A chain of injuries has begun Summer 2014, right-handed pitcher era Kevin Stevens I was entering my junior year at Sienega High School in Pima County, Arizona.

He partially tore the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) and was temporarily relieved with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections. Soon after, an overstretched elbow again partially ripped the UCL, costing him his junior season and preventing him from pitching as a senior.

Stevens continued to play at Yavapai College, but suffered shoulder tendonitis during his freshman year. His scholarship was taken away and he wore a red shirt. He pitched his 13.1 innings as a redshirt freshman in 2018 and had his UCL completely ripped.

He accepted his only offer to continue pitching for the NAIA School after that season, but decided to take a chance on himself instead before reporting.

“I had Tommy John surgery on August 10, 2018 because I knew I was better than what I was giving,” Stevens said. “The day after surgery I put on a cast and went to the gym and did everything I could. I spent a whole year in rehab at home. Learn what you want, throw it into a net or fence.

“Each year in those situations, I had two choices: say quit or do what I had to do,” he added. “It was a ride, but I found a drive. It comes from what my father always said when I was young: ‘If you want something, you have to work for it.’ ”

Stevens did what he had to do to get back into college baseball. He emailed coaches across the country asking them to watch him throw the bullpen.No one paid any attention to him except Vaqueros head coach at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Derek MatlockWhile in Arizona for the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) tournament, Matlock drove to Tucson to meet Stevens.

“He had big arms on the descents, he was a physical kid, he threw a lot of strikes. I immediately followed him to bring him here,” Matlock said. “We took a chance and called him and said we can’t give you money but walk and make money. He showed up on campus and from that moment it was over. He opened the door I kicked it.”

During Fall 2019, many expected redshirt junior RHP John Henry Gonzalez to be UTRGV’s Friday night starter. Stevens believed otherwise.

“I wanted to be an ace. I wanted the biggest role. I just didn’t want to be here,” Stevens said. “I always said to Matlock, ‘I’m the Friday night starter,’ and he brushed it off. Then before opening night on Wednesday, Matlock finally said I’d start on Friday. I went out and what did I do. I did it and I did it from there.”

On February 14, 2020, Stevens made his first start at the NCAA Division I level. This comes more than 22 months after his last college trip. His opening night nods were a surprise, but when he left the mound at UTRGV Baseball Stadium that Friday night, there was no question why he was honored.

Stevens went hitless in five innings with nine strikeouts against Kansas State. The only baserunner in his outing reached an error in the second inning, and Stevens retired the next 12 Wildcats he faced. Stevens and Gonzalez combined his one-hitters as UTRGV carried out his 5–0 victory.

Stevens remained UTRGV’s Friday night starter for the rest of his career. He finished with an 18–7 record and a 2.99 ERA after pitching 195.2 innings in 33 starts. His 228 career strikeouts are the sixth most in show history. He boasted his 4:1 strikeout-to-base ratio and held his opponents’ batting average to .

There is a coaching philosophy that Matlock learned from Jim Schlossnagle when the two worked together at TCU. Stevens’ hard work and consistent growth is a perfect example. He was throwing 86-88 mph in his first year with UTRGV, but he achieved 90-92 mph and reached 92-95 mph in his final season.

“You talk about how people say kids should grow up in college, but he made it a T,” Matlock said. “He was a freak in the weight room. His ability to buy into the process was outstanding.He’s very competitive and a really hardworking and detailed person…the craft of being a really good pitcher.”

Stevens expected to be drafted He never intended to be a top two-rounder in the 2022 MLB Draft, but he was certain to be picked after meeting with the team. Early in the second day of the draft, the team asked if it would cost him more money to be a top 10 rounder.

“I said, ‘Just say my name and let’s go from there,'” Stevens said.

But he didn’t reply. His agent kept calling, saying that many people had asked him to sign, but no one had picked him up during the day.

“I’m watching everything on day three. I get calls. As the final round approached, my agent called me and said, ‘I have absolutely no idea what’s going on.'” recalls Stevens. “At that point, it was like where do I go from here? I thought I had done everything that was supposed to be done, but it felt like it was taken from me.”

