Peters Township grad excelling as relief pitcher
Jordan Jankowski
ELEANOR BAILEY/STAFF Greg Kloosterman, who played with the Milwaukee Brewers, works with Brady Kennedy on his fielding techniques during a lesson at Pro Performance Pittsburgh.
ELEANOR BAILEY/STAFF Greg Kloosterman, who played with the Milwaukee Brewers, works with Brady Kennedy on his batting form while his father, Greg, looks on in the background
ELEANOR BAILEY/STAFF Greg Kloosterman, who played with the Milwaukee Brewers, works with Brady Kennedy on his batting form during a lesson at Pro Performance Pittsburgh.
Jordan Jankowski knows there are no guarantees, particularly in baseball.
“Baseball prepares you for failure,” said the McMurray native. “You may not always do well but you can’t let it ruin you, particularly mentally. You’ve got to get over it. When we do fail, it’s how well you are prepared to make it back.”
Throughout his career, Jankowski has made it back. He has made it work.
Jankowski graduated fro Peters Township High School as one of the top hitters in WPIAL history. He led the Indians to back-to-back WPIAL titles and finished with 36 career home runs and 132 RBIs.
Although he was drafted, he decided to hone his hitting and catching skills at Miami but left the Ohio university when the Houston Astros and other professional clubs told him they wanted him to shift positions.
”They wanted to make me a pitcher,” he said, still a bit shocked today.
He transferred to Catawba College to train on the mound. Eligible again for the Major League Baseball amateur draft, Jankowski again was selected by the Astros, in the same round. “Only as a pitcher,” he added.
Since 2012, he has been pitching in the organization while finishing his college degree online at Robert Morris University. He majored in health care and finance.
During his rookie summer in Greenville, he posted a 4-0 record with a 2.23 ERA and 53 strikeouts.
However, the Astros eventually converted Jankowski into a relief pitcher. After two invitations to spring training, he’s been assigned to the Astros’s AAA affiliate. For the Fresno Grizzlies, he is 0-2 with a 4.13 ERA. In 48 innings pitched, Jankowski has struck out 66 with a 1.10 WHIP. Batters average .197 against his right arm.
“The career is going good, but it was a big adjustment,” he said about going from being a starter to a short reliever. He noted in a six-man rotation, starters typically enjoyed five days rest.
“I remember my first two games as a reliever, pitching back-to-back,” he said. “The second day, I was sore, but I pushed through it. You have to be mentally tough.”
After experiencing 20 starts the previous year, Jankowski ranks among the leaders in appearances in the Pacific Coast League with 34.
“As a I got into a routine, I got better,” Jankowski said of his conversion from starter to reliever. “You don’t realize how much you have to prepare to be a reliever, especially the mental aspect. You always have to be ready. You could relieve today and tomorrow. Bug I like being a reliever. You get to play every day.”
Jankowski, however, doesn’t get to bat anymore. He did enjoy his stints though during spring training.
“Pitchers don’t get to hit but some of us guys were messing around in spring training and I did get in the batter’s box,” he said. “That was fun.”
Fun has been seeing his speed improve when throwing the fastball. Jankowski has been clocked at 95 mph. “My fastball has really improved. I get most of my strikeouts with that pitch and my slider.”
Now, all Jankowski is doing is waiting to get the call up to the major leagues, just like his friend, Derek Law, a Seton-La Salle graduate, did this season with the San Francisco Giants. “I’m really excited for him,” Jankowski said.
“Myself, I’m waiting, but it’s tough because the Astros have the No. 1 bullpen in the league. I’ll just keep plugging a way and do what they tell me to do until my break comes.”
While the Astros are healthy, having experienced few if any injuries, Jankowski noted that all years are different. “Next year, the situation could be different. You never know,” he said. At age 27, Jankowski has three years remaining on his contract.
Of playing in the big leagues, he said, “it’s what I have dreamed about my whole life. I’m hoping to live that dream.
“I get excited whenever I am out there. I just never thought it would be as a pitcher.”
That’s why Jankowski counsels young players today to be adaptable. Play every position, he advises.
“You never know. You have to be open to new things,” he said. “While I also thought I would not be a pitcher, I would not have gotten this far if I hadn’t been flexible and open to the change.”
Working hard is another motto by which Jankowski trains. He formulated that philosophy while playing for his high school manager, Joe Maize.
“Coach Maize helped me a lot, particularly with how to be a leader,” Jankowski said. “What you need to do and how to take control and handle the pressure. There is a right way to act and go about your business. Coach Maize also taught me what hard work means. He expected you to do the work and be prepared. From him, I realized what it took to win and be a winner.”
Jankowski thought about those ideals when he found himself on the mound during spring training pitching against his childhood idols such as the Yankee’s Alex Rodriguez, Angels’ Albert Pujols and Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright.
“The highlight for me was getting drafted and then getting drafted again, and then I realized I had another opportunity,” Jankowski said of the high points in his career. “And then just seeing those guys that you used to watch on television and being able to play on the same field with them. To be one the same mound as a guy like Adam,” he added. “It’s humbling. That’s a great opportunity and a great example of how hard work paid off right there.”