Jones: The New Ace
January 31, 2019 | Baseball
Don't expect Jordan Jones to change much this season, despite his new role as Husky Baseball's staff ace. Sure, the junior from Kent, Wash., has raised his game to a higher level, but Jones' personality will remain much the same as it was last year. He'll just keep being a steady Eddie on the mound that throws strikes and quietly goes about his business in an effective manner. If he can do that and the rest of his teammates on the pitching staff can continue to progress, Washington's stable of arms will be in great shape for another run to Omaha.
Q: What's you mindset this year based on the perception that you are going to be replacing Joe DeMers as the ace of the staff?
Jordan Jones: I pretty much have the mindset that I'm just going to go in and do my own thing. I'm not really trying to replace someone. Instead I am going to try and fill in the main starter role and be the guy that everyone kind of looks to be the workhorse that everyone is confident can come in and get the job done every single time I'm out there on the mound.
Q: Do you have to prepare differently to take on the new role?
Jones: I was in the weight room pretty much the whole summer to prepare my body. Pitching wise, I have developed a new pitch. I'm working on a two-seam fastball to add that to my repertoire. Having an additional pitch to get guys out will be helpful.
Q: What was it like to watch Joe DeMers' progression from his sophomore year to junior year last season?
Jones: It was cool. You were able to pretty much see everything, from him having success early in his career, then him struggling and being able to rebound from that. I got to see his mental toughness. He was able to run back out there and do his thing last year where he pretty much dominated. It was something pretty cool to watch and experience. Hopefully, I can do the same.
Q: What is it like having Jason Kelly as your pitching coach?
Jones: It's awesome. It's always a good time. He's very personable and knows how to work with everyone individually. He just understands each person and what's right for them, and how one thing that works for someone might not work for the next person. For me, he knows I'm a pretty quiet person that does n0t talk a whole lot. He kind of lets me do my own thing, whereas other pitching coaches might not pick up on that and force things down on someone. He's really good at helping develop players, while also letting them stick to their own roots.
Q: From your veteran perspective, what are you seeing from your teammates on the pitching staff that should have Husky fans excited about the upcoming season?
Jones: Every arm in the staff is a solid arm to throw out on the mound. You also have like Josh Burgmann, who's coming back from Tommy John surgery and he's stronger than ever, looking great and throwing hard. He's mixing his pitches really well. We're having a good time going back and forth, feeding off each other and trying to outdo one another. Then you have the guys that are going to be coming out of the bullpen, we have a lot more power arms this year. We have many people that are going to make their presence known on the mound and I'm just excited to see everyone step up and do their thing.
Q: You were the starter of game two in the College World Series. How did the post-season run help you develop as a person and player?
Jones: It was a really cool moment. Being able to reflect on the experience and what it takes to be an Omaha team – a championship caliber team – it's just amazing to see how big of a factor the team dynamic is to the success. To have all 35 guys come together and have their mind set on just one goal – not on an individual goal – a team can do anything they want to do. That was probably the biggest takeaway I got from the Omaha run.
Q: Do you see a similar mindset from this year's group?
Jones: We're pretty much back on track to where we ended last year. We have a lot of new bodies and guys that are going to be playing that didn't play a whole lot last year, so that's a little different. But everyone right now seems like we have the same mindset. Everyone is focused and we're just ready to get the first game rolling and see how we all click.
Q: What's you mindset this year based on the perception that you are going to be replacing Joe DeMers as the ace of the staff?
Jordan Jones: I pretty much have the mindset that I'm just going to go in and do my own thing. I'm not really trying to replace someone. Instead I am going to try and fill in the main starter role and be the guy that everyone kind of looks to be the workhorse that everyone is confident can come in and get the job done every single time I'm out there on the mound.
Q: Do you have to prepare differently to take on the new role?
Jones: I was in the weight room pretty much the whole summer to prepare my body. Pitching wise, I have developed a new pitch. I'm working on a two-seam fastball to add that to my repertoire. Having an additional pitch to get guys out will be helpful.
Q: What was it like to watch Joe DeMers' progression from his sophomore year to junior year last season?
Jones: It was cool. You were able to pretty much see everything, from him having success early in his career, then him struggling and being able to rebound from that. I got to see his mental toughness. He was able to run back out there and do his thing last year where he pretty much dominated. It was something pretty cool to watch and experience. Hopefully, I can do the same.
Q: What is it like having Jason Kelly as your pitching coach?
Jones: It's awesome. It's always a good time. He's very personable and knows how to work with everyone individually. He just understands each person and what's right for them, and how one thing that works for someone might not work for the next person. For me, he knows I'm a pretty quiet person that does n0t talk a whole lot. He kind of lets me do my own thing, whereas other pitching coaches might not pick up on that and force things down on someone. He's really good at helping develop players, while also letting them stick to their own roots.
Q: From your veteran perspective, what are you seeing from your teammates on the pitching staff that should have Husky fans excited about the upcoming season?
Jones: Every arm in the staff is a solid arm to throw out on the mound. You also have like Josh Burgmann, who's coming back from Tommy John surgery and he's stronger than ever, looking great and throwing hard. He's mixing his pitches really well. We're having a good time going back and forth, feeding off each other and trying to outdo one another. Then you have the guys that are going to be coming out of the bullpen, we have a lot more power arms this year. We have many people that are going to make their presence known on the mound and I'm just excited to see everyone step up and do their thing.
Q: You were the starter of game two in the College World Series. How did the post-season run help you develop as a person and player?
Jones: It was a really cool moment. Being able to reflect on the experience and what it takes to be an Omaha team – a championship caliber team – it's just amazing to see how big of a factor the team dynamic is to the success. To have all 35 guys come together and have their mind set on just one goal – not on an individual goal – a team can do anything they want to do. That was probably the biggest takeaway I got from the Omaha run.
Q: Do you see a similar mindset from this year's group?
Jones: We're pretty much back on track to where we ended last year. We have a lot of new bodies and guys that are going to be playing that didn't play a whole lot last year, so that's a little different. But everyone right now seems like we have the same mindset. Everyone is focused and we're just ready to get the first game rolling and see how we all click.
Players Mentioned
Saturday, May 23
Thursday, May 21
Thursday, May 21
Thursday, May 21
