American Falls’ Dominyk Chesler transitions from freshman starter to legion star

POCATELLO — Fresh off a ninth-grade season in which he earned the starting catcher position on the American Falls High School varsity baseball squad, Dominyk Chesler continues to work toward lofty goals with the Pocatello American Legion Rays.

Catcher’s gear has earned the nickname “the tools of ignorance,” due to the bumps and bruises — and oftentimes worse — that come with donning that gear. But Chesler, at an age when many young backstops decide the position is not for them, has doubled down on his commitment to the highly taxing position.

“I love being able to have the ball every play, being able to control the field and being the leader on the field,” he told EastIdahoSports.com.

Earning the starting varsity spot as a freshman, he added, was an incredible feeling:

“Everybody underestimated me, and I showed them what I can actually do.”

As a 15-year-old, Chesler struggled, at times, offensively facing varsity pitching this season.

Rather than allowing those struggles to carry over to his defensive game however, he worked harder on his defense, making himself indispensable with the glove.

His goal, Chesler explained, is to finish a season without allowing a single stolen base. He threw out two attempted base stealers during the Rays’ 11-8 loss to the Idaho Falls Knights, Saturday at Halliwell Park.

It takes so much more work than just hours of pop drills to become an elite throwing catcher, and Chesler is happy to put in that work. That means he works out, eats and essentially lives with that goal in mind — modeling himself after retired St. Louis Cardinals great and nine-time Gold Glove winner Yadier Molina.

While his primary focus is on improving defensively, Chesler is using his time in Legion ball catching his offense up to his defense.

Last week, in five games played, Chesler went 6-for-14 (.429) with six RBIs and two runs scored.

He is also building his strength and endurance, even logging two full games behind the plate during the Rays doubleheader on Saturday. Physicality, he said, is what makes the catcher position so tough.

“I think, the hardest thing is how tiring it can be. It’s tiring,” he said.

There is some level of mental fatigue, he explained, but mind over matter he is able to ignore that and remain locked in on every pitch. It is more the physical fatigue that he feels the affects of, and that is something he continues to work on — and will for the next three years and, potentially, well beyond.