KAILUA-KONA — One year ago, Jordan Kurokawa was just a college kid with a strong arm and a dream. Now, he is living that dream after wrapping up his first year of professional baseball in the Philadelphia Phillies organization.
Kurokawa, a former University of Hawaii-Hilo pitcher, starting gaining a lot of attention from major league clubs after he helped the Vulcans upset its big sister from Oahu with a dominating 1-0 shutout performance in his senior year.
That, along with his mid-90s fastball, led to the Phillies taking the Honolulu born player in the 28th round of this year’s MLB draft.
Kurokawa had no time to rest as he was quickly shipped off to the Rookie ball in Florida, where he hooked up with the Gulf Coast League Phillies.
“To walk into the facility and see my name on the locker, on the shirt, even on the glove, it was was a dream come true,” Kurokawa said. “I had a brief 10-minute period where I could not stop smiling and I just asked myself ‘is this for real?’”
For Kurokawa, the biggest adjustment at the pro level was adapting to his new reliever role after being a starter for his college career.
“Coming out of the bullpen is a whole different ballgame,” Kurokawa said. “When you are a starter you can give up a run and still have time to recover, but as a reliever you only get one, maybe two innings to work and in those three to six outs, there is no room for error. If you don’t do your job then you put more pressure on the next guy and that is not good for your reputation. It’s really a lot of pressure to perform but it is also good to bring that competitive spirit out.”
Kurokawa put up quality numbers for a player in Rookie ball, where the primary focus is teaching good habits while undoing bad ones they may have been picked up over the years. It’s an adjustment for anyone wanting to perform at the next level.
The 24-year-old Kurokawa threw in 13 games, and posted a 4.19 ERA over 19.1 innings. He averaged a strikeout per inning while allowing only five walks.
“I had fun playing with some of the best players in the world,” Kurokawa said. “You have to come out with a bulldog mentality because there is no room for weakness in the pros. You can’t just try, you have to do or someone else will.”
Throughout most of the year, Kurokawa’s main focus in Rookie ball was developing a slider. The 6-foot-4, 195 pound pitcher has a solid fastball and a nasty changeup, but his curveball did not have the same effect in the transition from college to the pros.
“My curveball wasn’t doing what it used to do, and I guess that might have to do with the lower seems, but I don’t really know,” Kurokawa said. “The slider definitely has a sharper bit and you can’t tell it is coming as much as you can a curveball.”
Kurokawa is currently on the Big Island visiting family and on Friday he traveled to the west side of the island to hook up with his coaching mentor Kevin Kane, a former UH-Hilo coach and professional pitcher, to get some tips on his new pitch in a throwing session at Old Airport Park.
“Coach Kane is a huge part of my success. He has been helping me since my sophomore year at UH-Hilo and his advice is really what got me to the next level,” Kurokawa said. “He has not seen me throw in seven or eight months and I wanted to show him what I have learned and also get his help because he was a slider guy. He was a Triple-A pitcher and has a lot of knowledge that a lot of people don’t posses. It is nice to have him in my corner.”
Kurokawa is currently enjoying a much needed offseason and is due to report to the minor league spring training camp on March 2, but he actually plans to head back a little early because of the time adjustment.
As for now, the professional athlete is just going to enjoy the experiences he has had so far.
“Being able to put that Phillies shirt on, it was a childhood dream come true,” Kurokawa said. “A lot of people don’t get to make it this far. Hard work got me here but it will take a lot more hard work going forward.”