September 16, 2025 • 32 mins
We interview Blue Jays prospect Jackson Wentworth and talked how it all started for him. We also talked about his High School years, his time in K-State, being drafted as a Blue Jay, his 1st professional season with the Vancouver Canadians , and many more!
Where you can find Jackson Wentworth:
- IG : jackson_3230_
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:30):
Welcome to another edition of the Blue Jays Ave.
Podcast. We have a special guest in here
today. He plays for the the Vancouver
Canadians to hire affiliates forthe Blue Jays.
Jackson Wentworth, welcome to the show, just introduced to
yourself. I know that I gave you an
introduction, but just let everyone know what you do.
(00:51):
Hi, I'm Jackson Wentworth. So I played baseball for Toronto
Blue Jays with the affiliate andVancouver, Canada and hopefully
next year I'll be in AA. Yeah, thanks for joining us,
man, Giving us your time today. It's it's gonna be fun to get to
learn about the, the player you become and and and what you're
(01:12):
all about. So thanks for for hopping on
today. We appreciate it.
Thanks for having me. You're welcome.
So the first question I want to ask you is, so how did you start
this journey? Like what made you fall in love
with the sport of baseball? But like what got you going and
who influenced you to get you get you started?
(01:36):
You know, growing up, my dad hadme just play a lot of sports
growing up and just noticing baseball is the most consistent
sport in my life. I played football, basketball,
wrestling, I did track. I did quite a bit of sports and
baseball was just the consistentone that I always enjoyed
playing. And I always thought of having
(01:58):
baseball as a career job and a dream job.
And I'm happy that I get to do this as my job for right now.
But I would always love to get to a higher level, just pursue
my dream and Lord willing, if I get to make it to the majors,
I'll be ecstatic. But just knowing that the work
is only just begun when I get there.
(02:21):
So coming from the state of Iowa, who are some of the teams
that that you grew up rooting for and and what are some
players that you idolized back then?
Growing up in Iowa, they're like, obviously you have people
that like the Cardinals or the Cubs, the White Sox or the
Royals. But my dad, he, he liked the
Yankees. So I grew up kind of like
(02:42):
watching the Yankees. I always liked watching Derek
Jeter, but I always did like watching Mariano Rivera pitch.
So I just watched that. I always watched the like, kind
of like the highlight reels of Mariano Rivera and just how like
he always dominated anytime he threw and I just enjoyed
watching him play. Since since you grew up in Iowa
(03:05):
and baseball is the sport you love, but what, what's the, the
strength of sport? Where you at right now?
Because there's no baseball teamand, and obviously there's, like
you said, there's other sports that are probably pretty
dominant, but what's the most strongest sport in in the state
of Iowa? I would definitely say
wrestling. Wrestling is a is a big sport in
(03:25):
Iowa, but you also have footballtoo.
But I think wrestling is like kind of what we're known for.
OK, talk about your childhood years growing up playing
baseball in and what other pitches, actions did you play
besides being a pitcher itself? When I grew up playing baseball,
(03:49):
I was like mainly pitcher, catcher.
Then if I wasn't doing either one of those, I was playing
shortstop or anywhere in the middle infield.
Maybe third base falls allowed too, but I always enjoyed
pitching way more. I just liked the aspect of kind
of controlling the game, controlling the tempo of the
game and kind of just having funwith like pitches in the strike
(04:11):
zone. I always found that very fun and
that's what I always found that I was good at.
And so far I'm happy that it continues to work out, so I'm
just happy that I get to pitch and get to do a job I like.
Where were you more comfortable being a pitcher or because I
know that, you know, when you play different positions, it's
(04:31):
like you could stick to one position or they there's like
utility guys. But and now today you could see
baseball that some players are actually two way players like
Otani, of course, but I think Noel Mclean's another one.
But but just the pitching aspectjust made you made more
comfortable than anything else. Yeah, pitching always found I
(04:52):
was like at ease on the mound. But when I was at, when I, when
I hit, I would never like facingpictures.
I I remember facing Brody Breck.He's with the Rockies right now,
but he would throw like 98 in high school.
And I was just like, I do not, Idon't enjoy baseballs flying at
me that hard. I'd rather throw the pitches to
the hitter instead. You, you attended Waukee High
(05:17):
School, Waukee, IA. What were the years from your
freshman year senior like? And also your coach was David
Dorch. Tell us a bit about him also.
David Derrick, he, he was a great coach.
I enjoyed having him as my coach.
He was kind of like how my dad used to coach me, kind of tell
(05:38):
you straight up what you need todo, what you need to improve on.
And I always like that as a coach, and my freshman year I
didn't really get to play the bar on the varsity team.
So I kind of had to earn my spotmy sophomore year and I got to
only pitch on the varsity team. Then I would get sent down to JV
to play like infield and hit. Then when I got to my junior
(06:02):
year, I was on the varsity team getting to pitch, play the field
and hit as well. Then senior year, when kind of
like the draft stuff for like high school kids was kind of
getting going. I only pitched and DH and I
didn't really get to play the field just because they kind of
wanted to keep my arm healthy just to be safe.
(06:24):
But I really did. I really enjoyed playing,
playing with the with that coachand everyone there was always
supported out, supportive of me and always let me do the things
I needed to do to get better. And I just really enjoyed that
atmosphere that Coach Dirks always brought for the for the
field for us. The year, the year that you were
(06:48):
a first team all state in 2021, you had a dominant year and talk
about that year, how everything just worked out for you.
Like you struck out, I mean 101 times and just only walked
thirteen and you had a .174 average and and a whip of sub
(07:10):
one, which is astonishing. Like like what worked for you in
that year and what helped you out?
