Baseball Genius: Baseball Genius 1 (Jeter Publishing)

An average kid with an above average talent for predicting baseball pitches tries to help his favorite player out of a slump in this New York Times bestselling novel from authors Tim Green and Derek Jeter.

Jalen DeLuca loves baseball. Unfortunately his dad can€t afford to keep him on the travel team. His dad runs a diner and makes enough to cover the bills, but there isn€t anything for extras. So Jalen decides to take matters into his own hands and he sneaks into the home of the New York Yankee€s star second baseman, James Yager, and steals a couple of balls from his personal batting cage. He knows that if he can sell them, he€ll be able to keep himself on the team.

But like the best-laid plans€"or in this case the worst!€"Jalen€s scheme goes wrong when Yager catches him. But Jalen has a secret: his baseball genius. He can analyze and predict almost exactly what a pitcher is going to do with his next pitch. He can€t quite explain how he knows, he just knows. And after proving to Yager that he really can do this, using a televised game and predicting pitch after pitch with perfect accuracy, the two agree to a deal. Jalen will help Yager out of his batting slump and Yager won€t press charges.

However, when he begins to suspect that the team€s general manager has his own agenda, Jalen€s going to need his friends and his unusual baseball talent to save not only Yager€s career, but his own good name.