BELMONT teenager Lachlan Wells will realise a lifelong dream on Monday when he signs a Major League Baseball contract with the Minnesota Twins.
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The 17-year-old, who boasts a 148km/h fast ball, is considered among Australia’s hottest young pitching talent and began drawing the attention of major league scouts after playing at the 2012 national championships as a 15-year-old.
Since then, Wells has represented Australia at the Under-18 World Cup in Taiwan, becoming only the second pitcher to gain national baseball selection up an age group.
The left-handed pitcher will put pen to paper on a seven-year deal with the Twins at Miller Field, Belmont today.
He will be joined by Twins’ International Scouting Coordinator Howie Norsetter and Country Baseball NSW High Performance manager Stewart Bell.
Wells is expected to head to the US early next year and take up a position with one of the Twins’ minor league affiliates.
The Newcastle Herald understands Wells was scouted and approached by several other major league teams but chose Minnesota, who play in the AL Central Division, because of the opportunities they offered in their minor league system.
Wells, who has represented Belmont since he was young enough to play tee-ball, returned home on Sunday night after helping Newcastle claim the Under-18 NSW Country Championships in Wollongong.
Wells has a twin brother, Alexander, also a burgeoning baseball talent, who is said to be weighing up either a career in the professional leagues or a few years at an American college.
The Wells twins pitched Belmont to their sixth straight Newcastle first-grade baseball premiership against White Sox in September last year.