Just like what I've been taught my entire life of pitching was
getting the strike zone command over Vilo Vilo come off like
we'll come later in life, but itwas just attacking the strike
(07:31):
zone with my pitches, throwing my stuff, letting the people hit
the ball, let my defence work. Then getting those strikeouts as
well is always good. But just knowing that how I
pitch in my pitching style is more of letting the defence work
and just getting in the strike zone.
And if I get strikeouts, that's great, but I wanna go deeper in
(07:51):
games and having a bunch of strikeouts all the time is gonna
drive the pitch count up. So having that fair share
balance of getting strikeouts and letting my defence work,
then just having that control the the zone really helps.
So you made the decision, a big decision actually, to to take
(08:14):
your talents to Kansas State University.
And what what made you decide togo there?
Did was it the pitching program?Was it recruitment?
Was everything that you wanted Is is needed And and who who who
else helped you decide to get toKSU?
(08:36):
My dad was like a kind of a big role in that.
He kind of he sits me down and talks like about all the stuff
like that's on the table for me.I could have gone to, I could
have been picked up in the draftout of high school or go to K
State. And we kind of just looked at
that and saw that I should develop more as like as a
(08:58):
person, physically, mentally. And so Kansas State was the best
option. And what decided for me to go
there was the coaches really were really passionate about
developing players, bringing them in, developing them,
getting them better so that theycan go on to the next level and
be prepared. And I just loved how the campus
(09:19):
was supported, supportive of theteam.
I loved how the campus was just like everything was in one area
and it doesn't take that long toget somewhere.
And I just really love the atmosphere that Kansas State had
and I really owe Coach Hughes and that coaching staff a lot
for developing me, never giving up on me and always giving me
(09:42):
the chance to succeed. Did you have any interest in any
other schools or were there any schools that were interested in
you or was it always case state?K State was the only school that
offered me and so I I ran with that offer, went with went with
them and I'm really happy that Iwent to K State because they
(10:06):
they really cared about developing and it just felt like
a family at that baseball field.So you started your, your
college career as a red shirt freshman in 20/23/2022.
Did you play anywhere else or did you just take time off or
like just explain to people likewhat you did before you became a
(10:26):
red shirt freshman? Because I don't think enough
people understand what the red shirt freshman is and and talk
about your your first year experience and K state.
Oh yeah, so red shirt freshman Iwhen I first got there I I like
in Iowa we play summer baseball and other places in other states
(10:48):
play summer baseball. So as soon as my season got
done, I instantly went to K State and we jumped into the
fall stuff throwing and I I blewout my elbow.
I had Tommy John surgery my freshman year.
So I missed that entire season. Just focused on rehabbing,
getting ready for the next season.
(11:08):
And when I got the opportunity to pitch my fresh, my red shirt
freshman year, it wasn't wasn't really good.
I struggled a lot just because of the TJ stuff.
I struggled mentally and physically with just pitching
and I'm glad that the coaches didn't give up on me.
They gave me another chance, another opportunity.
(11:30):
And so that the next year, the my red shirt sophomore year, I
was I came back ready prepared and I had a really great season.
And I really owe the coaching staff a lot of a lot of praise
because they never gave up on me.
And I'm really happy that they gave me a second opportunity to
go out there and perform for them to the best of my
(11:52):
abilities. Right after your freshman
seasoned you played summer League Baseball for the
Wisconsin Rapids in the Northwest League.
What helped your game and and what benefits did you did you
get from playing there? Because usually college pitchers
do attend a summer league. So tell us about that
experience. So I went, I went up there and
(12:17):
played, played for a little bit.Not going to sugarcoat it, I
didn't. I didn't pitch very well if
they're either. I was still struggling with my
mechanics and when I got done with that season, my dad like,
sat me down. He's like, this is what I was
kind of noticing. When you're pitching, you're
mechanics look completely different from how you used to
(12:37):
throw. You used to throw over the top
high three quarter slot. Now you're more of a just a
regular 3 three quarter slot. And so I worked on that in the
offseason drilling back the my old mechanic so that I could
start pitching a lot better. And luckily, just drilling all
that old mechanic stuff, I got back to how it used to throw and
(13:00):
I came back to K State and I gotto show them how I really got to
pitch and how or who I am as a pitcher when I got there.
So talk about your second year in Kiss you or K State because
when you look at like you said, you struggle, struggled like you
(13:23):
said. And looking at the numbers,
everything improved drastically in so many ways statistically.
And what impressed me the most is the strikeout to walk ratio.
Like what worked for you from being in that state to that to
that point that you just it's just everything clicked for you.
(13:47):
Yeah, so when I got back there and I was pitching how I used
to, coaches told me that I'll bea bullpen guy just to build up
confidence, build up kind of some innings just so that I can
get the feel back for it. So they had me as a closer
because our closer had a injury.Then when he came back, I became
(14:12):
like a fireman control, which islike we need someone hot right
now. And that was my role.
Then I got to do the short relief role.
Then later on, I got to do a starting.
I got to become a starter again.And what really just helped was
having that bullpen aspect. Just get out there, throw
strikes, making sure that no onecan score and do my do my best
(14:36):
so that we can put up a 0, get into the next inning.
And my pitching coach, Rudy Darrow, always praise be where
your feet are and justice get the barrel, move in.
And those are the two things I still carry with me today that
he taught me so that whenever I go out to the mound, it's
attacked the strike zone. Get the bat moving.
(14:57):
If it's a strikeout, good. If it's a weak contact, good.
If it's a hit, So what next batter?
So who are some of the coaches that helped you out when you
were at K State and do you stillkeep in touch with those with
those coaches? I tried doing my best to keep in
touch with them. Coach Hughes, he's the head
(15:18):
coach. Rudy Darrow, pitching coach,
Austin Waits is the hitting coach.