Even the UTRGV staff were perplexed.assistant coach Robert Martinez, Recruiting Stevens at the high school he was coaching at Howard, he remembers sitting in his coach’s office calling a scout and asking, “Why aren’t you taking this kid?” rice field.

When the draft was over, Stevens drove straight to the gym. He was under contract to play with a Mexican team in his league, and just as he was mentally flipping the switch and preparing to take the chance, he got a call from the New York Yankees.

“Brian Reese, the Yankees’ South Texas scout, called me and said, ‘I’m in the front office right now and I want you to be a Yankee.’ I offered a contract as a free agent and said, ‘I believe in you.

Stevens signed a free agency contract with the Yankees organization on July 19, 2022.

“I thought there was a team here that wanted to give me a chance,” Stevens said. “Just like in college, I walked in with a chip on my shoulder, believing I should be here.”

Stevens makes professional debut Joined the rookie-level Florida Complex League (FCL) Yankees on August 22, 2022 and was promoted to the Single-A Tampa Tarpons on August 31. He allowed eight hits in 4.2 innings.

“The first few times I was in timeouts. “But it’s been fun adapting to the intense situation. Being in the big moment, being called upon is what you want. You still have to make the pitch. You still have to take outs.” It’s still baseball. You just have to. To control the moment.”

Gone is his routine of throwing the Tuesday bullpen and starting on Friday. He takes two days off after pitching a game until he reaches Double A and is able to pitch games in a row. Then he gets hot again. He’s learning to balance his workouts and felt things start to take off during the fall education league.

Stevens returned to the Valley in December to train before leaving for spring training in Tampa on March 1. Stephen Lanciahe is always a good fighting opponent, Zerek Sentz, Montclair Kane and Brandon PimentelHe said the way UTRGV’s line-up changed from right-handed to left-handed was similar to a professional line-up and helped him focus on pitch execution. Matlock said Vaqueros benefited, because you won’t see a better pitcher than Stevens this season.

One of Stevens’ former teammates, Jacob Hirschis currently a Volunteer Analyst for UTRGV. Hirsch used tracking technology such as Yakkertech to chart his league progress in the minors.

In one of Stevens’ final outings in February, Hersh recorded an average fastball speed of 97 mph. His top speed was 100.2 mph. He has his 16-inch induced vertical break (IVB), one of his most important metrics on a fastball. The elite MLB fastball features his IVB of 18-20 inches. His Average Spin His rate is 2400 revolutions per minute (RPM), above the big league average. Stevens’ slider hits 90 mph with an IVB of his 6.6 inches and a horizontal break of -6.1 inches. This is a similar metric to Gerrit Cole, another pitcher in the Yankees organization.

“Simply put, his fastball is already better than a big-league fastball,” Hirsch said. “He will be one of the best players at his level this year. They will expect a lot from him.”

Matlock and Martinez hope the organization’s pitching coach will push Stevens. I’m here. But no roadblock in front of him stopped Stevens. In fact, they motivate him.

“I adopted him because he was a chubby little kid. A lot of people thought I was crazy, but there was something about him that I liked,” Martinez said. “He just works hard. That’s his character. If he says he can’t, he’ll try. They’ll try to push him because of his age. Out.” If so, he could be called up in September. It’s up to him.”

Stevens’ greatest lesson The story is he never quit, Matlock said. He loves to overcome he loves to compete

Stevens would like to thank Matlock, Martinez, junior college pitching coach Jerry Dawson, and the entire UTRGV community for supporting him over the years and helping him get to this point in his career through difficult times. He said it was special to know that he was a part of the turnaround of UTRGV baseball and was grateful for the years he spent representing the Vaqueros. said it does.

As Stevens pursues his MLB dreams, he will look back on his career and find that he can achieve his goals even when the going gets tough. Because he already achieved with his UTRGV.

“It’s my college career and my professional baseball journey, it’s the exact same story,” Stevens said. At this point, it all depends on me, depending on what I do and how I perform.As long as I have this chance, I will do it. I intend on doing it.”

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