Beerer bashes in return to the diamond

Scott Beerer, a former baseball star at Newport Harbor High and Orange Coast College, is back in professional baseball after a two-year, injury-imposed absence.

And Beerer, drafted in the second round (No. 47 overall) as a pitcher by the Colorado Rockies in 2003, has reinvented himself.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pounder is playing outfield for the Tri-City Dust Devils, a Class A affiliate of the Rockies based in Pasco, Wash.

A torn labrum in his right shoulder derailed his pitching career, after earning All-American honors as a junior at Texas A&M.;

Beerer is clearly anxious to make up for lost time as a position player. In the first three games of his comeback, he went 11 for 14 with five doubles, one triple and eight runs batted in. He entered Tuesday night’s game with a .786 batting average.

It’s a return engagement with the Dust Devils for Beerer, who played with the club in 2004.

Beerer showed potential with the bat before signing with the Rockies organization the first time around. He hit .335 with 11 home runs, 17 doubles and 57 RBIs in his only season Texas A&M;, for which he was also the closer in 2003.

He also played outfield and pitched at OCC, twice earning All-Orange Empire Conference honors.

He was a two-time All-Newport-Mesa shortstop and pitcher at Newport Harbor, though he missed most of his senior season due to a back injury.

Beerer went four for five with three RBIs in his outfield debut Saturday. He was three for four with one RBI on Sunday, then went four for five with four RBIs Monday to cap the Dust Devils’ three-game road series sweep against the Boise Hawks.

He hurt his shoulder in his first professional season. After surgery, he returned to the mound in 2006, and had some success, leading the Class A Modesto Nuts in saves in 2006. But he never regained his velocity and he was out of baseball in 2007 and 2008.

He received permission to try to impress the Rockies organization in spring training this season and earned an assignment to Tri-City in the Northwest League.

— Barry Faulkner