But they do, they do a good job of reaching out, just letting me
know that I always have a home there at K State if I need to
come back during spring or before spring training to get
ready. But I do really like how they
(15:39):
care more about me as a as a person than just a player.
So talk about your life changingmoment when you got the phone
call from the Toronto Blue Jays and where were you at the time
and what was that conversation like and who what which which
(15:59):
guy from Norwich's organization gave you the call and told you
that you were officially draftedto the Blue Jays.
So on draft day, I, I was sitting there just watching the
TV and my my agent Scott told me, Hey, we got a team on the
line. It's twins.
(16:22):
They're offering X whatever. And then he just like abruptly
like he's like, hang on, Blue Jays are on calling me now.
So I was like, alright, um, thenhe sends me a text.
He like, this is what they got. This is what they're offering.
I was like, let's do it. Let's get this thing going.
(16:43):
I can't recall who who my point person was for the my like area
scout. I can't recall his name, but as
soon as I got picked up, he called me, broke the stuff down,
what I gotta do. And when I got a report down
there and it always kind of feltsurreal when I saw my name up on
(17:08):
the TV, I was just like, wow, I've been working really hard to
get to this point and now I'm here.
Now I just. And the next thought was now the
real work begins and I just got to get ready for that season.
That's awesome. In the aftermath of the draft,
though, preparing for your firstprofessional season, what was
(17:28):
that? What was that process like?
That experience in getting readyto play, you know, in the days
right after the draft, getting to to meet some of the some of
the staff and, and just getting ready to, to head into pro ball.
It was kind of a kind of a little overwhelming.
(17:49):
There was there was a lot of people there, a lot of a lot of
names, a lot of faces. So it was like a little
overwhelming with all the stuff that was going on.
But coaches made sure to like kind of just tell you like, hey,
just take it one day at a time, take it slow, then getting ready
for that that season. Ricky are pitching coordinator.
(18:13):
He just told me he's like, I getthat you wanna go out and just
kind of blow it out and just like spring training show out.
But you gotta remember that it's132 games.
It's a long season. You want to be the best towards
the end and that kind of really helped me because I had some
minor injuries spring training. So like, I want first their
(18:34):
first year there, I was like, I wanna, I wanna show like the
Blue Jays who I am. And I'm glad that I had those
setbacks just so that they can get me prepared for the next
spring training so that I could be mentally and physically
ready. Because first getting there,
it's a lot of adjustments, a lotof developing mentally and
(18:56):
physically as a person, and the coaching staff and the staff
there really helped out and theymade sure that went smoothly.
Talk about your first professional season with
Vancouver that you just played, just finished not too long ago.
And looking at the season, everybody goes through their ups
(19:17):
and downs. And I believe you pitched in
what, all 26 games this year andhow was, how was that experience
like And, and I think most importantly, being healthy.
Talk about the the season you'vejust been through and what what
were the ups and downs of the season.
You know, first half of the season was kind of me getting my
(19:39):
butt handed to me a little bit. It was a lot of kind of learning
about how the game is played differently and at this level.
So I'm glad that I adapted well to my struggles of command,
holding the running game, learning how to pitch to these
(20:00):
certain hitters. And I'm glad that I was able to
adapt and adjust for the next next half and I did a lot
better. I helped my team, I tried my
best to help my team win games. I'm happy that I stayed as
healthy as I could so that I didn't miss a start.
(20:20):
Had some little issues with cramping towards the end of the
season. Pitch a fair amount of games
sick and not feeling the great the greatest.
But I knew that if that was my day and that was the day I had
to show out and perform, no matter if I was sick or healthy,
Just going out there and giving my best effort for my team so
(20:41):
that I can put them in the best position to win.
In your mind, what would you saywere some of the most some of
your best pitching performances or most memorable pitching
performances that you've had? I know in your first outing,
you, you, you went 5 innings with six KS, no runs, three
hits. It was pretty stellar, pretty
(21:02):
memorable. So what were some of the moments
in some of the highlights that you would that you can remember
during your first pro season? I would definitely say it was
my. I can't remember which week it
was, but it was my my 2. I had a Tuesday, Sunday start
against Spokane, at Spokane and it was towards, it was the
(21:24):
second-half and I pitched 11 innings.
I gave up I think one or two runs and had 11 strikeouts.
But that that's probably my mostmemorable because I I came out
for two starts and I did my bestto help my team win two games.
And I'm just happy that I was able to do that.
(21:46):
And I didn't really care. I didn't get the picture of the
week, but I was more happy that I showed up for two stars and I
gave my best effort for those those innings that I had the
ball. Well, I'll say you should.
You should have been Pitcher of the Week.
I'll say itself. We're gonna have to put a
petition to that. Yeah.
(22:06):
So, so who were the coaches thatyou worked with, like who helped
you develop in the process? There's so many coaches in this
in this system, but I know Eric Yardley and Robelin Batista are
the main guys in Vancouver, but was there anybody else that
helped your guided you through throughout the process this
year? It was mainly those two and
(22:30):
Ricky, they helped me. Then towards like the end, our
head coach Mayo, he, he pulled me aside during my my
Hillsborough start the last timewe're in Hillsborough.
And he saw that I was kind of struggling and he saw that I was
being way too serious. And he just came out to me.
He's like, hey, give me a hug, just have fun, smile.
(22:52):
Just go out there and have fun. And when he told me that, I just
went out there and I just started having fun and I just
started messing with the hitters.
I just started bouncing back andforth from the third base side
of the mound to the first base side of the mound, just messing
with the hitters. And I really, I really liked how
he just said go out there and have fun.
(23:14):
So what is your arsenal like? What type of pitches do you
throw? What would you say is your best
pitch that you used to get hitters out?
My arsenal now is I have a fastball, change up, curveball,
slider and now they're wanting me to add my cutter back into my
arsenal so that I can kind of deceive hitters more with the
(23:38):
fastball, cutter and slider kindof merging into one ball then
breaking off into different areas.
