Coaches love to have a Brett Lechien — or, if possible, a few of them — on their team.
Blending instincts and baseball intelligence with speed that makes him a big asset as a baserunner and center-field flycatcher, the Emporia High junior is one of the Spartans’ most fundamentally sound players. Lechien’s also someone whom coach Mike Strickland values as a lefthanded reliever, and his attitude likely illustrates a big reason why EHS is a surprising 6-2 this year after Tuesday’s doubleheader sweep of Topeka High.
“He’s a good kid, he works hard every day in practice, he’s fundamentally just a good baseball player,” Strickland said. “And he plays with the concept of team first. It’s not about him — it’s team.”
Watch Lechien in center as soon as ball meets bat, and chances are, he gets a good read and jump on any ball in his vicinity. If he doesn’t, he’s got the speed to play catchup on a flyball in any direction and make it a routine play.
“I feel like I belong out there,” Lechien said.
Center field is the position he prefers to working on the mound, where he’s also shown promise and ability — he can work both sides of the plate and keep a hitter’s timing off.
“In the offseason, I worked on my changeup and a little bit on my curveball and spotting up when I need to,” he said.
Though he’s started one game so far this year, Strickland sees him predominantly as a reliever.
“He keeps a lot of guys off balance for us,” Strickland said, “and the reason he throws in relief is, he’s a guy that I feel like can really come in and throw strikes, and he can keep ’em off balance, and he’s been doing a good job of that.
“Starting (a game), I think two and three times up and down an opposing team’s lineup, they may get timing on him. But coming in in relief, he can go through (a) time, time-and-a-half in their lineup and get two innings for us. And I really need him defensively out there in center.”
Whatever position he’s at, Lechien can display his considerable baseball IQ. In Game Two against Topeka High on Tuesday — a game the Spartans went on to win 12-11 in eight innings — Lechien relieved starting pitcher Dominic Rodriguez with one out in the second inning. In the third, he struggled, giving up three singles and two runs, but his smarts turned the inning’s tide.
With Topeka High’s John Carlson on second base, Lechien fielded a grounder back to the mound, caught Carlson veering too far toward third and ran straight toward him. Lechien’s reaction and considerable speed made for a textbook rundown, and he threw to third to record the out. The inning ended two batters later with no further damage done.
“He’s just a real smart player overall,” Strickland said.
Offensively, Lechien has mostly been hitting at or near the bottom of the order, and he may not soon become a table-setter like Zach Gifford, or join guys like Jacob Loucks and Rodriguez in the middle of the order. But Strickland likes what Lechien can do in the eight- or nine-hole. Batting eighth against Topeka High, he had two singles in Game One’s 15-5 victory, then added a hit-by-pitch, a walk and a stolen base in Game Two. He’s hitting .333 (7-for-21) so far this season with one double and three RBIs.
“Brett’s gonna be a kid that he can spray it around the whole field, he can bunt,” Strickland said. “And he’s down (in the lineup) for a reason: to make contact. His job’s to put the baseball in play and find a way to move runners for us, and he’s been doing that all season.”
Entering a tough section of their schedule, with their next two doubleheaders coming at home against Shawnee Heights (6-3) today and at Seaman (9-0) next Tuesday, the Spartans will need Lechien’s fundamental play to continue to win. And it might be just as key that his team-first approach continues to be infectious.
“He is a good example,” Strickland said. “He’s a good leader, and to be honest with you, that’s the biggest thing right now. I think our seniors have really stepped up, and we got some guys that aren’t playing, and aren’t seeing a lot of innings at all. But we got guys sitting there, and they’re doing their job in the dugout. We’ve got guys pinch-running here, and we got guys catching (bullpen sessions) when we need to.
“Those guys... they don’t get hits out here and everything else, but they’re a huge part of this team.”