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Hohokam stadium5/17/2023 ![]() ![]() That helps a lot with prospects or guys in MLB who have had success. “I think the biggest thing was the work ethic, the mentality that Valenzuela installed in all of us,” Waldichuk said. 3 left-handed pitching prospect in baseball heading into the season. Waldichuk credits former Gaels head coach Eric Valenzuela for helping him transform from a lightly recruited college player into one that MLB.com ranks as the No. Last season, he averaged 13 strikeouts per nine innings. In 2021, his first full season, he was fourth in the minors in strikeouts. He’s also got a three-quarters delivery that is deceptive, especially for left-handed batters. He throws a mid-90s fastball and has an electric slider and evolving changeup. Waldichuk has all the tools to be a dominating starter. Oakland A’s pitcher Ken Waldichuk participates in exercises during the Oakland A’s first day of Spring Training workouts at Hohokam Stadium on Februin Mesa, Arizona.Photo by John Medina It’s not far-fetched to think Waldichuk, who walked on at Saint Mary’s before adding more than 10 miles of speed to his fastball, could be the ace of the A’s rotation when the franchise’s major rebuilding project is complete. ![]() A month later, the A’s made sure the 25-year-old left-hander was part of the trade that sent Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino to the Bronx. Waldichuk recorded the final out in that game, representing the New York Yankees. After three seasons with the Gaels he was a fifth-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft by the Yankees. After being lightly recruited out of high school, Ken Waldichuk’s career path changed dramatically after arriving in Moraga in 2016. Former Gaels pitchers Corbin Burnes and Tony Gonsolin were members of the National League team, and two more – including Waldichuk – participated in the Future’s Game, the annual showcase of the top prospects in the minor leagues. The Gaels’ reach was on full display last summer during All-Star weekend at Dodger Stadium. But in the modern era, nothing has come close to this new golden age of Gaels baseball. Saint Mary’s fielded its first baseball team in 1872 and was the dominant college program on the West Coast in the early 20th century. ![]() A’s fans might have been a little surprised to learn that Ken Waldichuk, the franchise’s top pitching prospect, got his start a few miles up the road from the Coliseum in the tree-lined hills of Moraga.īut word of the pitching pipeline coming out of Saint Mary’s College is spreading. ![]()
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