But I would say I would probablysay my slider was my go to
pitch. I threw a lot.
I would throw it early, count toget ahead or throw it late and
count for a strike out or for wecontact.
(23:58):
So since you were talking about developing a new pitch with the
cutter and stuff, and you have now what, 5 pitches, right?
And like how, how do you work throughout the process?
I know that some, some sometimeswhen you work with the catcher
or the pitching coach or whoever, how does the repeat
develop, repeat delivery works when it comes to having that
(24:23):
many pitches itself? It's a lot of it comes down to a
lot of point like holding the baseball and just finding that
grip, Just holding the ball and kind of spinning it to each of
your grip so that you know whichgrip is which pitch and just
playing a lot of catch with it. Just kind of being at a short
(24:44):
distance, feeling the ball coming out of your hand for that
kind of spin you want. Then I for what I do is I go
back to like 90 feet and for my change up cutter, slider and
fastball, I just go out 90 feet and kind of crawl up and just
RIP the pitch. Just so that I'm not thinking
about the arm movement or how I wanted to come out of my hand.
(25:07):
It's alright. I'm going to grip this ball.
I'm going to RIP it and it better it.
I hope it moves the way I want it to and then if it doesn't
readjust the grip and then do itagain.
Cool. Yeah, because like I know that
some some pitchers have a hard time with all that stuff, like
like with this organization, do they focus on a little bit of
(25:28):
velocity, a little bit of command, a little bit of spin
rate, Like, well, what's their main targets with these pitches?
What when you continue to develop?
The goals that they have for me are they want me to start
averaging 94, so they want me tostart throwing harder, then
increase the usage of my some ofmy pitches.
(25:50):
So they they go at it at a really good way.
They do. They talk about what they want
to see from certain pitches. I don't really care so much
about like the spin or shape of like data.
They rather see how the ball moves and how like hitters react
to it. And that's how I've kind of
(26:11):
personally go at pitches as well.
Just seeing how a hitter reacts or how the shape looks does
metrically a pitch can be reallygood, but it honestly can get
hit around. But a pitch with bad metrics, it
could be a really good pitch that hitters have a hard time
hitting. So now that you play, you have
(26:32):
your first professional season under your belt and being
drafted from college to the majors or to to to Vancouver or
playing in Vancouver. What would you say were the
biggest challenges in that transition from being a college
player to a professional baseball player?
(26:53):
I would definitely say mentally,there's a lot of things I had to
learn. I had to learn to prep at the
the right time so that my body is ready to go out and pitch.
That was the main thing I had tolearn as a pitcher to learn how
to be better in bullpens, have apurpose and a bullpen.
(27:16):
Having a purpose with a certain pitch I want to do or if I'm
working on command and having that that goal in the forefront
of my mind so that my bullpens have a purpose.
Because when I was in college, it was more so just like,
alright, I'm going to throw these pitches hopefully and then
during the strike zone. But now it's more so let's have
a purpose with this bulk and let's have purpose when we have
(27:38):
catch play and have purpose witha lot of things that we do.
So I've heard prospects goal is to play in the major leagues one
day, get that call to the show. What are your goals heading into
the offseason and potentially being promoted next year to make
you the the best picture that you can be?
I would say the goals that they set out in front of me are get
(28:01):
stronger, be in better conditioning shape, increased
usage of certain pitches. Then I really wanna come back
looking more physical next spring training so that people
look at me and they're like, oh,he actually he got after in the
offseason. And I really want to work hard
in the offseason so that I can put myself in the best position
(28:24):
so that there's no doubt in anyone's mind that OK, yeah,
he's ready for the next level. So I want to really attack the
offseason with everything I got so that I come back next spring
training in better shape and I'mready to go.
Did they tell you a certain datefor for, for next year, like 1
to 10? I know some prospects usually
(28:44):
are already in in Dunedin right to to work on their game of
course and get ready and prep for for baseball.
Like do do they have a a date for you?
I head back down in two weeks for a lifting camp.
Then I have the entire offseason.
Then I report back like for likea January camp like late January
(29:09):
camp ish. Then I think I go back home.
Then I officially report for like the early camp before
spring training. Now that you're officially a
professional baseball player, what would you say is the best
advice for the kids out there that want to be like you and,
(29:30):
and, and their dream is to get to the majors.
I would definitely say be open minded.
You're gonna hear a lot of a lotof people giving you advice and
don't take that their advice in the wrong way because their
advice, they want you to succeed.
They want you to become better than what you are now.
(29:50):
And before I had a hard time with getting feedback or getting
critiqued about certain things and I had to learn it the hard
way because I struggled in college.
And then I had to learn to take feedback from coaches, had to
take feedback from players that wanna see me be better than I
am. And just being open minded from
(30:11):
that feedback is really helpful.Will Jackson Wentworth, we thank
you for taking this interview and we are honored to have you
on. And hopefully we can have you
back and we will keep track of your career and hopefully we
could see you in person because we are planning to make a trip
to both Vancouver or New Hampshire.
(30:33):
But yeah, so we thank you once again.
And I just just for the others, if there's any other like social
media info or any websites like just let them know where they
can follow you. You can follow me on Instagram
at Jackson under SCORE 3032 I believe and that's that's the
(30:56):
only thing I got for social media.
Yeah, thanks man for doing this.It was awesome to to get to, to
know your story and, and you know, I think every, it's good
for everybody to hear, you know,and, and I hope that you have
all the success that you you deserve in your in your career,
man. So thanks for joining us.
(31:16):
It was. It was fun.
Thank you for having me on, I appreciate it.
Yeah, and thank you and we will place your description below
where you can find Jackson Wentworth in social media.
