Koenig follows long road to cusp of majors
Fran Riordan, manager of the Oakland Athletics’ Triple-A affiliate, fondly describes Las Vegas left-hander Jared Koenig as “an oldschool pitcher.”
“He just flat-out knows how to pitch,” Riordan said. “Nothing jumps out at you as far as spin rate, as far as velocity, as far as elite major-league stuff. But none of that matters when he toes the slab.”
It hasn’t kept Koenig, 28, from being one of the best starting pitchers in the Pacific Coast League so far this season. Koenig, in nine games, owns a 2.21 ERA that ranks second lowest among PCL pitchers. His 61 strikeouts in 53 innings lead the hitterfriendly league.
“He’s competitive,” A’s director of player development Ed Sprague said. “He’s touched 94 and 95 (mph), changes speed with an average or above-average breaking ball. This guy’s a great story.”
The story has Bay Area roots. Koenig was born in San Jose and went to Aptos High School. He pitched at Central Arizona College for two seasons and was drafted in the 35th round in 2014 by the Chicago White Sox but went unsigned. Koenig played two more college seasons at Old Dominion (2015) and Cal State Monterey Bay (2016) without being drafted again.
Instead, Koenig started his post-college career in independent ball. He pitched on four different teams in 2017 — including the Monterey Amberjacks and San Rafael Pacifics in California — and with the Pacifics all of 2018. In 2019, he posted a 2.24 ERA for Lake Erie of the Frontier League.
“Indy ball was great,” Koenig said before a recent Aviators game in Tacoma. “It’s a grind. You’re a little more on your own, so it’s kind of on you to get yourself to do the work. … I think it’s a good experience because it gives you some freedom to kind of figure yourself out a little bit more.”
Koenig said it was during his itinerant 2017 season “that I kind of changed my mentality” about baseball, “knowing, I don’t know how long I’m going to do this, so I’m just going to go out and have fun and enjoy every moment. Stop stressing over little things that don’t do much for the body and mind.”
In late 2019, Koenig joined Auckland Tuatara of the Australian Baseball League, which is where the A’s saw him. Signed by the A’s to a minorleague deal, Koenig had his first season in their system canceled amid the pandemic. It delayed any chance for Koenig to impress the A’s but gave him time to work on adding a cutter and to rest after logging a lot of innings in 2019.
Koenig returned to Aptos during the minor-league shutdown. His parents still live there, and he said he goes back in the offseason between his baseball pursuits.
“Normally I work UPS in the winter, and then I’ll also do stuff for my parents where they’ll pay me, like last year I built a shed,” Koenig said. “Just odd things to where I can make some extra money and skate by.”
Koenig spent his first minorleague season in 2021 at Double-A Midland, posting a 3.26 ERA in 24 games (21 starts). He totaled 100 strikeouts in 1211⁄3 innings and opponents hit .240 against him. Both marks are improved this season after his promotion to Las Vegas. Koenig has struck out 61 batters and walked just 15 over 53 innings while holding opponents to a .203 average.
“I’d say my pitching style has stayed relatively the same,” Koenig said. “I don’t throw max effort. I pound the zone as much as I can, but there’s going to be days where I can’t do that and I’m going for strikeouts. I think (a cutter) has helped to add another pitch off my fastball to get some extra swing and misses and some soft contact.”
Tougher against left-handed hitters at Midland, Koenig is holding right-handed bats to a .200 average in Las Vegas.
Left-handed hitters have a .216 average against him.
“He does a great job of mixing velocities,” Las Vegas catcher Shea Langeliers said. “I think his fastball has been like 86 to 93 (mph). He’s got a quality cutter he can land on both sides of the plate, a curveball, changeup. If I’m thinking as a hitter, I’ve got four pitches he can throw in the zone whenever he wants to — and his fastball ranges 7 mph. So that’s hard to square up.”
Koenig pitched Wednesday night against Triple-A Sacramento at home, holding the Giants’ affiliate to a run on four hits in six innings. Langeliers, who caught his outing, said Koenig has “that bulldog mentality — he’s not afraid. He knows what he’s got and he’s going to come right at you.”
“The guy takes nothing for granted,” Riordan said. “Coming from where he has, playing at the lowest levels, getting released from independent ball on more than one occasion and never giving up on himself … he understands that if he’s going to get to the big leagues, it’s going to be on merit, on his ability and on his perseverance.”