Wake Forest Athletics
Full Speed Ahead
4/13/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 13, 2002
By Jay Reddick
Kyle Sleeth said he was as surprised as anyone when the number came up.
"We had four intrasquad games this winter before the season started, and it was my third pitch in the first game when it happened," Sleeth said.
There had been no warning before Christmas, no inkling that it was possible. Sleeth wasn't even trying for it.
"I guess I just learned to use my legs a little better and gained a little weight," he said.
The number, which appeared on coaches' radar guns, was 98. As in 98 miles per hour. Sleeth, a sophomore who is listed in the Deacons' media guide at 6-foot-5, 195 pounds, was throwing fastballs that most major leaguers would give, well, their arm for.
The blazing fastball wasn't a one-time phenomenon, either. Sleeth threw that hard consistently in his first two starts for the Deacons. On opening day, Sleeth had no walks and 10 strikeouts in a win over Davidson. He followed that up with a winning performance over No. 8 Nebraska. The combination of the two games led the ACC to give Sleeth its Player of the Week honors on Feb. 18.
"Real early, I didn't know what to expect," Sleeth said. "Against Davidson, I kind of got all the nerves out of the way early and just threw. Nebraska is the kind of team that plays small-ball, so if you can keep guys from getting on base unnecessarily, you can be successful. That was a big win for us."
Of course, you can't attribute all that success to a bit of extra mustard on a fastball. Sleeth's paltry 90-mph heater, along with a good curve and great control, was enough to put him second in the ACC with 10 victories last season, and get him on the Freshman All-American team. He beat four teams that went on to the NCAA tournament during the yeat.
Much has happened since then, however. Sleeth migrated to the prestigious Cape Cod League to play summer baseball and earned all-star status.
"I was able to throw a lot over the summer, against some big-time players," Sleeth said. "It's a real pitcher's league, so that was fun. The experience was awesome, and the hitters were real good."
Sleeth believes the chance to pitch in that setting all summer and never lose his mechanics from the previous season, is helping him this year.
"I was doing everything the same," Sleeth said. "I didn't change my delivery or my approach. I just got to work out a lot of things in my arm."
He stayed strong through fall workouts, then after Christmas came the epiphany. If anything, Sleeth said the only changes he has made to his routine or his mindset came as a result of the added velocity, not before it.
"I really had to change the way I threw," Sleeth said. "When I used to throw upper 80s (consistently), my pitches had a lot more movement, and the big thing for me was location. When I came in this winter, I was a little wild, but now I think I've found a medium pace that works."
Sleeth, who has been called the nation's No. 7 sophomore by Baseball America, said he has plenty of confidence coming into what figures to be a grueling ACC season.
"Last year, if I made a mistake in an ACC game, I knew it would get hit a long way. This year, it's a little less likely."
The Deacons got off to a quick 3-1 start, with victories over not only Nebraska and Davidson, but New Mexico. Sleeth's win was especially important, since Nebraska was a College World Series participant a year ago, a place the Deacons would like to be this spring.
"Last year, we had everything right there and couldn't do it," Sleeth said. "We're anxious to get back there, and we'll play each game to win with that goal in mind."
In fact, Sleeth said he has no individual goals for the season.
"My only goal is to help play us into the College World Series," he said.
That figures to be a whole lot easier
