Taft College: There’s no more trouble with the curve for crafty lefty Nick O’Connor

Ventura, California —— Quite a bit has changed for Nick O’Connor in the last six weeks.

The first time I saw the Taft College lefty, back on March 9 during a Central Valley Conference game against the College of the Sequoias, O’Connor’s final line was impressive in the Cougars’ upset win: just one run allowed on two hits and two walks over five innings. But something was missing for the lefty, who failed to strike out anyone in that early March start and never got the Sequoias hitters uncomfortable in the batter’s box at any point during his five innings.

Fast forward six weeks, though, and everything is clicking for Nick O’Connor.

He’s fresh off a masterful seven-inning outing against Ventura College on Friday in which he didn’t allow a run and gave up just six hits. Uncomfortable in the box all day thanks to O’Connor’s curve ball, the Pirates whiffed seven times against the little lefty from Las Vegas, and Taft scored an impressive upset win in that Friday game that turned from pitcher’s duel to laugher when Richard Ortiz hit a massive three-run home run in the seventh inning.

But if Friday was the most brilliant start of O’Connor’s season, his previous one—April 6 on the road at Fresno City College—was a close second-best. O’Connor allowed just one hit in 7.1 innings against the Rams, whiffing four (but walking seven) and holding their high-powered offense to just one earned run in another upset win for the Cougars.

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Now, Taft has hit a high note with ten days left in the season, and much of it is thanks to O’Connor’s newfound consistency with his curveball and in every other way.

“I had to make a few adjustments from that Sequoias game,” O’Connor told Baseball Census after his stellar start on Friday in Ventura. “It’s really been critical for me to get my release point down with the curve. I was all over the place. But now I want to build on every single start, and get better every single start. My last four or five starts have been better every single time, and I want to keep building through that.”

Take O’Connor’s last three starts alone and you can already see it happening. Including those two starts against Ventura College and Fresno City College, and a tough-luck loss on March 30 against Cerro Coso College, O’Connor has thrown 19.2 innings across those outings and allowed only three earned runs on ten hits while striking out 14 batters. Everything has gotten sharper, with more depth, better consistency, and improved deception.

“I don’t throw 95,” O’Connor said matter-of-factly, laughing, when asked about the deception in his natural stuff. “I wish I threw 95, but I don’t, so I have to spot well with my curve, and with all of my off speed. If I can do that, if I can throw my curveball over for a strike, when I get my fastball over and the speeds change, I can make 85 look like 95. All of a sudden that’s going to jump on them.”

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He’s right about that, and his ability to change eye levels and sell his off-speed pitches on Friday left Ventura off balance.

O’Connor’s stuff is good enough to do that every time out, too, so long as he commands all three of his pitches the way he should. Considering he’s walked 32 hitters against 32 strikeouts in 11 starts so far this year, that’s been difficult for him at times, but there’s no question he’s seen significant improvement in just the last two months.

And while his curve may draw attention because it’s a swing-and-miss offering, the real story starts with O’Connor’s moving fastball and trusted changeup—what he considers to be his two best pitches.

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“I have a heavy fastball, and I know I can get some nice little movement on it, so if I can get it to run a little bit, I know I can make it look a little harder than it is,” he said. “And if I can throw that fastball glove side, I can get righties to jump back off the plate, and then I can backdoor a curveball on the other side, and they can’t do much but look at it. Along with the changeup, too, if I can get pitches that move on both sides of the plate, that’s big for me.”

Big for O’Connor, and so too has it been big for Taft College.

Moving forward, with two starts left this spring, Nick O’Connor has the perfect opportunity to put the finishing touches on a very strong season. He’s come a long way from the beginning of the year, and now that he’s perfected his curveball and figured out his place in the rotation, the future looks bright for Nick O’Connor.

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To read our scouting report on Taft College LHP Nick O’Connor that was also published today, please click here.

To visit our Nick O’Connor player page, please click here.

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In this Nick O’Connor Taft College feature:

Taft College | Ventura College | College of the Sequoias | Fresno City College | Nick O’Connor

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