Wooster’s Rasner steady and stellar

Nick Christensen

Thursday, June 30, 2005 | 9:58 a.m.

Ron Malcom rattles off the stats without pause, he's so used to reciting them.

"He went 7-1, pitched 60 innings, had 90 strikeouts, 12 walks and a .67 ERA."

Those are the numbers of Jake Rasner, Wooster's ace and the 2005 Sun All-State Baseball Player of the Year.

Some would say the Colts, who finished just 11-7 in a relatively weak Sierra League, were occasionally defensively inept behind Rasner.

But Malcom, Wooster's coach, has an easy defense.

"He had 90 strikeouts in 60 innings and only walked two guys," Malcom said. "That tells you how dominating he was on the mound."

The Texas Rangers agreed, and selected Rasner in the seventh round of this month's draft. He's now playing in the Arizona rookie league.

What strikes Malcom, and impressed the scouts, the most about Rasner was his consistency.

"He started the season at 92 and ended the season at 92," he said. "He popped 94 a couple of times, down at the Bishop Gorman tournament he popped 95 consistently -- but he was 91, 92, 93 from the first pitch to the seventh inning. He never lost velocity."

And just as importantly, he kept it in the strike zone, as his 12 walks would attest to. It's something Malcom said Rasner had to work on from last season.

"It was more of just a control improvement from last year to this year," Malcom said. "Last year he had more walks. Last year he held about 88 to 90."

And with the fastball screaming by Sierra League teenagers in the low 90s this year, the Colts were nearly unbeatable with Rasner on the mound.

"It was fun just watching him pitch because he was a men amongst boys is basically what it was," Malcom said. "He was very focused and had a job at hand and went out and did it. Every single day when it was his turn to throw we were going to be in the ballgame."

And, his coach said, Rasner continues to improve.

"His slider was at 81 or 82. He could get a little more movement on his fastball, he has great movement on his changeup," he said. "At that age to have such a great mound presence and mound composure, he'll be about three or four years and he'll be on a 40-man roster."