MLB's Academy boasts graduate
Six weeks ago, the 22-year-old left-hander from Santa Clarita, Calif., was bagging groceries at the local Vons store.
"I wasn't pitching at all this summer and I was just planning to go to school in the fall," said Icenogle. "A friend of mine said his scout team would like to have me as a pitcher, I got my arm back in shape, started throwing -- went right back to square one, doing good."
Icenogle had pitched for Hart High School in Santa Clarita and Pasadena City College. The young pitcher had done well enough at Pasadena to get some scouts' attention, but shoulder problems kept them away.
"I was misdiagnosed with tendinitis," said the pitcher. "We finally found the right doctor who said I would need minor surgery to correct the problem."
"When he injured himself and they told him how he had to rehab, it was going to be tough for him," said Jeff's father, Mike Icenogle. "He stuck to the rehab and did exactly what he had to do. He stuck to the program and his arm is close to 100 percent."
"He never lost any kind of determination," said Jeff's mother, Marie Begley. "He has always been a very determined young man."
The rehab process took a while and Jeff started working at the supermarket. He was invited to pitch for the Norwalk Dodgers, and he pitched against the Houston Astros scout team, which is run by Chuck Stone, an area scout that the Astros had asked to cover the Southern California area -- specifically Compton, where the MLB Urban Youth Academy is located.
"I saw him pitch one day for Norwalk and I asked to come out one day on a Friday to get a closer look at him," said Stone. "He threw real well. I liked his command and the way he handled himself and the Astros have always asked us to not only look for players with tools, but also players with character and I thought Jeff filled the bill."
Jeff started pitching for Stone's scout team on Friday nights at the Youth Academy's field. Icenogle would face some of the good young talent that Academy director Darrell Miller and his staff had put together since the academy opened in March.
"The Academy is awesome," said Jeff. "They have a state-of-the-art facility to train at, the weight room and training room are great and this is where I was scouted at. The playing field is great and you are pitching off a Major League mound."
"I think this academy will draw a lot of good athletes who will now consider playing baseball," said Stone. "This place is so beautiful -- I mean, it's like the film 'Field of Dreams.' Is this heaven? No, it's Compton."
Stone liked what he saw in the young left-hander when he pitched in the games in Compton, and asked the brass in Houston to send out more scouts to look at him.
"It was all about timing," said Stone. "He had the injuries and he had been knocked down and got back up and he was ready."
The Astros offered him a contract, which surprised Icenogle.
"It was surreal when I found out," said Jeff. "I didn't know what to think. I told my friends and some of the people I played with here at the academy, and they were very happy for me. Some of my friends were surprised and they would say, 'Hey, didn't you just start pitching again like six weeks ago?'"
Jeff will go to Spring Training in Florida next year, and depending on how he does there, may end up playing in either the Appalachian League or New York-Penn League. Wherever he ends up, the path he took to get there could give him an inner strength that will help him get to the next level in a game he loves dearly.
"I've always had the feeling that I'd go all the way," said Jeff. "I always knew I had it in me. Things kept knocking me down, I'd get back up. I was almost down and out, but I was given another shot and here I am."
Ben Platt is a national correspondent for MLB.com.