From the Jungle to the 'Burg: Josh Trentadue's Competitive Nature Has Powered a Breakout 2025
SAL Hub City Spartanburgers

From the Jungle to the 'Burg: Josh Trentadue's Competitive Nature Has Powered a Breakout 2025

July 31, 2025 - South Atlantic League (SAL)
Hub City Spartanburgers News Release


Called out of the bullpen in the top of the ninth, Josh Trentadue had one thing on his mind. The Spartanburgers were tied with the Brooklyn Cyclones, 1-1, and Trentadue had to hold on to give his offense a chance to win it.

Blonde curly hair hanging out of the back of his navy cap, Trentadue was immediately set back by a pitch clock violation; therefore, a ball. That only added fuel to the fire. After each pitch, the southpaw swung the curls towards the plate and gazed towards the right-center-field scoreboard, which responded with a number. A non-verbal answer, telling Trentadue to step right back on the rubber and throw it harder.

The cap was pulled lower, the emotions became louder, and the fastball became firmer, peaking at a season-high 97 miles-per-hour. After the final swing and miss, Trentadue stormed off the mound and pounded his chest in triumph.

"Sometimes you catch yourself in awe," said Thomas St. Clair, the Spartanburgers' pitching coach. "He's definitely a wild man."

Josh Trentadue fires a strike against the Brooklyn Cyclones on July 19.Hub City Spartanburgers

While it comes out as fierce emotion on the mound, Trentadue's motor is always running. It took him from a one-win freshman season to a wood bat junior college 34 hours away, then drew the Rangers' attention in the 2023 draft. His drive to compete turned him from an afterthought to a prospect, and now, a Frisco RoughRider, as he was promoted on July 29.

Trentadue was an all-state performer at Godwin High School in Richmond, but COVID had scrambled all of college baseball, and there just wasn't space for incoming freshmen. So, he surfaced at Southern Virginia, a Division 3 school two hours west of his hometown. The Knights were gutted by the pandemic; Trentadue had to play outfield and pitch as the squad struggled to a 1-25 record. He needed a different outlet.

"I was looking for some JUCO ball," said Trentadue. "The goal was always to get to D1 or higher... I started looking out west. I heard about a wood bat conference that was competitive with schools like Southern Nevada and Salt Lake CC."

Next stop: the Scenic West Conference, made famous by Bryce Harper's one-year stint at Southern Nevada. Specifically, the College of Southern Idaho, over 2,000 miles away from where Trentadue grew up. But entering a program that hadn't had a losing season in over five years meant nothing was guaranteed.

"There's always that survival of the jungle mentality that comes with the junior college players and I imagine [his competitive nature] fed from that," said St. Clair. "Having to fight for your life every single day out there to get playing time, to be able to be seen by college and professional scouts."

Trentadue emerged as the apex predator in his redshirt sophomore season, striking out 116 batters in 66 1/3 innings. That's when he caught the Rangers' attention.

"[The characteristic that helped us] identify him was the mover, the athlete he was down the mound," said Sam Niedorf, the Rangers' Assistant Director of Player Development. "He never really had true pitching instruction, and that made us even more attracted to him. We saw someone who was a good athlete and moldable."

Luckily for the Rangers, most other pro teams hadn't made the journey to Twin Falls, Idaho. Trentadue was still around in the 14th round in the 2023 Draft. Pick No. 411 made him a Texas Ranger.

Fast forward two years later and Trentadue is on radars everywhere thanks to a breakout 2025. He's the Spartanburgers' ERA leader (a miniscule 1.15) and is averaging almost 12 strikeouts per nine innings.

"When we saw him, he was [throwing] 88 miles-per-hour in 2023 in Southern Idaho," said Niedorf. "Now he's averaging 93."

In two offseasons, Trentadue has taken significant leaps, adding muscle mass and velocity and honing his mechanics with "loads of video" sent to St. Clair. As Trentadue grows, so does the hunger to succeed.

Josh Trentadue talks with catcher Cal Stark (mask) and pitching coach Thomas St. Clair during a mound visit.

"He's become a staple of our culture," said Kyle Adams of Adams Performance, where Trentadue trains in the winters. "You saw not just the outgoing nature, but the big-time competitiveness as well. We get into live at-bats early before spring training, and every guy he faced came out like 'Trentadue is going to have a breakout year.'"

Adams Performance also hosts big leaguers such as Reid Garrett (Mets) and Isaac Mattson (Pirates) over the offseason, which fostered conversations about Trentadue's changeup and a career outlook.

"There's a level of expectation when you show your stuff is good," said Adams. "The big-league guys are taking them under their wings to talk about progression through the minors. They also set the tone in terms of when you're throwing, you need to be sharp."

Whether it's a bullpen over the offseason or an appearance in the ninth inning, meeting the moment is Trentadue's specialty.

"You can't necessarily teach a player to have want, have will, to be relentless, said St. Clair. "What's cool is all of that comes from [Josh's] intrinsic ability to compete."

"One of Josh's greatest strengths is the mound presence. For not being the biggest guy in the world, he pitches like he's seven feet," said Niedorf. "And I think he has a chip on his shoulder. He knows he was a 14th-round pick. He knows he went to a junior college. He's pitching for something more than himself - to prove a lot of people wrong."

Check out the Hub City Spartanburgers Statistics



South Atlantic League Stories from July 31, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central