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How Indiana Native Jerad Eickhoff's Mentality Keeps him Grounded

September 3, 2022 - International League (IL)
Indianapolis Indians News Release


Fourteen years, nine months and 25 days before Jerad Eickhoff toed the Victory Field mound for his Indianapolis Indians debut, he arrived at the stadium as a junior varsity, non-roster member of the 2007 Evansville Mater Dei baseball team.

Since that day - June 16, 2007, to be exact, when the Wildcats were shut out in a runner-up finish to Norwell in the IHSAA Class 3A State Championship Game hosted at the 11-year-old stadium in downtown Indy - Eickhoff has been around the block.

"Not in a million years did I think I would be back here as a professional ballplayer," Eickhoff said.

Even before the experience of playing at one of the best minor league ballparks in the country, the Evansville, Ind. native's life revolved around baseball. Day in and day out, he just wanted to be on the diamond.

"I knew from a very early age that I loved baseball, I just didn't know how far it would take me," Eickhoff said. "I absolutely loved the game. I loved practicing, I couldn't wait to practice on Sundays with dad and my brothers and all of that."

From high school to where he is now - a big-league veteran raising a young family an hour northeast of where he grew up and his parents still live - Eickhoff's mind has always been where his feet are regardless of the circumstances.

So, when the Mater Dei sophomore didn't have a varsity jersey at the time of the team's run to the state finals, he wasn't looking too far forward.

"It wasn't even on my radar to play college baseball, let alone professional," Eickhoff said. "To be where I'm at now, it's incredible."

His path to the big leagues and ultimately back to the place near where he calls home didn't manifest itself until halfway through his senior year of high school. The closer he got to graduation and taking that next step forward, the more he wondered if he would have the opportunity. Midway through the point of that school year, prior to his final baseball season in a Wildcat uniform, he garnered some attention through college showcases and fall tournaments.

Eickhoff elected a smaller route, to attend Olney Central College in Illinois and play baseball. After his first season, he was selected by Chicago (NL) in the 46th round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft.

At the time, he was playing in a summer league in Wisconsin and could tell he was not in a place mentally or physically to take the next step. The third baseman by trade had swapped in his bat for a full-time place on the mound during his first year of college, and he was in the middle of a transition that would dictate his future.

"Going to one of the most challenging collegiate baseball leagues in the country to figure things out, I got drafted because I had some good stuff, some really raw stuff," Eickhoff said. "I knew that it was probably not the right time."

So, without an official offer on the table, he returned to Olney to become one of its best pitchers that year. In his final junior college season, Eickhoff went 10-4 with a 2.43 ERA (24er/88.2ip) while throwing over 26 more innings than anyone else. He also tallied 116 strikeouts, double that of any of his peers.

The next summer, he was selected by Texas in the 15th round.

"Mentally, maturity-wise, I was ready to go. I had a great season," Eickhoff said. "Physically, I had a good foundation with some room to grow. It was a good experience, I just put my head down and got to work.

"I didn't change a thing; it's what got me to college, and it's what's gotten me here now."

Eickhoff, who continued to hone his pitching skills through the early years of his development in professional baseball, was a key farmhand in Texas' system. Following his first year in the pros, he finished third in the Single-A South Atlantic League with 13 wins, seven of which came consecutively during a career-high streak.

For most players, the biggest mental hurdle to face is the jump from Triple-A to the big leagues. Eickhoff, however, was laser-focused on the very next thing he had to conquer with the major leagues still down the road, and that ended up being his toughest challenge.

He made his Double-A debut in August 2013 - a promotion from High-A, which is regarded as the most difficult jump to make in the minors - and walked three over five innings after registering a 1.17 WHIP in 21 High-A starts with Myrtle Beach. He was scored upon multiple times in each of his first six Double-A starts.

"You'll meet better players, the guys are bigger, faster, stronger and the funnel just starts to come to a head," Eickhoff said. "For some reason, I took that very seriously and I think I thought deep down if I can't pitch here, I can't pitch in the big leagues."

As his experience mounted the next season, however, so did his confidence. In 2014 with Frisco, he led the Texas League with 144 strikeouts and ranked among league leaders in batting average against (2nd, .226), innings pitched (3rd, 154.1), WHIP (4th, 1.17) and wins (T-8th, 10). The walks were down, the strikeouts were up, and Eickhoff's biggest hurdle was behind him.

"As crazy as it is to say, I think I was more nervous in my first Double-A start than the big leagues," Eickhoff said. "I think that's just the practice you put in - that's what the minor leagues are for. It's practice for what it's going to be like in the big leagues. Because I went through that nervous stage in Double-A, the big leagues didn't seem as crazy at the time."

That rough Double-A stint in 2013 paid off in the long run. After being dealt to Philadelphia in exchange for pitchers Cole Hamels and Jake Diekman at the 2015 trade deadline, Eickhoff excelled in three starts with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, walking just three batters in 21.2 innings.

Twenty-one days after being acquired, the Phillies proved Eickhoff an asset to the ballclub and - although his vision of making his major league debut looked a little different than what he imagined from the Texas organization - his ultimate goal was realized. He took the mound on Aug. 21 at Miami and became the first Phillies starter since Hamels in 2006 to not allow a run in his major league debut with 6.0 scoreless innings to earn the win.

"I got to walk around the stadium, be in the dugout a little bit before the game and just soak some stuff in so that when I was able to get out there, it wasn't too overwhelming," Eickhoff said. "I was just lucky, I guess, as far as the circumstances go."

In his first major league season, Eickhoff went 3-3 with a 2.65 ERA (15er/51.0ip) and 49 strikeouts in eight outings, seven of which were quality starts. In his final two starts of the 2015 season, he struck out 20 total batters with just two walks over 14 innings.

However, being where your feet are also means not looking back.

"I'm focused on today and what I can do today to be the very best person and player that I can possibly be," Eickhoff said. "There was no guarantee that I was ever going to be called up. There was no guarantee that I would play as long as I played. You just put your head down and get to work every day and you hope for the best."

Eickhoff pitched in Philadelphia through 2019 before signing with San Diego and Texas for short stints at their respective alternate training sites during the pandemic-laden 2020 season. In 2021, he landed with New York (NL) as a minor league free agent and eventually made his way to the big leagues.

Back on the field which he visited as a sophomore in high school, he's continued his trend of consistency on the mound. In July, he was named the Indians' Player of the Month as he led all International League qualifiers with an impressive 0.90 WHIP over four appearances (three starts).

For a guy whose mentality keeps him where his feet are, being closer to home is an important factor in continuing to live his dream. Of course, those who he's now able to spend more time with than ever before in his professional career were the ones who shaped him into the man he is today.

"Having my wife and son here, it's great," Eickhoff said. "When I go on the road, she's able to drive home and spend time at home for a week or two on end. My son can interact with his grandparents and that's huge. I'm really, really fortunate for that and it turned out to be a really positive spot for me to land."

As the veteran presence in a youthful rotation, he's continuing to do what he does best, being a mentor to young pitchers and being present each day regardless of whether he's taking the mound that night. That's the experience that makes it worth it and what keeps him young in the game he loves.

"Nothing's really changed," Eickhoff said. "Just a lot of hard work, Be in the right place at the right time, little luck, little faith, a little bit of everything. It was challenging, exciting, fun, I have lifelong friends that I met at that time. It's just a really, really, really neat experience."

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