And till next time, take care, be kind to each other.
Signing out from the Blue Jays Ave.
Podcast on Monday, September 15th, 2025.
(32:06):
Yeah.
Welcome to another edition of the Blue Jays Ave.
Podcast. We have a special guest in here
today. He plays for the the Vancouver
Canadians to hire affiliates forthe Blue Jays.
Jackson Wentworth, welcome to the show, just introduced to
yourself. I know that I gave you an
introduction, but just let everyone know what you do.
(00:51):
Hi, I'm Jackson Wentworth. So I played baseball for Toronto
Blue Jays with the affiliate andVancouver, Canada and hopefully
next year I'll be in AA. Yeah, thanks for joining us,
man, Giving us your time today. It's it's gonna be fun to get to
learn about the, the player you become and and and what you're
(01:12):
all about. So thanks for for hopping on
today. We appreciate it.
Thanks for having me. You're welcome.
So the first question I want to ask you is, so how did you start
this journey? Like what made you fall in love
with the sport of baseball? But like what got you going and
who influenced you to get you get you started?
(01:36):
You know, growing up, my dad hadme just play a lot of sports
growing up and just noticing baseball is the most consistent
sport in my life. I played football, basketball,
wrestling, I did track. I did quite a bit of sports and
baseball was just the consistentone that I always enjoyed
playing. And I always thought of having
(01:58):
baseball as a career job and a dream job.
And I'm happy that I get to do this as my job for right now.
But I would always love to get to a higher level, just pursue
my dream and Lord willing, if I get to make it to the majors,
I'll be ecstatic. But just knowing that the work
is only just begun when I get there.
(02:21):
So coming from the state of Iowa, who are some of the teams
that that you grew up rooting for and and what are some
players that you idolized back then?
Growing up in Iowa, they're like, obviously you have people
that like the Cardinals or the Cubs, the White Sox or the
Royals. But my dad, he, he liked the
Yankees. So I grew up kind of like
(02:42):
watching the Yankees. I always liked watching Derek
Jeter, but I always did like watching Mariano Rivera pitch.
So I just watched that. I always watched the like, kind
of like the highlight reels of Mariano Rivera and just how like
he always dominated anytime he threw and I just enjoyed
watching him play. Since since you grew up in Iowa
(03:05):
and baseball is the sport you love, but what, what's the, the
strength of sport? Where you at right now?
Because there's no baseball teamand, and obviously there's, like
you said, there's other sports that are probably pretty
dominant, but what's the most strongest sport in in the state
of Iowa? I would definitely say
wrestling. Wrestling is a is a big sport in
(03:25):
Iowa, but you also have footballtoo.
But I think wrestling is like kind of what we're known for.
OK, talk about your childhood years growing up playing
baseball in and what other pitches, actions did you play
besides being a pitcher itself? When I grew up playing baseball,
(03:49):
I was like mainly pitcher, catcher.
Then if I wasn't doing either one of those, I was playing
shortstop or anywhere in the middle infield.
Maybe third base falls allowed too, but I always enjoyed
pitching way more. I just liked the aspect of kind
of controlling the game, controlling the tempo of the
game and kind of just having funwith like pitches in the strike
(04:11):
zone. I always found that very fun and
that's what I always found that I was good at.
And so far I'm happy that it continues to work out, so I'm
just happy that I get to pitch and get to do a job I like.
Where were you more comfortable being a pitcher or because I
know that, you know, when you play different positions, it's
(04:31):
like you could stick to one position or they there's like
utility guys. But and now today you could see
baseball that some players are actually two way players like
Otani, of course, but I think Noel Mclean's another one.
But but just the pitching aspectjust made you made more
comfortable than anything else. Yeah, pitching always found I
(04:52):
was like at ease on the mound. But when I was at, when I, when
I hit, I would never like facingpictures.
I I remember facing Brody Breck.He's with the Rockies right now,
but he would throw like 98 in high school.
And I was just like, I do not, Idon't enjoy baseballs flying at
me that hard. I'd rather throw the pitches to
the hitter instead. You, you attended Waukee High
(05:17):
School, Waukee, IA. What were the years from your
freshman year senior like? And also your coach was David
Dorch. Tell us a bit about him also.
David Derrick, he, he was a great coach.
I enjoyed having him as my coach.
He was kind of like how my dad used to coach me, kind of tell
(05:38):
you straight up what you need todo, what you need to improve on.
And I always like that as a coach, and my freshman year I
didn't really get to play the bar on the varsity team.
So I kind of had to earn my spotmy sophomore year and I got to
only pitch on the varsity team. Then I would get sent down to JV
to play like infield and hit. Then when I got to my junior
(06:02):
year, I was on the varsity team getting to pitch, play the field
and hit as well. Then senior year, when kind of
like the draft stuff for like high school kids was kind of
getting going. I only pitched and DH and I
didn't really get to play the field just because they kind of
wanted to keep my arm healthy just to be safe.
(06:24):
But I really did. I really enjoyed playing,
playing with the with that coachand everyone there was always
supported out, supportive of me and always let me do the things
I needed to do to get better. And I just really enjoyed that
atmosphere that Coach Dirks always brought for the for the
field for us. The year, the year that you were
(06:48):
a first team all state in 2021, you had a dominant year and talk
about that year, how everything just worked out for you.
Like you struck out, I mean 101 times and just only walked
thirteen and you had a .174 average and and a whip of sub
(07:10):
one, which is astonishing. Like like what worked for you in
that year and what helped you out?
Just like what I've been taught my entire life of pitching was
getting the strike zone command over Vilo Vilo come off like
we'll come later in life, but itwas just attacking the strike
(07:31):
zone with my pitches, throwing my stuff, letting the people hit
the ball, let my defence work. Then getting those strikeouts as
well is always good. But just knowing that how I
pitch in my pitching style is more of letting the defence work
and just getting in the strike zone.
