(Photo: Jessica Carnivale/WCSN)
It wouldn’t be too far fetched to consider the pitching staff to be the strength of Arizona State Baseball heading into the 2021 season.
With second-year pitching coach Jason Kelly at the helm and loads of depth, the Sun Devils’ staff has turned heads this offseason, and it’s getting a new weapon at the back end.
Last week, ASU announced that former Friday-night starter and redshirt junior left-hander Justin Fall will be making the move to the bullpen – as a closer. Fall finished the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season with a 5.68 ERA in 19 innings.
Fall’s transition into the new role comes after Kelly experimented with him in late-inning action during fall camp.
“He’s really taken to it well,” Kelly said of Fall’s move. “At the end of the day I think it’s going to be a really good transition for him personally and professionally. I think he’s bought into that as well as he possibly could.”
Fall flashed moments of consistency in his four starts last season, but often struggled with command, walking 13 of the 87 batters he faced.
Over the offseason, Fall focused on bulking up and finding a handle on his arsenal while continuing to perfect his sinker. As a result, the New Jersey-native has seen a noticeable increase in his fastball velocity, which has jumped from the low 90 mph range to the upper 90’s.
“My stuff has definitely taken off,” Fall said. “My velocity has been pretty high and my slider has been pretty sharp.”
His new spot in the bullpen will enable him to be more aggressive against hitters with a fastball ranging from 94-97 mph and a lower pitch count. Kelly still preaches pitching to contact, but encourages Fall to attack hitters and miss bats as well.
“Contact is still our goal, but with him I think this frees him up to do it more aggressively,” Kelly said. “It’s like running the 100-meter versus running the 800-meter. He’s got a chance to really let it go for short bursts.”
Neither Kelly or Fall have ruled out a return to the starting rotation if others struggle or if injuries become an issue for ASU. In a way, Fall’s role is as versatile as he is – one day he could be the closer, and the next he could be a left-handed specialist appearing in the middle innings of a game.
His transition has come with no shortage of inquisition, a lot of which has been directed toward fellow redshirt junior right-hander Brady Corrigan. Corrigan has been one of the mainstays in the ASU bullpen since 2018.
“I bounce questions off that guy everyday,” Fall said. “When to work out throughout the week, when to long-toss, when to throw a bullpen. I’m really enjoying it.”
Redshirt junior right-hander Boyd Vander Kooi is another teammate who has offered some advice after being in a similar role last season. Ten of Vander Kooi’s 25.2 innings in 2020 came out of the bullpen, where he only allowed one run.
“[Fall] was a little worried about not being ready for the ninth inning,” Vander Kooi said. “We talked about a lot of the preparation and everything and he’s really taking that role well.”
Fall’s move says a lot about the depth that the Sun Devils possess within their pitching staff. Of the many key pieces ASU lost in the 2020 MLB Draft, the only loss the staff suffered was former right-handed closer RJ Dabovich, who was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the fourth round.
With the rest of the staff untouched, and a trove of new talent featuring freshman two-way player Ethan Long, Kelly could afford to move Fall out of the weekend rotation and into the bullpen.
Kelly’s impact continues to be felt heading into his second year with ASU.
“JK is the best pitching mind I’ve ever been around,” said redshirt senior catcher Sam Ferri. “It’s made us smarter baseball players just being around him.”
Ferri in particular has taken note of Fall and his improvements since moving to the bullpen.
“He’s one of those guys who is into everything, sometimes he needs to not overdo it and I think that’s what JK is helping him out with,” Ferri said. “It’s showing. Everything’s better with him.”
With a new weapon at the back end of the bullpen and a heavy arsenal of talented arms, the Sun Devils are quickly reidentifying themselves as one of the stronger teams on the mound in the Pac-12 heading into 2021.
ASU ranked fifth in the conference in team ERA at 3.56 while sporting the third best K/9 at 10.40 last season. Aside from allowing a conference-high 12 home runs, ASU showed massive improvement on the mound upon Kelly’s arrival.
Regardless of how large or small of a role Fall plays in the success of the Sun Devils this season, he clearly won’t be the same pitcher he has been in the past.
“I’ve been able to pitch with more intent,” Fall said. “It’s going to be interesting to pitch back-to-back days and over the weekend, but I feel super comfortable.”
