the mound.
“It is a big plus and an advantage for me, as well as for him because sometimes in the fall when freshman first walk in here, even though we seen them on the road or on the field and we have a scouting report on them, we still are not comfortable of who they are,” Jones said. “I know Carlos well after spending an entire summer with him. I am not going to be afraid to give him the baseball in pressure situations. I know he can go out there and start a game. I know he can throw his breaking ball for strikes in a lot of different counts. It will be an advantage for both of us. I know I can go and talk to him any time and address mechanical issues.”
Palomo is hoping to move onto a four-year school after WNCC. His long-term goal is to be drafted, and if he is, he doesn’t care where since he watches a lot of baseball and studies the pitchers intently.
“I watch a lot of baseball pitchers and I just learn how they come back from being behind and what they do as far as their mechanics, what pitches they throw and where they locate,” he said. “It would be cool to dominate like a closer like Mariano Rivera.”
“It would be a cool accomplishment [to be drafted out of the junior college ranks],” Palomo said. “But to even go on to a big college after this would be a major accomplishment.”
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