Tippecanoe Valley Graduate Andrews Making Hitters Miss In Midwest League
August 17, 2019 at 12:48 a.m.
Tippecanoe Valley Graduate Andrews Making Hitters Miss In Midwest League
By Steve Krah-
But he had never put nine pitches past hitters in the same frame.
Andrews, a right-handed pitcher with the Clinton (Iowa) LumberKings of the Low Class-A Midwest League, tossed that rare “immaculate inning” July 10.
After surrendering a run in the top of the first inning, the former Tippecanoe Valley High School and Purdue University standout whiffed all three Lake County Captains batters he faced in the second in the minimum number of pitches.
Jonathan Engelmann went down swinging.
The same with Hosea Nelson.
Up stepped Josh Rolette.
Clinton catcher Will Banfield signaled for Andrews’ out pitch — the split-finger.
“I usually like to throw that 0-2 below the zone,” says Andrews. “But I thought, ‘I’ve got a chance (at a nine-pitch inning) here.’ So I threw it high so it would come in as a strike.”
Rolette fanned at the delivery and Andrews made a baseball memory.
“It was a pretty awesome moment,” says Andrews. “It was something I’d never accomplished before.”
Andrews, a 6-foot-3, 220-pounder, accomplished plenty as a three-sport athlete at Tippy Valley.
The same big hands and long fingers that helps him effectively throw the splitter were useful on the gridiron and court.
“It made it easier catching a football or controlling basketball through traffic,” says Andrews. “They were great asset to me.”
Born in Rochester, Andrews played travel baseball for the Fort Wayne Indians from age 10 to 15 for coach Ray Moon, who played in the Cincinnati Reds organization and independent professional baseball.
After a travel season with the South Bend-based Michiana Clippers, Andrews used his summers to concentrate on football and basketball.
His head football coach at Tippy Valley was Jeff Shriver while Indiana Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Patrick guided Andrews and the Vikings on the hardwood.
Tanner became acquainted with Purdue pitcher and future major leaguer Nick Wittgren (he was with the Marlins and is now with the Cleveland Indians) when he was at a clinic in Fort Wayne featuring Matt Kennedy, who had coached Wittgren at Parkland College in Champaign, Ill.
Kennedy was also a friend of Fort Wayne travel coach Manny Lopez. Tanner’s father, Todd Andrews, grew up in Kissimmee, Fla., as an Atlanta Braves fan and passed down the affinity to his youngest son.
Atlanta’s John Smoltz was devastating with his split-finger pitch and Tanner eventually added it to his bag of tricks. That bag now includes a fastball, slider, splitter and — a pitch he first threw in his final year at Purdue University — a change-up.
Former Boilermakers pitching coach Steve Holm (now head coach at Illinois State University) told Andrews he would need a change-of-pace at the pro level.
“By the end of the year, I used it more and more,” says Andrews, who mixed in the change-up as he went 7-5 with a 2.94 earned run average in 17 mound appearances (16 starts) in the spring of 2018. In 98 innings, he fanned 78 batters and walked 41.
After graduating with the degree in organizational leadership, Andrews was selected in the 10th round of the 2018 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Miami Marlins, pitched 30 more innings in the minors, going 2-0 with a 3.60 ERA, 25 strikeouts and five walks.
After beginning the 2019 season in extended spring training, Andrews made one appearance at High Class-A Jupiter before joining Clinton where he has been a starter in a “piggyback” rotation.
The righty has been in 18 games and is 5-4 with a 5.04 ERA. in 100 1/3 innings, he has amassed 87 K’s and missed 32 free passes.
Andrews has worked on his consistency during practice and games and cleaned up his delivery to make it more efficient.
“I did it so I don’t have to work so hard to create velocity and to pitch down and away the way I like to,” says Andrews in a podcast with LumberKings broadcaster Erik Oas. “As a starter, I do not have to be max effort on every pitch.
“What I like to do is save my put-away pitch for the second time through (the batting order). At the end of the day, it’s just competition. You’ve just got to execute.”
With Andrews headquartered in the Midwest, his family, which includes parents Todd and Margaret, older brother Cody and cousin Niko, and friends have been able to visit him in Iowa or on the road.
“It’s been nice,” says Andrews.
If Clinton makes the MWL playoffs, those begin Sept. 4 and could extend into the middle of the month.
