Like clockwork, they arrive at Raymond C. Hand Park at the appointed day, on the appointed hour. Men, adorned with wrap-around sunglasses and wearing oversized backpacks. They come with their radar guns primed, notebooks and pens at the ready. When the prized young hurler takes the mound, they scurry like ants, some to the bullpen for a better recording angle, some to different areas of the grandstand for a quieter look. When the inning starts, so does the scribbling in the notebooks, jotting down notes and radar gun readings and general impressions.
And that's what watching people watch Jared Carkuff has been like over the course of the 2015 season. And if the casual viewer has noticed the hordes who monitor Carkuff's every appearance, it's not surprising the man himself has been aware of his following.
"I noticed the people in the stands," Carkuff conceded. "Early in the year, when I wasn't throwing good, I was worried about it. But we've worked on compartmentalizing and the last four or five times out, I couldn't have told you that anybody (scouts) were there."
Carkuff has allowed three earned runs or fewer in each of his eight appearances since March 16. His pitching coach, Chal Fanning, credits Carkuff's ability to put all the outside pressure aside once he gets between the white lines and just play ball.
"It's human nature that he's aware of it," Fanning said. "It's one of those things in an 18-to-22 year old's mind that they think about. It's a big deal because your aspirations and desires are to be a big-leaguer, so of course they know the guys on the other side of the fence affect that. We've talked about it and I think he's done a better job of late of going out and being Jared Carkuff again. He's done a really nice job and that's been a key for his recent success."
Long on the radar of pro scouts – Carkuff was named the Ohio Valley Conference's top professional prospect by Baseball America in 2014 – Carkuff will be eligible for MLB's First-Year Player Draft in June and the idea of a career in professional baseball is intriguing. But for now, he's worried about helping the Govs get back to Jackson for the OVC Championships after missing the tournament last season.
Helping the Govs has taken different forms during 2015 for Carkuff. With Carkuff, Alex Robles, Zach Hall and Caleb Powell all worthy of the three weekend rotation spots, there has been some juggling during the year to determine who will have the honor of taking the ball against OVC opponents. All four have been on the outside looking in at various points, which can be frustrating even if it is for the good of the club.
"It's tough, but it makes you push that much harder to get the weekend position," Carkuff said. "Usually, you're kind of set in that (weekend) position and you don't have to push, but this makes you work harder every week. I know, 'Man, I've got to throw great or I'm out (of the rotation)."
With a job on the line every time out, Carkuff has brought his A-game over the last few starts, highlighted by seven innings of two-hit, shutout ball in a midweek against Middle Tennessee a few weeks ago and a sterling outing against Morehead State over the weekend. The Eagles, one of the nation's most potent offenses, were held largely in check by Carkuff, who scattered four hits over seven innings and struck out six in the no-decision.
Carkuff has responded well to Fanning's tutelage, crediting the first-year pitching coach for helping him overcome his mental hurdles early in the season.
"(Coach Fanning) is huge on the mental stuff," Carkuff said. "He's very much 'one pitch, one game at a time.' Mechanics-wise, he's let me do whatever makes me comfortable and helped me work on timing and stay on top of the ball. I used to have a hitch in my delivery and he's really worked with me on that and it's been huge."
"We've worked to take the stress out of his pitching, to make it easy," Fanning said. "We've worked on mechanical stuff to make sure he's synced up. He's made some good adjustments and grown up a little bit, and it's good to see, because he's enjoying baseball again. He was stressed trying to help us win and scouts and all that stuff and now that he's relaxed his stuff has come back and he's been even better."
For the season, Carkuff is 4-4 with a 3.90 ERA and 51 strikeouts, including a career-high 10 punch-outs against Eastern Illinois, March 9. Although he's allowed 39 runs in 62.1 innings pitched, just 27 of those have been earned.
Numbers tell only part of the story, as Carkuff has worked diligently to add a curveball to his repertoire, complementing a low 90s fastball and a slider that borders on filthy when he's locked in. While dabbling with a changeup, Carkuff is already a four-pitch hurler. So what's left?
"Consistency is the next step," he said. "Throwing like I'm capable of every single time and not have backtracks like Tech (when he allowed three earned runs in one relief inning), where I look like I've never pitched before. I think I've got the stuff to be great, I just need the consistency."
As great as he can be and despite a series of strong starts, Carkuff knows that his fate is out of his hands. Scouts are going to write in their books and file their reports and see whatever they want to see in him regardless of what the numbers say. His life could be completely different by July. It could be exactly the same. And he can't do a thing about it besides go out each start and throw his ballgame.
"It's crazy," said Carkuff, who is on track to graduate in December. "I have a semester left in classes so I'm thinking about graduation and a job, but at the same time, I don't want a job. I want baseball to be the job. I think about it a lot, but when I get on the field, I've just got to drop all that and play ball."