And if I get strikeouts, that's great, but I wanna go deeper in
(07:51):
games and having a bunch of strikeouts all the time is gonna
drive the pitch count up. So having that fair share
balance of getting strikeouts and letting my defence work,
then just having that control the the zone really helps.
So you made the decision, a big decision actually, to to take
(08:14):
your talents to Kansas State University.
And what what made you decide togo there?
Did was it the pitching program?Was it recruitment?
Was everything that you wanted Is is needed And and who who who
else helped you decide to get toKSU?
(08:36):
My dad was like a kind of a big role in that.
He kind of he sits me down and talks like about all the stuff
like that's on the table for me.I could have gone to, I could
have been picked up in the draftout of high school or go to K
State. And we kind of just looked at
that and saw that I should develop more as like as a
(08:58):
person, physically, mentally. And so Kansas State was the best
option. And what decided for me to go
there was the coaches really were really passionate about
developing players, bringing them in, developing them,
getting them better so that theycan go on to the next level and
be prepared. And I just loved how the campus
(09:19):
was supported, supportive of theteam.
I loved how the campus was just like everything was in one area
and it doesn't take that long toget somewhere.
And I just really love the atmosphere that Kansas State had
and I really owe Coach Hughes and that coaching staff a lot
for developing me, never giving up on me and always giving me
(09:42):
the chance to succeed. Did you have any interest in any
other schools or were there any schools that were interested in
you or was it always case state?K State was the only school that
offered me and so I I ran with that offer, went with went with
them and I'm really happy that Iwent to K State because they
(10:06):
they really cared about developing and it just felt like
a family at that baseball field.So you started your, your
college career as a red shirt freshman in 20/23/2022.
Did you play anywhere else or did you just take time off or
like just explain to people likewhat you did before you became a
(10:26):
red shirt freshman? Because I don't think enough
people understand what the red shirt freshman is and and talk
about your your first year experience and K state.
Oh yeah, so red shirt freshman Iwhen I first got there I I like
in Iowa we play summer baseball and other places in other states
(10:48):
play summer baseball. So as soon as my season got
done, I instantly went to K State and we jumped into the
fall stuff throwing and I I blewout my elbow.
I had Tommy John surgery my freshman year.
So I missed that entire season. Just focused on rehabbing,
getting ready for the next season.
(11:08):
And when I got the opportunity to pitch my fresh, my red shirt
freshman year, it wasn't wasn't really good.
I struggled a lot just because of the TJ stuff.
I struggled mentally and physically with just pitching
and I'm glad that the coaches didn't give up on me.
They gave me another chance, another opportunity.
(11:30):
And so that the next year, the my red shirt sophomore year, I
was I came back ready prepared and I had a really great season.
And I really owe the coaching staff a lot of a lot of praise
because they never gave up on me.
And I'm really happy that they gave me a second opportunity to
go out there and perform for them to the best of my
(11:52):
abilities. Right after your freshman
seasoned you played summer League Baseball for the
Wisconsin Rapids in the Northwest League.
What helped your game and and what benefits did you did you
get from playing there? Because usually college pitchers
do attend a summer league. So tell us about that
experience. So I went, I went up there and
(12:17):
played, played for a little bit.Not going to sugarcoat it, I
didn't. I didn't pitch very well if
they're either. I was still struggling with my
mechanics and when I got done with that season, my dad like,
sat me down. He's like, this is what I was
kind of noticing. When you're pitching, you're
mechanics look completely different from how you used to
(12:37):
throw. You used to throw over the top
high three quarter slot. Now you're more of a just a
regular 3 three quarter slot. And so I worked on that in the
offseason drilling back the my old mechanic so that I could
start pitching a lot better. And luckily, just drilling all
that old mechanic stuff, I got back to how it used to throw and
(13:00):
I came back to K State and I gotto show them how I really got to
pitch and how or who I am as a pitcher when I got there.
So talk about your second year in Kiss you or K State because
when you look at like you said, you struggle, struggled like you
(13:23):
said. And looking at the numbers,
everything improved drastically in so many ways statistically.
And what impressed me the most is the strikeout to walk ratio.
Like what worked for you from being in that state to that to
that point that you just it's just everything clicked for you.
(13:47):
Yeah, so when I got back there and I was pitching how I used
to, coaches told me that I'll bea bullpen guy just to build up
confidence, build up kind of some innings just so that I can
get the feel back for it. So they had me as a closer
because our closer had a injury.Then when he came back, I became
(14:12):
like a fireman control, which islike we need someone hot right
now. And that was my role.
Then I got to do the short relief role.
Then later on, I got to do a starting.
I got to become a starter again.And what really just helped was
having that bullpen aspect. Just get out there, throw
strikes, making sure that no onecan score and do my do my best
(14:36):
so that we can put up a 0, get into the next inning.
And my pitching coach, Rudy Darrow, always praise be where
your feet are and justice get the barrel, move in.
And those are the two things I still carry with me today that
he taught me so that whenever I go out to the mound, it's
attacked the strike zone. Get the bat moving.
(14:57):
If it's a strikeout, good. If it's a weak contact, good.
If it's a hit, So what next batter?
So who are some of the coaches that helped you out when you
were at K State and do you stillkeep in touch with those with
those coaches? I tried doing my best to keep in
touch with them. Coach Hughes, he's the head
(15:18):
coach. Rudy Darrow, pitching coach,
Austin Waits is the hitting coach.
But they do, they do a good job of reaching out, just letting me
know that I always have a home there at K State if I need to
come back during spring or before spring training to get
ready. But I do really like how they
(15:39):
care more about me as a as a person than just a player.
