Athlete of the Week - Hunter VaDeer, Lyle-Pacelli Baseball

AUSTIN, Minn. (KTTC) – Whether its at the plate or on the mound, Hunter VaDeer is a problem.

Just look at his opening day performance.

“It went the best that I could have expected for sure,” VaDeer said.

His first at bat he smashed it out of the park.

On the mound, He fanned 18 and allowed just one hit and no runs in six innings.

“He just came out and threw strikes on a cold day. Got loose really early and never really looked back after that,” Lyle-Pacelli Head Coach Brock Meyer said.

VaDeer showed all the tools that make him special, just a sophomore his fastball is breaking 90 and his off-speed stuff is just as good.

“When he’s working that changeup and he’s got his breaking ball there isn’t a lot of people who can hit that stuff and we see it in practice every day and sometimes you just go wow,” Meyer said.

While he’s always had those tools it didn’t come overnight.

“He’s dedicated his life to baseball at this point. He’s as good a hitter as he is a pitcher and I don’t think he gets enough credit for that, but he works just as hard at that as he does pitching,” Meyer said.

“Ever since I went to that Junior Future Games in 2021 the PBR. I had a lot of fun and I realized its something that I could do at the next level, at college. So, then I kind of just dedicated more time working out, going up to the cities and working there getting the best that I could,” VaDeer said.

Now all that work is paying off.

“He has the potential every time he steps on the mound to have double digit strikeouts and he’ll give up five or four hits, but no runs that’s what he’s worked for and that’s what we expect him to do every time he goes on the mound, and he expects it of himself,” Meyer said.

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