Learning how to handle the biggest moments of competition and wanting the ball or at-bat when it matters the most is a trait that separates the good from the great. The more success someone has, the bigger the decisions get, and making the right decisions become more important at every step.

It’s easier said, but to finish that quote, for Ben Casparius, it’s just something he’s always done.

And now the Right-Handed pitcher is doing it on the doorsteps of the Big Leagues.

Staples

Casparius had one of the best High School careers, honestly, that I’ve ever heard of. He led his Wreckers team at Staples High School to the State Championship game as a Sophomore, then finished the deal with a State Championship 2 years later as a Senior. 

He set an all-time record in the State of Connecticut for hits, was the Connecticut Coaches Association Player of the Year in 2017, a Perfect Game All-American, USA Today Connecticut Player of the Year, and was also an All-Academic All-Stater. He hit .490 as a Senior, hit 11 home runs, and had a 1.90 ERA on the mound with 85 strikeouts.

As I said, his career at Staples was unbelievable and one that left him with great memories. 

I have nothing but love for Staples. It was a great 4 years. We went to the State Finals my Sophomore year and lost, then won it my Senior year so that was the icing on the cake of 4 pretty awesome years.

Casparius had lots of options after High School and chose one of the best baseball programs in the Country in North Carolina. The Tar Heel baseball program, under the direction of Mike Fox, has made the College World Series 6 times since 2006 and has been in the National Championship game twice. 

Going to a school as competitive as UNC and expecting early playing time is the ultimate in “betting on yourself”. It takes a good deal of self-belief and confidence, both traits that Casparius has always had, and like he seemingly always does, he won that bet.

Tar Heels

Casparius entered North Carolina as one of the best 2-way freshmen in the Country and he didn’t disappoint. During his Freshman season, the Connecticut native hit .316, had an OPS of .813 at the plate, then also posted an ERA of just 1.69 on the mound. 

Not only was he good, but he also showed up big in the biggest moments. 

Casparius got both his first save and his first win against arch-rival North Carolina State in the in-state heavyweight matchup that featured two top-ten teams. He also had a big RBI base hit in the series and cemented himself as one of the best young players in College baseball. 

Here’s what he had to say about that big series.

That was the first time I had to throw back to back and back then I wasn’t pitching as much. I think I threw a total of 12 innings that year, so my arm definitely wasn’t ready for that, but I got the job done. I got a pop up to 2nd base to end that game so it was a pretty cool experience. 

Casparius also added his thoughts on why he chose North Carolina to begin with.

North Carolina is a very prestigious school, so I wanted to go there ever since I was little. Selfishly I felt like I had enough talent to get out of the Northeast and get into some warmer weather and North Carolina is a great place to play baseball. 

Although Casparius had shown to be both a great position player and pitcher and was at a great school some changes were just around the corner for the Connecticut native. 

After his Sophomore season, he decided to transfer back home to UCONN.

UCONN was coming off of a 2019 season in which they had a great team and came very close to the College World Series and they had a lot to offer. 

Jim Penders and his coaching staff at UCONN have built a Husky baseball program that has one of the most competitive cultures in College baseball, is producing pros and winning games at a record clip. 

Casparius took notice of the great work Penders was doing and he couldn’t wait to go back home and be a part of that program. In fact, he was so eager to get started, he applied for a waiver that would have made him eligible immediately for the 2020 season. In a crazy case that’s a study of misfortune, good timing, or whichever side of the fence you’re on, the waiver got denied, but then the season got canceled just 13 games into that season.

So, Casparius only missed out on 13 games, but then got to play in one of the only Summer leagues that played over the next Summer. That period of time was one that was difficult and crazy for just about everyone but is also one that Casparius feels was “make or break” for many. 

Yeah, I tell people all the time, it’s an interesting case scenario where you are fortunate, because it gave me leverage. Getting the year back gave me the chance to be a Redshirt Junior instead of a Senior. Don’t get me wrong, it would have been great to go into the draft as a 21 year old with a full season under my belt, but it gave me 2 extra years of leverage as a 22 year old after having success which was huge.

Casparius went on to talk about how pivotal this part of his career was

I tell everybody this, but the most pivotal part of my career was the Covid shutdown. From March to July my only job was to take a couple of classes online and then go to the gym. That’s where I started tailoring my workouts toward being a pitcher and I had a lot of support through Zoom calls with my coaches and teammates. I think that’s a period where a lot of people either made themselves or broke themselves with the shutdown and the lack of resources.

After a shutdown period of several months, Casparius was fortunate enough to get to play over the Summer of 2020 for the New Britton Bees in one of the only leagues that played games. He made a couple of starts with them which gave him good momentum heading into his Redshirt Junior year at UCONN.

In fact, he had created so much momentum that, although he had yet to be a full-time pitcher, ever, he was offered an undrafted free-agent contract after the Summer of 2020. The draft was reduced to just 5 rounds that year, so many, many really good players signed as undrafted free agents that year that would normally get drafted, so it was a very tough decision.

But, ultimately, regardless of future outcomes, Casparius wanted to play for Coach Penders and be a part of the UCONN baseball program, so chose not to go pro and instead, came back home. 

I was going back and forth for a couple of days with my family and my agent because it was one of those instances where I knew I was good enough to get to that point to play professional baseball and I knew my stuff was good enough and I was in a really good spot and I was healthy. 

Casparius then went into the “Meat and Potatoes” as to why he chose to go back to UCONN.

I just thought, you know, I came to this University to play, and I still had leverage with getting the year back with Covid, but the reason I didn’t sign was that I wanted to play for Coach Penders and his staff that badly. Even if I had a bad year and didn’t sign, I don’t think I would have ever regretted it at all. 

