Jake Negrete started playing tee ball in Cortez at age 5 in 1995.
A life of baseball began, and over the next 17 years its still going strong.
Negrete, 21, pitched an outstanding prep career in Arizona at Kingman High School.
The righty then took his game to the next level, pitching a year at Yavapai College in Prescott, Ariz. Negrete pitched his sophomore season at Mount San Jacinto Community College in Hemet, Calif. He posted a 9-1 record with a 3.41 ERA, while throwing in the low 90s. Negretes fastball earned him a professional contract with the Los Angeles Angels.
The former Cortez tee baller is now pitching for the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Kernels, the Low-A Angels minor league team.
Jake is the son of Ernie Negrete, a Montezuma-Cortez High School graduate, and grandson of Cortez resident, Martha Martinez. Jake Negrete has a daughter, Khloe.