So talk about your life changingmoment when you got the phone
call from the Toronto Blue Jays and where were you at the time
and what was that conversation like and who what which which
(15:59):
guy from Norwich's organization gave you the call and told you
that you were officially draftedto the Blue Jays.
So on draft day, I, I was sitting there just watching the
TV and my my agent Scott told me, Hey, we got a team on the
line. It's twins.
(16:22):
They're offering X whatever. And then he just like abruptly
like he's like, hang on, Blue Jays are on calling me now.
So I was like, alright, um, thenhe sends me a text.
He like, this is what they got. This is what they're offering.
I was like, let's do it. Let's get this thing going.
(16:43):
I can't recall who who my point person was for the my like area
scout. I can't recall his name, but as
soon as I got picked up, he called me, broke the stuff down,
what I gotta do. And when I got a report down
there and it always kind of feltsurreal when I saw my name up on
(17:08):
the TV, I was just like, wow, I've been working really hard to
get to this point and now I'm here.
Now I just. And the next thought was now the
real work begins and I just got to get ready for that season.
That's awesome. In the aftermath of the draft,
though, preparing for your firstprofessional season, what was
(17:28):
that? What was that process like?
That experience in getting readyto play, you know, in the days
right after the draft, getting to to meet some of the some of
the staff and, and just getting ready to, to head into pro ball.
It was kind of a kind of a little overwhelming.
(17:49):
There was there was a lot of people there, a lot of a lot of
names, a lot of faces. So it was like a little
overwhelming with all the stuff that was going on.
But coaches made sure to like kind of just tell you like, hey,
just take it one day at a time, take it slow, then getting ready
for that that season. Ricky are pitching coordinator.
(18:13):
He just told me he's like, I getthat you wanna go out and just
kind of blow it out and just like spring training show out.
But you gotta remember that it's132 games.
It's a long season. You want to be the best towards
the end and that kind of really helped me because I had some
minor injuries spring training. So like, I want first their
(18:34):
first year there, I was like, I wanna, I wanna show like the
Blue Jays who I am. And I'm glad that I had those
setbacks just so that they can get me prepared for the next
spring training so that I could be mentally and physically
ready. Because first getting there,
it's a lot of adjustments, a lotof developing mentally and
(18:56):
physically as a person, and the coaching staff and the staff
there really helped out and theymade sure that went smoothly.
Talk about your first professional season with
Vancouver that you just played, just finished not too long ago.
And looking at the season, everybody goes through their ups
(19:17):
and downs. And I believe you pitched in
what, all 26 games this year andhow was, how was that experience
like And, and I think most importantly, being healthy.
Talk about the the season you'vejust been through and what what
were the ups and downs of the season.
You know, first half of the season was kind of me getting my
(19:39):
butt handed to me a little bit. It was a lot of kind of learning
about how the game is played differently and at this level.
So I'm glad that I adapted well to my struggles of command,
holding the running game, learning how to pitch to these
(20:00):
certain hitters. And I'm glad that I was able to
adapt and adjust for the next next half and I did a lot
better. I helped my team, I tried my
best to help my team win games. I'm happy that I stayed as
healthy as I could so that I didn't miss a start.
(20:20):
Had some little issues with cramping towards the end of the
season. Pitch a fair amount of games
sick and not feeling the great the greatest.
But I knew that if that was my day and that was the day I had
to show out and perform, no matter if I was sick or healthy,
Just going out there and giving my best effort for my team so
(20:41):
that I can put them in the best position to win.
In your mind, what would you saywere some of the most some of
your best pitching performances or most memorable pitching
performances that you've had? I know in your first outing,
you, you, you went 5 innings with six KS, no runs, three
hits. It was pretty stellar, pretty
(21:02):
memorable. So what were some of the moments
in some of the highlights that you would that you can remember
during your first pro season? I would definitely say it was
my. I can't remember which week it
was, but it was my my 2. I had a Tuesday, Sunday start
against Spokane, at Spokane and it was towards, it was the
(21:24):
second-half and I pitched 11 innings.
I gave up I think one or two runs and had 11 strikeouts.
But that that's probably my mostmemorable because I I came out
for two starts and I did my bestto help my team win two games.
And I'm just happy that I was able to do that.
(21:46):
And I didn't really care. I didn't get the picture of the
week, but I was more happy that I showed up for two stars and I
gave my best effort for those those innings that I had the
ball. Well, I'll say you should.
You should have been Pitcher of the Week.
I'll say itself. We're gonna have to put a
petition to that. Yeah.
(22:06):
So, so who were the coaches thatyou worked with, like who helped
you develop in the process? There's so many coaches in this
in this system, but I know Eric Yardley and Robelin Batista are
the main guys in Vancouver, but was there anybody else that
helped your guided you through throughout the process this
year? It was mainly those two and
(22:30):
Ricky, they helped me. Then towards like the end, our
head coach Mayo, he, he pulled me aside during my my
Hillsborough start the last timewe're in Hillsborough.
And he saw that I was kind of struggling and he saw that I was
being way too serious. And he just came out to me.
He's like, hey, give me a hug, just have fun, smile.
(22:52):
Just go out there and have fun. And when he told me that, I just
went out there and I just started having fun and I just
started messing with the hitters.
I just started bouncing back andforth from the third base side
of the mound to the first base side of the mound, just messing
with the hitters. And I really, I really liked how
he just said go out there and have fun.
(23:14):
So what is your arsenal like? What type of pitches do you
throw? What would you say is your best
pitch that you used to get hitters out?
My arsenal now is I have a fastball, change up, curveball,
slider and now they're wanting me to add my cutter back into my
arsenal so that I can kind of deceive hitters more with the
(23:38):
fastball, cutter and slider kindof merging into one ball then
breaking off into different areas.
But I would say I would probablysay my slider was my go to
pitch. I threw a lot.
