The Family Guy -- Pearland's Blake Goins

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The Family Guy

Pearland’s Blake Goins Ready to Lead Oiler Family

By Austin Staton

@astaton

The difference between good and great on the baseball diamond is a competitive nature, a bulldog mentality, and someone who places the team’s goals above one’s own.

At Pearland High School, right-hander Blake Goins is elevating his game to new heights this season as one of a handful of seniors on a youthful – but talented – Oilers’ squad. And his attitude and work-ethic is a big reason behind their success.

“Each day I want to go out there and compete,” says Goins, a Texas-signee. “I want to be known for doing things for the team and being a team-player that instills that mindset into our younger players. This season is about the baseball family.”

For Goins, he leads by example on the diamond and his work-ethic throughout the offseason has paid dividends early this season.

Through his first three games in 2013, Goins has tallied three wins while posting 20 strikeouts to just two walks in 15.0 innings of work — a significant improvement on his strikeout/walk ratio from a year ago. In terms of velocity, the talented senior has consistently delivered a low-90s fastball while being clocked as high as 95 mph.  

But that’s not enough for Goins. In pursuit of his childhood dream to continue playing baseball past his prep career, Goins has added a mid-80s slider to his already potent four-pitch arsenal.

“My dream is to play at the next level and progress as a student-athlete,” says Goins, who is ranked as the 41st-best senior prospect in the state of Texas according to Perfect Game. “This season I’ve worked on maintaining control and manipulating my velocity. My big thing is to not get flat, to stay downhill and get the first strike. Doing that allows so many more options in the count.” 

As for his dream for playing at the next level, he’ll get the chance next fall as he heads to the 40 Acres to play for legendary head coach Augie Garrido and the Longhorns.

“When you step on the campus, it’s a great feeling. Once you step on the field, it feels like home,” he explains. “It’ll be fun playing at Texas because I already have a relationship with my future teammates and now we get to play at the next level.”

For Goins, he credits his ability to continue playing in college to his summer travel team, the Columbia Angels. He says that facing the best players throughout the country allowed him to expose his game to college coaches and scouts.

“In high school ball, the top five hitters in the lineup are usually pretty good. During summer ball, every hitter in the lineup is dangerous,” he says. “Playing in big tournaments has taught me good mechanics, to maintain a smooth delivery, and with that, velocity and endurance have developed.”

At the prep level, Goins and his Pearland teammates were ranked as the fourth-best team in the state according to Perfect Game. But for the senior leader who wakes up every morning just wanting to practice and play baseball, fourth isn’t good enough – their goals are set much higher.

“Every team’s goal should be to end their season in Round Rock and we have a legitimate shot to make that happen,” says Goins. “We have two starting seniors but our underclassmen talent is phenomenal. Chemistry wise, we have a good camaraderie and that can help you go far. This season has been better than it’s ever been and I’m proud of that.”