Casparius then talked about what his time at UCONN was like 

I was so focused on playing for UCONN and playing a full college season as a pitcher and obviously, it was a good bargain and a good decision to go back to school in terms of landing with the Dodgers and going in the 5th Round rather than being an undrafted Free Agent. But, that year was a magical, magical year with the UCONN baseball team. I have friends for life and I’m still very close with the coaches and it was a real family there and I had so much fun.

Casparius indeed did have a magical year at UCONN In 2021 where he led the team in starts (15), wins (8) and innings pitched (91) and was awarded ABCA First Team Northeast Region, 2nd Team All-Big East and was on the All-Big East Championship All-Tournament team. The best of all worlds came full circle for the Connecticut native as he got the College experience he wanted, then got drafted, by the Dodgers, and in the 5th Round. 

If you’ve paid attention you’ve probably noticed that Casparius has had a lot of decisions to make to this point, and quite frankly, fairly large ones for someone that is just 23. He had to choose between elite schools coming out of High School, he then had the decision to move back home, then he had the decision to pitch full-time, then had to choose whether to sign as an undrafted Free Agent.

Those were all decisions that were difficult and had several pros and cons either way. But, when the Dodgers came calling in the 5th Round it was probably the easiest decision he had to make to that point. 

Draft Day was surreal and I remember it like it was 5 hours ago. It was just me and my family and I knew I wasn’t going to go in the first round so I knew the first day was kind of out of the equation but it was fun to see guys I played with and against get drafted.

Casparius went on to talk about when he got drafted.

I had a pretty good idea that I was going on the 2nd day so those first two hours were something with the phone calls and everything. I was either hearing from my agent or a scout so it was a long couple of hours. But I got the call from my agent that the Dodgers wanted to take me at pick 162, he gave me the dollar amount and then asked me what I wanted to do. And I was like, absolutely and it happened, I think, in the next 30 seconds. So, it went from being pretty stressful to being like “Wow, this is pretty cool, I’m a professional baseball player”. 

He was also excited about who he got drafted by

The Dodgers are the best organization in baseball so it was an awesome day. I got to share time with my friends and family and got to get some weight off of my back from the transfer to switching positions, it kind of just all came together, and I got to sit down and think, “Okay, you did it”, and we’re on to the next step. 5 days later I was in Glendale in Mini-camp, so it was a crazy month.

Casparius indeed had made it, he was a professional baseball player and he was, in fact, joining one of the best organizations in baseball. 

Dodger

Casparius spent a little over a week at the Complex after being drafted, then got shipped out to Rancho to end 2021 where he made 2 appearances and threw 3 innings. He had gotten things started and was looking forward to an off-season in which he had a lot of momentum. 

That momentum continued when he was invited to L.A. for a workout session with some of the best instructors in the organization. It was an exciting opportunity and one that Casparius was greatly looking forward to. 

But, it never happened.

Upon getting to Dodgers Stadium, he tested positive for Covid and was forced to quarantine in a nearby hotel room for over a week. It was a frustrating situation, considering the opportunity that he missed, but one that he made the most of, like he always does.

Here’s what he had to say about the range of emotions that situation created.

We got right to the Stadium and we walked into the player’s entrance down the Left-Field line. I walked down 1 hallway to a room, took my test, and 25 minutes later I was told that I tested positive. I was like, oh man, here we go, and it was that time of year when a lot of people started testing positive again. I ended up staying in the Hotel from the 5th to the 16th and I was working out in my hotel room. I remember doing plyo work and sending videos to a couple of coordinators, so I made do with it. 

Casparius did as he always does, he made the best of the situation and got himself ready for a very good 2022, his first full year as a professional. He started in Rancho and loved his time there, but after posting an ERA of just 2.76 in May and an average against of just .146, he was promoted to Great Lakes where he finished the rest of 2022. 

Feature Cut

Casparius is a 4-pitch, and in some ways, a 5-pitch pitcher. He features a 4-seam that sits 93-95, a change up at 81-85, a slider in the mid-80s, and 2 different types of cutters, one harder and one softer.  He plans on using the cutter as another pitch in his toolbox to miss barrels, especially early in counts to “steal” strikes and get ahead in the count, especially against lefties.

In this video, you can see that in action. 

Location Plus Mix

Here’s another video that shows how Casparius uses his fastball as the top of the zone, is able to locate it, and also mixes his pitches very well. 

Finishing Up

Of the several aspects that make Casparius such a great prospect, most of them are pretty obvious. His stuff is big, his results in the game are very, very accomplished to this point in his career, and his competitive element is noticeable. But, one of the underlying factors that I have taken particular note of is that, as good as he has always been, he’s using his time in the Minor Leagues to grow. 

So many players get so caught up in results that they hesitate to branch out and find their true ceiling for fear of failing. And rightfully so because Minor League baseball is one of the most competitive environments possible, and results do matter.

But, so does the big picture.

Trying to master a cutter or a new grip is what Minor League baseball is all about and Casparius is both confident and open-minded enough and trusts the Dodger’s instruction to continue to grow his ceiling.  

So, as good as he’s always been, he’s only getting better and will only continue to do so as he gets further into his professional career. 

In closing, I would like to thank Ben for spending time doing an interview for Dodgers Daily. He has such a great mix of being so humble, but yet so confident, so talking with him is just awesome. He also has such a great head on his shoulders and is able to see the big picture which is why he has always made the right decision among many very important decisions he has already had to make. 

Thanks again to Ben and best of luck, Dodgers Daily will be rooting for him all along the way.