It will be up the Marlins whether they send Andrews to Jupiter for three weeks of instructional league or shut him down for the season and let him go back to Indianapolis to begin preparation for the 2020 season.
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But he had never put nine pitches past hitters in the same frame.
Andrews, a right-handed pitcher with the Clinton (Iowa) LumberKings of the Low Class-A Midwest League, tossed that rare “immaculate inning” July 10.
After surrendering a run in the top of the first inning, the former Tippecanoe Valley High School and Purdue University standout whiffed all three Lake County Captains batters he faced in the second in the minimum number of pitches.
Jonathan Engelmann went down swinging.
The same with Hosea Nelson.
Up stepped Josh Rolette.
Clinton catcher Will Banfield signaled for Andrews’ out pitch — the split-finger.
“I usually like to throw that 0-2 below the zone,” says Andrews. “But I thought, ‘I’ve got a chance (at a nine-pitch inning) here.’ So I threw it high so it would come in as a strike.”
Rolette fanned at the delivery and Andrews made a baseball memory.
“It was a pretty awesome moment,” says Andrews. “It was something I’d never accomplished before.”
Andrews, a 6-foot-3, 220-pounder, accomplished plenty as a three-sport athlete at Tippy Valley.
The same big hands and long fingers that helps him effectively throw the splitter were useful on the gridiron and court.
“It made it easier catching a football or controlling basketball through traffic,” says Andrews. “They were great asset to me.”
Born in Rochester, Andrews played travel baseball for the Fort Wayne Indians from age 10 to 15 for coach Ray Moon, who played in the Cincinnati Reds organization and independent professional baseball.
After a travel season with the South Bend-based Michiana Clippers, Andrews used his summers to concentrate on football and basketball.
His head football coach at Tippy Valley was Jeff Shriver while Indiana Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Patrick guided Andrews and the Vikings on the hardwood.
Tanner became acquainted with Purdue pitcher and future major leaguer Nick Wittgren (he was with the Marlins and is now with the Cleveland Indians) when he was at a clinic in Fort Wayne featuring Matt Kennedy, who had coached Wittgren at Parkland College in Champaign, Ill.
Kennedy was also a friend of Fort Wayne travel coach Manny Lopez. Tanner’s father, Todd Andrews, grew up in Kissimmee, Fla., as an Atlanta Braves fan and passed down the affinity to his youngest son.
Atlanta’s John Smoltz was devastating with his split-finger pitch and Tanner eventually added it to his bag of tricks. That bag now includes a fastball, slider, splitter and — a pitch he first threw in his final year at Purdue University — a change-up.
Former Boilermakers pitching coach Steve Holm (now head coach at Illinois State University) told Andrews he would need a change-of-pace at the pro level.
“By the end of the year, I used it more and more,” says Andrews, who mixed in the change-up as he went 7-5 with a 2.94 earned run average in 17 mound appearances (16 starts) in the spring of 2018. In 98 innings, he fanned 78 batters and walked 41.
After graduating with the degree in organizational leadership, Andrews was selected in the 10th round of the 2018 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Miami Marlins, pitched 30 more innings in the minors, going 2-0 with a 3.60 ERA, 25 strikeouts and five walks.
After beginning the 2019 season in extended spring training, Andrews made one appearance at High Class-A Jupiter before joining Clinton where he has been a starter in a “piggyback” rotation.
The righty has been in 18 games and is 5-4 with a 5.04 ERA. in 100 1/3 innings, he has amassed 87 K’s and missed 32 free passes.
Andrews has worked on his consistency during practice and games and cleaned up his delivery to make it more efficient.
“I did it so I don’t have to work so hard to create velocity and to pitch down and away the way I like to,” says Andrews in a podcast with LumberKings broadcaster Erik Oas. “As a starter, I do not have to be max effort on every pitch.
“What I like to do is save my put-away pitch for the second time through (the batting order). At the end of the day, it’s just competition. You’ve just got to execute.”
With Andrews headquartered in the Midwest, his family, which includes parents Todd and Margaret, older brother Cody and cousin Niko, and friends have been able to visit him in Iowa or on the road.
“It’s been nice,” says Andrews.
If Clinton makes the MWL playoffs, those begin Sept. 4 and could extend into the middle of the month.
It will be up the Marlins whether they send Andrews to Jupiter for three weeks of instructional league or shut him down for the season and let him go back to Indianapolis to begin preparation for the 2020 season.
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