On deck: Tucker Judkins

Tucker Judkins may have some things to teach his coaches when he gets back from training in Florida with some of the nation’s best young baseball players.

The sophomore second baseman for the Peoples Academy varsity baseball team was named recently to the Under Armour Baseball Factory’s national team, after impressing the scouts with his skills at a tryout Aug. 10 tryout at Centennial Field in Burlington.

“They said I had a quick glove and good hands,” said Judkins, 15. “There was some wicked competition down there, better than any I’ve ever seen.”

Judkins’s performance earned him a trip in November to the Pittsburgh Pirates’ spring training site in Bradenton, Fla. He said he is one of 15 players from around the nation to get invited.

While there, he will play and practice nine to 10 hours a day under the tutelage of college coaches and former major leaguers. The week in Florida concludes with an all-star game.

“I know I’m going to learn a lot of new stuff, and maybe be able to come back and tell some of the upcoming freshmen some things,” Judkins said.

He might be able to teach his coaches a thing or two, as well, says Peoples assistant coach Brian Quad.

“Tucker’s a great kid, works hard and has a really high baseball IQ,” Quad said. “This is going to broaden his horizons. It’ll free him to elevate his game and it’ll be good for his leadership skills.”

The camp is one of many programs operated by the Baseball Factory, now in its 20th year. It has helped thousands of high school ballplayers develop their skills so they can play in college. And every Major League Baseball team has had at least one player who went through the Baseball Factory. Among them are Cy Young winners Justin Verlander and C.C. Sabbathia and sluggers Josh Hamilton and Jose Bautista.

Judkins comes from a Yankees family, and both he and his mother, Jennifer, call Derek Jeter their favorite player. He thinks fellow second baseman Robinson Cano, an ex-Yankee now with Seattle, is the best at that position. Jennifer Judkins said her son wants to play ball in college, and this trip to Florida ought to boost his chances. And she said his grades are already in solid B-plus, A-minus territory.

“He’s doing really well in school, and this will encourage him to do even better,” she said. “This is amazing, unbelievable. I can’t wait to see what happens to him.”

The Baseball Factory travels all over the nation, hosting skills drills and tryouts for high schooler baseballers between ages 14 and 18. At Burlington’s Centennial Field on Aug. 10, Judkins and dozens of other players from Vermont and nearby states showed off their skills in the 60-yard dash, arm strength, fielding and hitting drills.

It’s not typical for a freshman to start for the varsity, let alone as an infielder and leadoff hitter, Quad said. But Judkins has a way of getting on base or advancing the runner — using bunts, walks, sacrifice flies or hits — and a way of not ever looking at his stats, Quad said.

“I like to work the count,” Judkins said.

He’s also quick, knows how to get a secondary lead for stealing, and he can go from first to third on a single, Quad said.

Although the camp in Florida will cost the family a little over $2,000, there is no question about whether he’ll go. “There wasn’t even a discussion,” Jennifer Judkins said.

The family is holding a bottle drive to help cover expenses and is taking donations; they can be mailed to P.O. Box 140 in Morrisville.