Travis Jenkins has been quite the catch for title-contending Gov. Mifflin
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Travis Jenkins would be comfortable playing anywhere on a baseball diamond.
He was Gov. Mifflin’s starting right fielder as a freshman, and has seen time in center. He pitches in relief. He’s agile enough to play the middle infield spots.
He’s always felt most at home behind the plate. That’s where he’ll be Friday afternoon when Mifflin plays for the PIAA Class 5A championship.
“I just like being involved in the game, keeping everyone in check,” the junior said of making his home behind home. “You’re out there in your own little world. You’ve gotta keep yourself in check to make sure your pitcher’s in check; I like doing it.”
Ethan Grim, a power-throwing right-hander getting Division I looks, will be on the mound when the Mustangs (23-5) face Hollidaysburg (17-6) at 4:30 at Penn State’s Medlar Field.
Bryce Detwiler, a University of Connecticut recruit, will be at shortstop and will be the focal point of Hollidaysburg’s scouting report as the Mustangs’ leadoff and most potent hitter.
Jenkins has been every bit as vital to the Mustangs’ playoff run, both as a hitter and plate defender. He showed off those skills in Monday’s semifinal win against Selinsgrove when he pulled off a rare hat trick for a catcher – he threw out a runner at each base during the 7-2 win.
He nailed base-stealers at second and third base in the early innings, then ended the sixth inning with a snap throw from his knees to first to pick a runner off first. (He had another base-stealer thrown out but his infielder dropped the throw.)
“Travis is just an absolute weapon behind the plate,” said Mifflin coach Chris Hole. “He’s got an arm as good as anybody. He knows when to unleash it. If you give Travis a shot, he’s gonna throw a runner out nine out of 10 times.”
That’s a slight exaggeration, but not by much: Jenkins has thrown out 45 percent of base-stealers this season, an incredibly high percentage for a high school catcher.
“Mechanically he does things so well, and he has such a strong arm,” Hole said.
Jenkins is a virtual wall behind the dish: He has just been charged with just four passed balls in 28 games and has committed only one error. No wonder he was selected as the All-Berks catcher.
It should come as no surprise to see him excel at sport’s most demanding position, given his background.
His father Chris was a catcher on Alvernia’s 30-win 1991 team, which was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame. Once Travis learned his dad was a catcher he couldn’t wait to strap on the gear.
“He’s been my catching coach ever since I started playing,” Travis said of his dad. “He’s been next to me every step of the way, and I can’t be more thankful. He taught me everything I know.”
Travis adopted his old-school mentality from his dad and still catches in a traditional manner, from a crouch. Many major leaguers and others have adopted a more relaxed – and less physically demanding – catching position, working from their knees when there are no runners on base.
Chris Jenkins goes to full boil when he sees that.
“You’ve gotta be able to move side to side,” he said, explaining why it’s more effective to catch from the crouch. “I like that (Travis) catches the right way. He plays the game the way it should be played.”
“He’s very polished there,” Hole said. “The way he handles a pitching staff, the way he blocks the ball, frames the ball, the way he throws – he just does it all as a catcher. We’ve had some damned good ones come through this program and Travis is right up there with the best of the best.”
College coaches have noticed. He’s getting looks from Big 10 programs, as well as other Division I schools. Some are looking at him as a catcher; some as an outfielder; some as a guy who could play a variety of roles.
“They all like the way he swings the bat, (and) how quick his hands are,” Chris Jenkins said.
Travis Jenkins is 5-9, 170 pounds, which might be on the small side for a Division I catcher. No one seems to mind, though. He’s strong – up 20 pounds, to 170, from his sophomore year after training with Detwiler and Grim at Next Play Sports Performance. The ball flies off his bat.
Jenkins is second on the team, behind Detwiler, in home runs (3), extra-base hits (13), total bases (52), slugging (.627) and OPS (1.108). He’s third in batting average (.373), hits (31), runs scored (23), and on-base percentage (.481).
That he occupies the No. 3 hole in a potent Mifflin lineup tells you about his prowess with the bat. He’s fearless up there, too, crowding the plate, daring pitchers to challenge him inside.
You’ll see him obliterate the lines in the batter’s box with his foot in his first at-bat so that he can get as close as possible to the plate. More than one home plate ump has needed to moved him back off the dish.
“I like to get as close to the plate as possible,” he said. “It relaxes me, so I’m not so anxious. Wherever it’s pitched I’ve gotta put a good swing on it.”
That’s been the case in the PIAA Tournament, where he’s gone 6-for-10 with four RBIs and two runs scored in three games.
Once on base he can be asset, too. He scored from second on Joey Berg’s walk-off single in a 1-0 win over Lampeter-Strasburg in the District 3 semifinals. How many catchers are among their team’s top base-stealers and run-scorers?
“What separates Travis is, he’s not only an above-average guy (in terms of) speed, he’s also a fantastic baserunner,” Hole said. “Some people think it’s all about speed; he’s the perfect example that it’s not. You’ve gotta have a combination of the two.”
