Newton County will send another player up the road to the East Central baseball program in David Burton.
Burton has battled injuries in the past but was on track to be a division starter for the Cougars last season. Coach Wyatt Tullos said Burton is consistently in the upper 80s.
“I think his upside is as a pitcher,” Tullos said. “He’s a big, strong kid and has a live arm. He consistently works in the upper 80s and I’m not one of those guys to exaggerate that. He has been working on a breaking ball that’s like a slurve and has a lot of late movement. I think he would be really effective this spring if he keeps working.”
Burton pitched in the State Games this past summer that features the best juniors in the state. Burton said East Central was a no-brainer for him.
“It’s been a life-long dream of mine to be able to make it out of high school and play at the next level,” Burton said. “East Central as the only school that I really considered. I had a couple of others looking but East Central was the one that stood out to me. My buddies there told me it was a good program if I was serious you playing baseball at the next level.”
Burton said he was going to major in physical therapy to “be able to help athletes like they helped me when I was hurt.”
Tullos said Burton’s work ethic sets him apart.
“He is really strong and works hard in the weight room,” Tullos said. “He can squat the house. He also worked really hard doing his long tossing. We have been working a lot of bullpen stuff working on mechanics and he continues to get better in the technical aspect of pitching.”
