Alright folks, grab a seat. Wanna share how I ended up deep diving into the new arms joining the Sun Devils next year. Got curious about the fresh talent, you know? Heard whispers, saw some names floating around.
First thing Tuesday morning, fired up the laptop. Dug around. Straight up asked my contact over at the baseball office, “Hey man, who’s actually showing up for the pitching roster in ’25?” Took a couple days, gotta be patient. They’re busy folks.
Got the list finally. Couple names jumped out immediately. Okay, thought I, time to do some real legwork. Pulled up my old scouting notebook. Started watching tape. Man, so much tape. High school games, summer league clips, anything I could find online. Spent hours squinting at grainy videos on my tablet.
Here’s what stuck out about the main guys I zeroed in on:
- The Power Arm: Kid named Rodriguez. Watched him absolutely blow fastballs past hitters. Like, 95+ MPH consistently. Mechanics look clean online videos, but gotta see it live for real. Saw one clip where the catcher’s mitt was popping loud. Real loud. Made me sit up straight.
- The Control Freak: Second guy, Jackson. Totally different vibe. Doesn’t throw smoke, but man, he hits spots. Watched one full game replay. Pitched like seven innings, walked one batter. Everything painting the corners. Felt like he was playing chess out there.
- The Wildcard: Third kid, Tanaka. This one’s interesting. Tall, lanky kid still growing into his body. Found one summer league clip where he spun a breaking ball that just… disappeared. Dirty. But other times? Wildly inconsistent. Needs work, but the raw stuff? Yeah, it’s there.
Didn’t stop there. Dug into some stats I could find – strikeout rates, walk rates, some basic ERA stuff for their high school/summer teams. Rough numbers, but gives a baseline. Typed up messy notes in my phone while watching:
- “Rodriguez: K/9 looks insane, maybe 12+?”
- “Jackson: Hits targets, low walks = good for college”
- “Tanaka: Electric arm, control issues obvious”
Why do I care this much? Because my nephew got cut from his JV team last month. Kid was crushed. Showed him these clips. Said look, these guys are talented, sure, but they’re just like you were last year. The work? That’s the difference maker. You see Rodriguez just dealing? Hours in the bullpen, man. Jackson painting corners? Rep after rep after rep. Tanaka figuring out that curveball? Pure sweat and focus.
Went down to the practice field Wednesday evening, just watched how the current Devils pitchers trained. Saw coach Smith putting guys through drills. You see exactly what gaps these new guys need to fill. Power? Control? Raw development? All covered. Told my nephew, “It ain’t magic, kid. It’s showing up.” These new pitchers? They’re showing up. Gonna be fun watching it unfold next spring.