I would throw it early, count toget ahead or throw it late and
count for a strike out or for wecontact.
(23:58):
So since you were talking about developing a new pitch with the
cutter and stuff, and you have now what, 5 pitches, right?
And like how, how do you work throughout the process?
I know that some, some sometimeswhen you work with the catcher
or the pitching coach or whoever, how does the repeat
develop, repeat delivery works when it comes to having that
(24:23):
many pitches itself? It's a lot of it comes down to a
lot of point like holding the baseball and just finding that
grip, Just holding the ball and kind of spinning it to each of
your grip so that you know whichgrip is which pitch and just
playing a lot of catch with it. Just kind of being at a short
(24:44):
distance, feeling the ball coming out of your hand for that
kind of spin you want. Then I for what I do is I go
back to like 90 feet and for my change up cutter, slider and
fastball, I just go out 90 feet and kind of crawl up and just
RIP the pitch. Just so that I'm not thinking
about the arm movement or how I wanted to come out of my hand.
(25:07):
It's alright. I'm going to grip this ball.
I'm going to RIP it and it better it.
I hope it moves the way I want it to and then if it doesn't
readjust the grip and then do itagain.
Cool. Yeah, because like I know that
some some pitchers have a hard time with all that stuff, like
like with this organization, do they focus on a little bit of
(25:28):
velocity, a little bit of command, a little bit of spin
rate, Like, well, what's their main targets with these pitches?
What when you continue to develop?
The goals that they have for me are they want me to start
averaging 94, so they want me tostart throwing harder, then
increase the usage of my some ofmy pitches.
(25:50):
So they they go at it at a really good way.
They do. They talk about what they want
to see from certain pitches. I don't really care so much
about like the spin or shape of like data.
They rather see how the ball moves and how like hitters react
to it. And that's how I've kind of
(26:11):
personally go at pitches as well.
Just seeing how a hitter reacts or how the shape looks does
metrically a pitch can be reallygood, but it honestly can get
hit around. But a pitch with bad metrics, it
could be a really good pitch that hitters have a hard time
hitting. So now that you play, you have
(26:32):
your first professional season under your belt and being
drafted from college to the majors or to to to Vancouver or
playing in Vancouver. What would you say were the
biggest challenges in that transition from being a college
player to a professional baseball player?
(26:53):
I would definitely say mentally,there's a lot of things I had to
learn. I had to learn to prep at the
the right time so that my body is ready to go out and pitch.
That was the main thing I had tolearn as a pitcher to learn how
to be better in bullpens, have apurpose and a bullpen.
(27:16):
Having a purpose with a certain pitch I want to do or if I'm
working on command and having that that goal in the forefront
of my mind so that my bullpens have a purpose.
Because when I was in college, it was more so just like,
alright, I'm going to throw these pitches hopefully and then
during the strike zone. But now it's more so let's have
a purpose with this bulk and let's have purpose when we have
(27:38):
catch play and have purpose witha lot of things that we do.
So I've heard prospects goal is to play in the major leagues one
day, get that call to the show. What are your goals heading into
the offseason and potentially being promoted next year to make
you the the best picture that you can be?
I would say the goals that they set out in front of me are get
(28:01):
stronger, be in better conditioning shape, increased
usage of certain pitches. Then I really wanna come back
looking more physical next spring training so that people
look at me and they're like, oh,he actually he got after in the
offseason. And I really want to work hard
in the offseason so that I can put myself in the best position
(28:24):
so that there's no doubt in anyone's mind that OK, yeah,
he's ready for the next level. So I want to really attack the
offseason with everything I got so that I come back next spring
training in better shape and I'mready to go.
Did they tell you a certain datefor for, for next year, like 1
to 10? I know some prospects usually
(28:44):
are already in in Dunedin right to to work on their game of
course and get ready and prep for for baseball.
Like do do they have a a date for you?
I head back down in two weeks for a lifting camp.
Then I have the entire offseason.
Then I report back like for likea January camp like late January
(29:09):
camp ish. Then I think I go back home.
Then I officially report for like the early camp before
spring training. Now that you're officially a
professional baseball player, what would you say is the best
advice for the kids out there that want to be like you and,
(29:30):
and, and their dream is to get to the majors.
I would definitely say be open minded.
You're gonna hear a lot of a lotof people giving you advice and
don't take that their advice in the wrong way because their
advice, they want you to succeed.
They want you to become better than what you are now.
(29:50):
And before I had a hard time with getting feedback or getting
critiqued about certain things and I had to learn it the hard
way because I struggled in college.
And then I had to learn to take feedback from coaches, had to
take feedback from players that wanna see me be better than I
am. And just being open minded from
(30:11):
that feedback is really helpful.Will Jackson Wentworth, we thank
you for taking this interview and we are honored to have you
on. And hopefully we can have you
back and we will keep track of your career and hopefully we
could see you in person because we are planning to make a trip
to both Vancouver or New Hampshire.
(30:33):
But yeah, so we thank you once again.
And I just just for the others, if there's any other like social
media info or any websites like just let them know where they
can follow you. You can follow me on Instagram
at Jackson under SCORE 3032 I believe and that's that's the
(30:56):
only thing I got for social media.
Yeah, thanks man for doing this.It was awesome to to get to, to
know your story and, and you know, I think every, it's good
for everybody to hear, you know,and, and I hope that you have
all the success that you you deserve in your in your career,
man. So thanks for joining us.
(31:16):
It was. It was fun.
Thank you for having me on, I appreciate it.
Yeah, and thank you and we will place your description below
where you can find Jackson Wentworth in social media.
And till next time, take care, be kind to each other.
Signing out from the Blue Jays Ave.
Podcast on Monday, September 15th, 2025.
(32:06):
Yeah.
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