By FRANK CASH
Herald-Whig Sports Writer
In many ways, the atmosphere still seems surreal to Luke Schlechte.
More than 40 games into his first season playing for the Quincy Gems in the Prospect League, Schlechte marvels at the fact kids of all ages wait around after home games to get autographs from the players.
"Who am I? I'm just a college kid," Schlechte said.
That won't always be the case.
Schlechte is having one of the best seasons in the Prospect League, considering he ranks second with 28 RBI, third in walks with 26 and fourth in doubles with 11. All the while, he's been the Gems' iron man.
Schlechte has started 41 of 42 games -- all in center field. The one game he didn't start, he came on as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning.
Still, Schlechte's quick to point out his shortcomings, particularly a .264 batting average.
"There's times when I'm harder on myself than anyone else is, but I could be hitting the ball better," Schlechte said. "Playing with a wood bat may be part of that. I played in a wood bat league when I was younger, but it takes time to get used to it again."
Versatility is another of Schlechte's strengths. He's batted in every spot between Nos. 1 and 7 this summer. In the last four games, Schlechte has batted first, third and fifth.
"No matter where I put him in the order, Luke never complains. At least I don't think he does," Gems manager Chris Martin said. "I think Luke's really enjoying himself this summer and is learning a lot about himself and the game. And he's showing flashes of being a player who's really, really good."
Getting to play center field means a lot to Schlechte.
That was his main position at Windsor High School in Imperial, Mo., but once he arrived at Jefferson College, he was relegated to two years in left field.
When Martin told him he'd have a shot in center, Schlechte jumped at the chance to come to Quincy.
"I fell in love with playing center in high school," Schlechte. "It was kind of disappointing that I didn't play it the last two years, but it wasn't really anything I could control. I just did the best I could."
He certainly did that. Last spring, Schlechte hit .402 and 11 home runs to help lead Jefferson to its second straight second-place finish in the region tournament. That also helped Schlechte get attention from some Division I schools.
Next year, he'll play at Coastal Carolina, a top-25 program which reached the NCAA Tournament last spring.
"Coming out of high school, I thought I had the stuff to play Division I but I had to put it on hold for a couple of years," Schlechte said. "Now that I'm there, I just want to keep working and see how far I can go."
The farther he goes, the more autographs he'll sign, just like he does every night at QU-Stadium.
"That makes it fun," Schlechte said. "It's pretty cool when kids are coming up to you asking for your autograph."
-- sports@whig.com/221-3365
