Ex-UConn star Wallace is throwing heat for Portland

HARTFORD — It was back in his old haunts at Dunkin’ Donuts Park, where he had pitched several times during his three years at UConn, that Jacob Wallace hit a milestone for the first time this season.

On May 10 against the Yard Goats, Wallace came on in relief in the eighth inning and fired a fastball that registered 100 miles per hour on the stadium radar gun. Not that he knew it at the time.

“It feels good to be able to put up numbers like that, but I don’t usually try to look (at the radar reading),” he admitted. “I stay pretty locked in and people will tell me afterwards, and that’s something that’s always pretty cool. The guys around me are excited for me, and they always tell me. I just focus on my outing.”

Like nearly all his outings this season for the Portland Sea Dogs, Double-A affiliate of the Red Sox, Wallace’s outing was strong. In 14 appearances out of the Sea Dogs’ bullpen, Wallace has allowed six earned runs for a 3.24 ERA. Five of those runs came in one ugly inning against Somerset on April 29.

“I struggled a little bit that outing, trying to do too much,” Wallace recalled. “I was all around the zone, and then when I found it, they were ready to swing.”

Otherwise, he’s been terrific, striking out 22 batters in 16.2 innings with a 1.32 WHIP. And it’s not all because of that 100-MPH fastball.

“The hitters tell you whether you’re throwing the ball pretty good,” Portland pitching coach Lance Carter noted. “You can throw 100 and hit the backstop and it’s not worth a flip. But he’s been in the zone, repeating his delivery pretty good and he seems to be in a good spot. If he hits 100, and gets the ball by guys in the strike zone, then he’s heading in the right direction.”

Indeed, it was Wallace’s slider that garnered national attention as the Huskies made a run at the 2019 Oklahoma City Regional, where they ultimately fell to Oklahoma State in the finals.

That slider is still a weapon.

“It’s something I’ve carried with me, haven’t made any changes with it,” Wallace noted. “(The organization) really likes it, and I feel very comfortable throwing it.”

More recently, he has added a changeup to his arsenal that comes in at about 88-91 MPH, has good action and almost serves as a power sinker.

It’s all added up to a strong second season in the Red Sox organization. Wallace’s masterful performance out of the bullpen during UConn’s 2019 run — and, indeed, throughout the season — led to him being selected in the third round of the MLB Draft, the 100th overall pick, by Colorado.

But Wallace spent just one summer with Class-A short-season Boise. He reported to his first spring training the following year, but the COVID-19 pandemic quickly sent him (and everyone else) home, ultimately canceling the season.

Later that summer while home in Methuen, Massachusetts, Wallace found it odd that he hadn’t heard from anyone in the Rockies’ organization for a few weeks. He soon found out why — Rockies’ general manager Jeff Bridich called Wallace to tell him he was being traded to the Red Sox organization.

“It kind of all made sense after that,” he recalled.

Wallace got to see some of his former organizational teammates — and show off his 100-MPH heat — when Portland visited the Yard Goats a few weeks ago. The Sea Dogs return to The Dunk at the end of July. Will Jacob Wallace still be with them, or perhaps dishing his heat a few miles up the road at Triple-A Worcester?

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Here’s a look at where minor-leaguers with Connecticut ties are currently playing:

Triple-A

Matt Batten (Shelton/ Quinnipiac), El Paso (Padres); Joe Zanghi (Milford), Syracuse (Mets); Zack Short (Sacred Heart), Toledo (Tigers); Nolan Long (New

London), Las Vegas (Dodgers); John Andreoli (UConn), Lehigh Valey (Phillies); Max McDowell (UConn), Lehigh Valley (Phillies); Thomas Jankins (Quinnipiac), Nashville (Brewers); Patrick Ruotolo (UConn), Sacramento (Giants);

Double-A

Mike Burrows (Waterford), Altoona (Pirates); Thomas Milone (Monroe), San Antonio (Padres); Simon Whiteman (Trumbull/ Yale), Richmond (Giants); Nick Kuzia (Seymour), Erie (Tigers); Wes Robertson (Cheshire), Bowie (Orioles); Sal Gozzo (Wallingford), Reading (Phillies); J.T. Hintzen (Greenwich), Biloxi (Brewers); Robbie Hitt (Quinnipiac), Biloxi (Brewers); PJ Poulin (UConn), Hartford (Rockies); Jacob Wallace (UConn), Portland (Red Sox); John Russell (UConn), Richmond (Giants);

High-A

Pat Winkel (Orange/ UConn), Cedar Rapids (Twins); Emmet Sheehan (Darien), Great Lakes (Dodgers); Tim Cate (Manchester/UConn), Wilmington (Nationals); TT Bowens (Montville/CCSU), Aberdeen (Orioles); Nick Krauth (UConn), Hickory (Rangers); Kumar Nambiar (Yale), Lansing (Athletics); Kyler Fedko (UConn), Cedar Rapids (Twins); Anthony Prato (UConn), Cedar Rapids (Twins); Tom Sutera (Waterford), Jersey Shore (Phillies); Jake Walkinshaw (Seymour), Lansing (Athletics)

Single-A

Frank Mozzicato (Enfield), Columbia (Royals); Ben Casparius (Westport/ UConn), Rancho Cucamonga (Dodgers); Andrew Marrero (New Haven/ UConn), Palm Beach (Cardinals); Stephen Paolini (Fairfield), Augusta (Braves); Caleb Wurster (UConn), Jupiter (Marlins); Rohan Handa (Yale), San Jose (Giants); Mason Feole (UConn), Lake Elsinore (Padres); Justin Guerrera (Watertown/Fairfield), St. Lucie (Mets).