Salinas, Fresno State hurler Ryan Jensen taken by Chicago Cubs 27th overall
This story was originally published with the Salinas Californian on July 30, 2019.
It’s been nearly 40 years since a pitcher from Salinas was taken in the first round of the MLB Draft. In 1980, North Salinas grad Steve Raine was drafted in the first round (fifth overall) to the Kansas City Royals.
It took a pitcher on the rise to break that drought: former Salinas Cowboy Ryan Jensen, who was taken 27th overall in the first round by the Chicago Cubs Monday night.
“Ryan is an athletic and competitive righthander with a big arm,” said Cubs Senior Vice President of Scouting and Player Development Jason McLeod in a press release Monday night. “He features a heavy sinker along with a swing and miss type fastball, and he closed out his junior season strong. We are excited to get him into a Cubs uniform.”
Jensen was recommended by Cubs area scout Gabe Zappin.
“Ryan Jensen might have the best fastball in the draft that people aren’t talking about,” MLB Network Analyst Jonathan Mayo said during the draft show.
“He was really lights out late in the year and I got a text from a scout that (he had) the best fastball he’d seen all year,” Mayo continued. “It’s upper 90s (mph) and he maintains his velocity. He’s throwing 97, 98 (mph) in the seventh (inning)… I think you send him out as a starter but you could shorten him up and get him to the big leagues pretty (quickly).”
For longtime Cowboy baseball coach Art Hunsdorfer, who was at the helm for Jensen’s sophomore and junior seasons, it wasn’t a big surprise to see him selected.
“The best way to describe him was he was a great athlete,” Hunsdorfer said. “He had tremendous talent on the baseball diamond not only as a pitcher but as an outfielder and a hitter. It was a lot of fun coaching him.”
The Fresno State star played his way to the top 100 prospects of this year’s Amateur Draft by way of a stellar junior season.
He opened the season by splitting his first four games, notching wins against Utah Valley and Kansas State before losses to University of Nevada — Las Vegas (UNLV) and Tennessee. Against UNLV, he set a new career-best with 10 strikeouts in six innings pitched in the 4–3 loss and wasn’t credited with the loss.
He proceeded to go undefeated for the rest of the season.
He posted wins against San Francisco, San Jose State and San Diego State to close out March. April was even more prolific: four wins and a new career-high in strikeouts (14, set against Air Force).
“Things started out a little rough but we got our confidence going after a couple games and never looked back,” he said on CBS47’s Bulldog Insider program last week.
By holding UNLV to just three hits and racking up 10 strikeouts in the Mountain West Conference Championship opener, Jensen set the tone for the team going forward in the tournament.
“I just knew I had to settle in and get into a rhythm,” he said on Bulldog Insider.
The Bulldogs continued on to won their first Mountain West title ever and first conference title since 2012 when they were in the Western Athletic Conference and led by current Yankees All-Star Aaron Judge.
Jensen took home Conference Pitcher of the Year Honors and coach Mike Batesole won Coach of the Year Honors as well.
“It means everything to me to win (Pitcher of the Year),” he said on Bulldog Insider. “All the hard work we put in this year.”
Another great performance in the College World Series Regional games with four hits and two runs allowed with eight strikeouts against UC Santa Barbara that earned him All-Regional honors.
Hunsdorfer was at that game and enjoyed the chance to see the former Cowboy’s improvement.
“He was a typical high school pitcher when he was with us — he had the velocity but he did struggle with his location sometimes,” Hunsdorfer said. “I was amazed Friday night how consistent he was in the zone as a pitcher.”
Though he’d markedly improved on the mound, he wasn’t too different from his high school days off the field.
“He’s a happy-go-lucky guy,” Hunsdorfer said. “Seeing him after the game, he hasn’t changed a bit. Always got a smile on his face but with an incredible fire to compete.”
He more than lived up to his original projection of just within the top 100 prospects and the Cubs made him the ninth pitcher taken in the draft.
He’s the second player in his family to be drafted, too; his cousin Michael was taken in the 26th round (789th overall) in 2011 by the Cubs as well. The last player drafted from Salinas High was fellow pitcher Nick Grim (17th round, 522nd overall to the Baltimore Orioles) who was taken in the 2012 Draft.
