(Photo: Karli Matthias/WCSN)
When looking at the Sun Devils potential starting lineup for 2020, it’s the star-studded class of juniors that catches the eyes of many. Six of the eight position players in ASU’s projected starting lineup are all juniors, and they have been a part of the Devils’ core throughout the past two seasons.
But there’s one senior out in right field who came into the program a year before all of those juniors and has waited patiently for three seasons to get his chance.
A senior who endured the worst two seasons of program history in his first two seasons as a bench player.
A senior who has yet to make over 20 starts in any of his three years.
A senior who has yet to hit his first career collegiate home run.
That senior is Myles Denson. The Las Vegas native has dealt through the lows and highs of ASU baseball but is ready to finally become an everyday starter after being primarily used as a fourth outfielder off the bench in 2019.
“I’ve had a lot of people ask me about being able to play for the first time every day,” Denson said. “I haven’t really changed my mindset at all with that recently. I think that’s the one thing that’s saved me and helped me in my time here is that you can’t change your mindset, and you have to act like you’re playing every day.
“I’m probably more relaxed than ever now. I’m going into it with a certain confidence level, and I’m playing knowing I’m prepared.”
Now that he knows his role is to produce everyday as a starter, he doesn’t have to feel uncertain about whether he’s going to be inserted into the game or not.
“There’s a certain degree of confidence that comes with that,” Denson said. “You can kind of relax and know that you’re going to get out there today and get your three or four at-bats. You have more of a specific idea of what you need to be ready for rather than I need to be ready in general when I would come in and pinch-hit a little.”
Denson’s continuous work ethic has been noticed by head coach Tracy Smith and he’s grateful for the senior’s patience while being a part of the program.
“There’s this perception in college baseball that if you are a senior, you are a failure,” Smith said. “I think you can understand what I’m talking about because you didn’t get drafted. But if you look at the rosters that are dotting the landscapes of good college baseball programs, their rosters have senior guys and good mature players. I love that Myles has stayed with it every year, has been a great attitude in the clubhouse and has worked tremendously hard.”
“Skip” has told Denson many times over the years that Denson has been doing fine in practice or in the situations he puts him in during games. But he and Denson have had a mutual understanding of what Myles’s situation is when it came to trying to receive playing time the past few seasons.
“You got to accept that there are guys who are better than you sometimes,” Denson said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re playing or not. You’re not ever going to play consistently if you don’t keep showing up with that mindset of ‘I’m here to play every day’ whether you are or aren’t. I never really hit any points that were that low.”
The outfielders he’s backed up for have gone on to the MLB Draft and are players whom Denson has admired for their hard work. Denson learned how to maintain his strong work ethic by practicing and watching his former fellow ASU teammates the past three seasons.
He’s been able to play alongside Gage Canning (2018, 5th round, Nationals), Hunter Bishop (2019, 1st round, Giants) and Carter Aldrete (2019, 15th round, Giants) and watch them ascend into the start of their professional careers. With the right field slot open upon entering 2020, Denson is the first man up.
“The guys who have a lot of success here are for sure workers every day,” Denson said. “You have to show up and work here or else you’re not going to have success. You have to be ready to go every day whether you’re not playing or you’re a high draft choice. I think that’s one of the biggest things I’ve seen not just with those guys but with guys who have had all kinds of success here.”
His close friendship with Aldrete remains the same ever since the two of them were freshmen on the 2017 ASU baseball team. The two were roommates the last three years and still keep in touch often with Aldrete now in the San Francisco Giants organization.
“I wouldn’t say he’s imparted me with some huge wisdom or anything,” Denson said. “I still see him a lot, so it’s been kind of that same mentality that we’ve always had together. It’s just a more relaxed thing between me and him.”
Aldrete even relayed new ideas he was learning in minor league ball to Denson to help him in his training for this season.
“I’d say after his first year in pro ball, he came back with a bunch of new drills and new mindset and everything,” Denson said. “You got to give and take what he’s learning and how you can carry it over to college baseball.”
Denson has been doing much of the learning at ASU, but in his final season, he’s made sure to do much of the mentoring with the incoming freshmen throughout fall ball and the offseason.
“It’s funny because we got a lot of young hitting freshmen who are very talented that are way better than I was freshman year,” Denson said. “But that’s what I try and tell them. I’ve almost been on every end of the spectrum here on this program. I’ve been the last kid on the roster and up to now being an everyday player. What I try to tell them is always have that confidence and come ready because you never know when your name is going to get called.”
It’s been a three-year rollercoaster for Denson who has risen from pinch-hitter and defensive substitute duties to the occasional starter role to starting right fielder. He’s proven he can play and he can now finally showcase it on an everyday level for a top-ten team in the country searching for a bid to Omaha.
“Up to this point, he has earned the right based on his performance, play and attitude to be the first guy in right field,” Smith said. “I genuinely believe that. I’m thankful we have him because I’ve always said we got to have good seniors in the program. That helps big time.”
