BY STEVE KRAH
With continued devotion to strength, Indianapolis native Jesse Wainscott is preparing for his first full season of professional baseball.
“I’m consistently in the weight room,” says Wainscott, a 6-foot-1, 207-pound right-handed pitcher signed with the Seattle Mariners as a minor league free agent on Aug. 10, 2023 and assigned to the Arizona Complex League Mariners to do a six-week rehab assignment. “For a pitcher, it’s how fast and explosive can you be?
“It’s smooth, controlled explosion. When I was younger I knew I wanted to throw harder and I wasn’t always the tallest guy. With bigger, stronger legs I can produce more force.”
It’s the principle of Mass = Gas.
Throwing from a three-quarter arm slot, Wainscott delivers a four-seam fastball, slider and change-up.
The “rise/run” four-seamer has reached 95 mph this spring. The “gyro” slider is thrown harder and breaks later than a “sweeper” and generally travels 84 to 85 mph.
Wainscott describes his change-up grip as “mid-split.”
“If you were to take a two-seam grip and move it up on the horseshoe, my middle finger is on the right horseshoe and my ring finger grabs the other one,” says Wainscott, who saw his first pro action in minor league Arizona spring training games. “It’s all about refining and fine-tuning your best pitches.
“I enjoy having three (pitches) because the change-up I have now really opens up everything to (left-handed batters). They don’t just minimize and take out one pitch because I have a change-up and that helps me out tremendously.”
His focus is on winning 0-0 counts and getting first-pitch strikes.
“If I’m doing that it doesn’t matter what pitch it is,” says Wainscott. “Getting ahead in the count is very big.
“In pro ball, we’re putting ourselves in a spot to succeed.”
Wainscott, 23, expects to find out soon where he will begin the 2024 season. Mariners affiliates after the Peoria Sports Complex-based ACL Mariners are the Low Class-A Modesto (Calif.) Nuts, High-A Everett (Wash.) AquaSox, Double-A Arkansas Travelers and Triple-A Tacoma (Wash.) Rainiers.
To get ready for spring training, Wainscott went to PRP Baseball in Noblesville, Ind., working extensively with Assistant Director of Pitching Luke Jaksich.
“He’s smart and knows what he’s talking about,” says Wainscott of Jaksich, who played at Andrean High School in Merrillville, Ind., Saint Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Ind., Ball State University and for the independent pro Sioux City (Iowa) Explorers.
Wainscott pitched four seasons at Eastern Illinois University (2019-22), where he was a Communication Studies major and Dietetics minor.
With an extra year granted because of the 2020 season being shortened because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the hurler spent a fifth year at Arizona State University (2023) where he was a teammate of former Fort Wayne Carroll High School and Valparaiso University right-hander Nolan Lebamoff.
In 36 mound appearances (28 in relief) for the Jason Anderson-coached EIU Panthers, Wainscott went 3-5 with one save, a 5.12 earned run average, 83 strikeouts and 52 walks in 91 1/3 innings. In 2022, he held teams scoreless five times and struck out at least one person in all of his 15 appearances (14 as a reliever).
Wainscott played in the summers following each of his first four college seasons — Prospect League’s Danville (Ill.) Dans in 2019, College Summer League at Grand Park (Westfield, Ind.)’s Snapping Turtles in 2020 and 2021 (as a CSL All-Star), MLB Draft League’s West Virginia Black Bears for about two weeks in 2021 and Northwoods League‘s Kenosha (Wis.) Kingfish in 2022.
“The was a fun summer,” says Wainscott. “There was a lot of morale, good dudes and good baseball.
“That summer I felt like I finally came into myself with mound presence and confidence. My velo ticked up and my breaking ball really started snapping harder. I really came into the back-end bullpen role.”
He had the chance to return to EIU, but Wainscott opted to transfer to Arizona State for the exposure and competition that he would have the chance to experience at such a high-profile program.
In 16 games (all out of the bullpen) for the Willie Bloomquist-coached Sun Devils, the righty went 1-1 with two saves, a 6.53 ERA, 18 strikeouts and five walks in 20 2/3 innings.
Wainscott grew up in Perry Township on Indy’s south side and is a 2018 graduate of Perry Meridian High School. He honorable mention all-Mid-State Conference as a sophomore after posting a 2.05 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 44 1/3 innings in 2016. He was first-team all-MSC and honorable mention all-state after going 5-3 with 1.76 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 47 2/3 innings in 2017.
Jake Banwart became Perry Meridian head coach in 2018.
Among his travel ball teams were the Indiana Prospects and Tom Ancelet-coached Midwest Astros (now 5 Star National Indiana).
Jesse is the oldest of Vince and Patty Wainscott’s two sons and considers them both strong mentors.
“I call my dad after every bullpen or outing,” says Jesse. “I go to him for baseball/life advice all the time.
“My mom doesn’t always understand the baseball side. Early in my career, I really looked up to Coach Ancelet. He always trusted me with the baseball.”
Wainscott’s mentality is about adapting and growing. He’s always picking the brains of other players and coaches.
“I just try to pick up on things,” says Wainscott. “If I’m learning something new everyday, I’m consistently getting better.”
Younger brother Chris Wainscott (Perry Meridian Class of 2020) is a thrower (discus, hammer and shot) on the track and field team at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., after beginning his college career at Thomas More University in Crestview Hills, Ky., as a track and football athlete.
“He’s just a tank,” says Jesse of his 270-pound sibling.
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