This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It took Jayson Rose 11 starts before Bill Kinneberg realized he had been doing things all wrong.
The freshman from California had played 11 games in the outfield alongside his brother, Josh Rose, batting .114. Then in April, when Utah put him on the mound against California, he struck out 11 batters.
"We finally got smart after that first year," Kinneberg said. "He kind of tailed off on the offensive side. We told him, 'You need to become a really good pitcher.' And he was all up for that."
Fast-forward, and Rose (5-2, 3.57 ERA), a right-handed junior, has become one of the most dominant aces in program history. After setting a season record last year with 106 strikeouts, he sits five K's shy of breaking Utah's career mark — in only three seasons.
With at least four scheduled starts remaining, Rose, who averages 5.5 strikeouts per appearance, will almost certainly own the strikeout record. But he isn't one to project that kind of confidence: Rose said the only reason he knows he's near the record is because others on the team won't stop talking to him about it.
"If it happens, it happens," he said, with an aw-shucks grin. "If it doesn't, oh well."
That's the attitude that has led Rose to his success as Utah's top starter the last two seasons, winning 16 games during his career (3 off Utah's career mark) and helping elevate the program from last place in the Pac-12 to a championship last year. While Utah, which is tied for seventh place in the league this week, has a lot of work to do to return to the postseason, Rose gives them a chance every Friday night to start a conference series with a win.
His formula is not a secret: Every batter in the Pac-12 knows about Rose's change-up, his signature "out" pitch. While he has low-to-mid-90s velocity on his fastball and his curveball has gotten better, his change-up is the one that leaves hitter whiffing at air.
Through his career, Rose has changed things: He takes better care of his arm. He's eating better — the Skittles that were once a staple of his diet are now an occasional treat. What hasn't changed much is his pitching approach: aggressive and with a healthy dose of change-ups.
"We have to go with more fastballs and breaking balls early in the count to keep hitters off-balance," Rose said. "But I still throw the change-up a lot. I still get a lot of good results with it."
It's a mark of Rose's consistency, Kinneberg said, that he hasn't gotten much more speed or changed his game all that much — yet other teams keep struggling to hit him. When Rose has his placement on point, there's not much anyone in the batter's box can do.
"That's what makes it so devastating," the Utah coach said. "Everybody has seen it. Everybody has scouted it. Everybody knows it's coming. And they still don't hit it."
The other group that has noticed is major league scouts. Rose is Utah's top draft-eligible prospect this year, and D1 Baseball ranked him the No. 43 college prospect in the country in January. Kinneberg said at the season's start, there were games where 50 scouts watched him.
That kind of pressure can be tough to carry. Whether it was the meticulous eyes of scouts or something else that weighed on him, Rose didn't start the season in his best form, giving up three or more earned runs in four of his first five starts.
But the last few weekends have seen Rose round into the form that defined his breakout sophomore year as a Pac-12 first-teamer. In his past four starts, he's only given up four combined earned runs while recording 20 strikeouts. His seven-strikeout, six-hit and no-run performance against Washington State last week was one of his better outings this year.
"That affected him a little bit early this year, where he put so much pressure on himself for each pitch," Kinneberg said. "He was dominant this last weekend, dominant in Arizona, dominant against Stanford. So he's in that zone."
It's probably Rose's last year at Utah, given that he's likely to be in demand for the MLB draft in June. Depending on where he's picked, there's a good chance he'll go pro.
Rose said he's staying present in his college career: With the final starts of this season, he hopes that he can prove to major league teams he's worth taking. His favorite memory at Utah so far is holding up the Pac-12 championship trophy with his brother, a senior outfielder on the team.
But he hopes there's memories still left to make — and records left to break.
"You can only look at the next series you have to pitch," he said. "I still have to throw four good weekends to keep my spot and let everyone know I'm still here."
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Rose in the Utes' record book
Season strikeouts • 106, set last year
Career strikeouts • 232 (record is 236, held by Jason Price)
Career wins • 16 (record is 19, held by Curtis Carman)
UC-Irvine at Utah
P At Smith's Ballpark
Series schedule • 7 p.m. Thursday; 6 p.m. Friday; 11:30 a.m. Saturday
TV • All games on Pac-12 Mountain