Prep profile: Peterson big hit, and then some, for WV

West Valley baseball coach Don O’Neal said that it is worth the price of admission to watch junior outfielder Bryan Peterson hit.

“I want to charge people to watch him take batting practice,” O’Neal said. “He’s just a beast.”

O’Neal told of an at-bat last week when Peterson, a left-handed hitter, slashed the ball at the opposing shortstop.

“He had just enough time to get out of the way,” said O’Neal “He made no attempt to field it because the ball was hit that hard.”

The third-year starter for the Eagles was among the home-run leaders and finished third in runs batted in last year in the Greater Spokane League for the then-3A state qualifying team.

This year, in the 2A Great Northern League, he is wearing pitchers out. In 14 games for the league co-champions, Peterson batted .583 with six home runs, six doubles and two triples among 28 hits. He drove in 33 runs, more than double his nearest teammate.

“I love hitting the ball. That’s the best part of the game,” said Peterson, who would be just as happy being an Edgar Martinez-type designated hitter as a position player.

Peterson is a three-sport athlete. A two-year starter in football, he is WV’s quarterback in the fall. In basketball he led the state-qualifying Eagles in scoring last winter.

But it is baseball that is dearest to his heart. Peterson has had the advantage of developing under the watch of his father, Mike – a three-sport athlete at University High School, a starting wide receiver at WSU and current college basketball official.

“Dad just says, whatever I want he’ll help me,” Peterson said.

He’s played American Legion since the summer before his eighth-grade year both as an infielder and outfielder.

As a freshman starter for the Eagles his promise became evident the day he hit a home run at North Central over the right-field fence and into the street.

“My ultimate dream is to be drafted out of high school. I think that would be really cool,” Peterson said. “If that doesn’t happen, I’ll definitely play in college.”

But for all the positions he’s already played – middle infield, third base, outfield and pitcher – it is catching where his future may lie. At 6-foot-2, 200 pounds with a quarterback’s arm, the position makes sense for his baseball future.

He said his summer coach this year, Jeff Simmelink of the Dodgers, told him the story of a college catcher who hadn’t played the position in high school, but wound up a first-round major league draft choice.

O’Neal said he tried to talk Peterson into trying it as an eighth-grader but he didn’t want to.

“He caught one game this year and will work on it all summer,” O’Neal said.

Peterson said that he had done so once in youth ball and it was one of his worst baseball experiences. This year’s game behind the plate, in a non-leaguer against Post Falls, was a different story.

“I was nervous going in, but it was really fun,” Peterson said.

It was also one of his best hitting games. Peterson went 4 for 4, with a double and triple.

And hitting is what Peterson is about.