With a baseball chip on his shoulder, Jason Van Kooten is out to show high-round draft picks aren’t the only players who know how to play the game.
Though it’s early in the Single-A Northwest League season, Van Kooten is proving his point with Rockies affiliate Tri City. He entered the weekend hitting .303, the highest batting average for any shortstop in the Rockies’ farm system.
His counterparts in the organization include Chris Nelson (.220 at Asheville) and Troy Tulowitzki (.167 at Modesto), first- round picks by the Rockies in the past two June drafts.
Van Kooten doesn’t have lofty draft credentials. He was the Rockies’ 46th-round pick two years ago after playing at Regis High School in the Denver area and one season at Seward County (Kan.) Community College, but he doesn’t think drafting order captures intangibles – his biggest being that he lives and breathes baseball.
“If I worry about everyone else, it just wears me down,” Van Kooten said. “I can play second base or third base, and that’s a benefit for when it’s time to move up to a higher level.”
Van Kooten said he believes his focus will show him the path to the major leagues. He said his former high school coach, Tom Severtson, taught him to play baseball as it should be played. He received special instruction from former Rockies shortstop Walt Weiss, who helped Severtson at Regis.
“I remember watching (Weiss) when I was growing up,” said Van Kooten, 20. “My goal was to play the game just like him.”
Baseball has helped him through some rough spots. He remembers how the game helped him pull through grief from the deaths of two family members, an aunt and a grandfather, during his high school days.
“It helps to relieve stress for me,” Van Kooten said. “It’s a release point. Baseball’s my second life next to family and friends.”
His father, Sherwin Van Kooten, recognized his son’s dedication.
“Jason had shoulder surgery in the fall of his first year in high school,” Sherwin Van Kooten said. “I had to put lights up in the backyard so we could play catch all winter so he’d be ready for the baseball season. We played in the cold and in the snow.”
Baseball people don’t doubt Van Kooten’s resolve.
“He’s very determined, and he’s going to do what it takes to keep advancing,” Tri City Dust Devils manager Ron Gideon said. “The way he’s going right now, I don’t doubt that he’ll make it to the major leagues.”
P.J. Carey, Van Kooten’s manager last year at Casper in the Pioneer League, sees a throwback to baseball’s earlier days.
“Jason is a traditional, old school-type player,” Carey said. “I see a lot of Walt Weiss’ personality and work ethic in him. Walt’s still a big person in Jason’s life. I know if he ever needs him for anything on or off the field, Walt will be there.”
Severtson makes a comparison the Rockies like to hear.
“He’s a Clint Barmes-type player,” Severtson said.
Barmes was on his way to a possible National League rookie of the year season with the Rockies before being sidelined with an off-the-field shoulder injury.
Van Kooten is on his way.
He hit his first home run of the season Friday night.
Irv Moss can be reached
at 303-820-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
