Local pitcher has big-league dreams

     By Todd Dewey
     View staff writer
      Anthony Pluta stepped on the same mound that Arizona Diamondbacks All-Star Randy Johnson did only days earlier at the Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix.
      Then the Las Vegas High School graduate did his best impression of the Big Unit, firing four fastballs that hit 97 mph on the radar gun.
      That performance, which occurred at a tryout a couple of weeks before the recent Major League Baseball first-year player draft, helped convince the Houston Astros to select Pluta in the third round (97th overall pick).
      "Just to get drafted, I would've been happy," Pluta said. "So it was like, `Wow, the third round.' That was incredible. I was happy."
      Pluta, a 6-foot-2-inch, 200-pound right-hander, was ranked among the nation's top 20 prospects by Baseball America before his senior year. However, he struggled a bit on the hill this season, going 4-3 with a 4.76 ERA and giving up 35 hits and 23 walks in 38 2/3 innings.
      "I didn't have the greatest season, so I was pretty surprised (to get drafted in the third round)," he said. "I think the main reason I went so high was because of the draft tryouts."
      Pluta, who hit 96 mph at Edison International Field in Anaheim, Calif. -- home of the Anaheim Angels -- had never thrown the ball harder than he did in Arizona.
      "That was pretty fun. It psyched me up," he said. "I think part of the reason I did so well was getting out there on a major-league mound against other prospects."
      Pluta, whom his father claims was the youngest player taken in the draft -- he doesn't turn 18 until Oct. 28 -- expected to go to the Diamondbacks.
      "The Diamondbacks were really interested. They told me if I was still around at the 99th pick, they'd pick me up. But I got picked up with the 97th," he said. "The Astros weren't the team that showed the most interest, but they had been in the house a few times. So it was kind of a shock."
      Just about every major league team, with the exception of the Yankees, had been in touch with Pluta, who moved to Las Vegas from San Diego 10 years ago.
      "My parents wanted to see me go with (the Padres), but it doesn't matter to me," Pluta said.
      Pluta, who had more than 30 Division I scholarship offers, plans to forgo his scholarship to Long Beach State University and head straight to Houston's Class A team in Martinsville, Va.
      "Since Little League, from tee-ball all the way up, it's always been my dream (to go pro)," he said. "I just want to get out there and start playing."
      At press time, Pluta hadn't yet signed a contract. However, he was confident he would embark on his diamond dreams soon.
      "Their scouting director came out and talked about what to expect (financially)," he said. "It sounded great. I'm ready to go play. I'm psyched."
      Pluta has a lengthy baseball lineage. His grandfather played in the military with Hall of Famer Stan Musial and his great-great grandfather played semi-pro ball in the St. Louis Cardinals' organization in the 1920s.
      Pluta said he hopes to take that tradition to the majors.
      "That is my definite goal," he said. "Hopefully, I can get there in four years or less. I'm gonna work as hard as I can to get there and as hard as I can to stay, because once I get there, I don't want to go back down. I want to stay up there."
      Incredibly, Pluta, who hit .478 with a team-high eight homers and 43 RBIs this year, has only been pitching for three years.
      It wasn't until he hit 90 mph on the radar gun his freshman year during a tryout with the Diamondbacks that the Wildcats decided to make the power-hitting outfielder a pitcher.
      "When they found out I could throw hard, they turned me into a pitcher," he said. "I never thought I'd be a pitcher (in the pros). I was really wild in Little League and stuff, so I didn't pitch much. I'm just starting to pitch seriously."
      Pluta, who is armed with a change-up, slider and the blistering fastball, said he has plenty of room for improvement -- from his mechanics to his mental approach to the game.
      "I need to learn a lot about the mental game. I don't really know how to set up hitter's yet," he said. "It's kind of hard thinking and pitching at the same time. That's what I'm hoping the pros help me out with -- (I hope they) make me more of a pitcher than just a thrower."
      Las Vegas High coach Sam Thomas said Pluta needs to work on his control to reach his ultimate goal.
      "He knows it, too. They're definitely gonna look at that as the main thing he has to work on," Thomas said. "But he's got a good work ethic.
      "If Anthony continues to throw as hard as he does and concentrates on throwing strikes, he's got as good a chance as anyone (to make the majors)."