Baseball is one of the most humbling sports ever invented. Just about the time you think you have everything figured out, you get hit with the realization that you don’t, and made to realize that there are thousands of, great, not-good, baseball players at every level. The competition just to make it to a D1 level is insanely competitive, nonetheless professional baseball with an affiliate.

For one Dodger that was recently signed, Jake Pilarski, those statements aren’t cliche, they aren’t coach speak, they are real life. They represent the journey he has traveled in this game, and, through it all, he’s continued to bet on himself, he’s kept working and, it’s finally landed him a spot in one of the most iconic organizations of any sport, the Dodgers.

How He Got Here

Pilarski grew up in Pittsburgh, Pa., and became a direct representative of the type of people that come out of that area of the world. People in Pittsburgh tend to be tough, blue collar, and very hard working, all traits that Pilarski has in spades and surely learned growing up where he did.

Pilarski went to Fox Chapel and got to play alongside Patrick Monteverde who is currently in the Marlins organization. 

His High School teams led by Michael Frank were good, and he was very good as evidenced by the fact that he garnered all-conference recognition three years in a row. Pilarski received that recognition as a 2-way player and wanted to have the option to be both a position player and pitcher in College, and the one school that caught his eye the most while he was touring Colleges was Virginia Wesleyan.

Virginia Wesleyan is right on the beach and is located in one of the prettiest spots in the United States, the weather is good, and Chris Francis, the head Coach for the Marlins, really impressed him while he was there. 

Out of High School, I was throwing kind of hard, but nothing over the top. I had offers from several schools and I went on a recruiting trip to the Virginia Beach area to check out a couple of schools, and Wesleyan was on that list. I kinda fell in love with the place. You know, it was right on the beach, the weather was great, and being a Pittsburgh kid it’s hard to turn down nice weather. 

Pilarski continued

I really liked Coach Francis and we got along great, and they were one of the only schools that would let me try and be a 2-way player. Fortunately, I got to do that in College for a few years before I became strictly a pitcher. I knew I would get a great education, so it just seemed like the place to go. 

Virginia Wesleyan

While at Virginia Wesleyan, the hard-throwing Pittsburgh native became a 3rd Team All-American, a First Team All-Region, and All-State. He also was awarded as the Pitcher of the Week on multiple occasions and was also on the All-Academic team.

While there are many great players at the D3 level, by the time his 5th year rolled around, he had done just about everything he could at that level. College players were granted an extra year of eligibility after the 2020 season got canceled, so with an extra year left he decided he needed a new challenge. 

Pilarski entered the Transfer Portal after the 2020 Season, and, after a flurry of phone calls over a 48-hour period, he landed at The Citadel, a D1 College in Charleston, South Carolina.

He was trading one beach town for another and was going from one great baseball school to the next. 

One of the best things about that experience is that, when I went in to tell my Coaches that Wesleyan wasn’t in my future for my last year, I was having a hard time telling them. Before I could get the words out of my mouth, Coach Francis said, Dude, you’ve done everything you can do here, and you’re gonna go do great things, you’ve put your time in here, we’re always going to love you, but, you deserve to go somewhere else and perform at a different level. 

Pilarski did just that when he transferred to The Citadel and became their Friday Night Starter. 

The Citadel

Becoming a Friday Night Starter at the D1 Level with the type of velocity and off-speed stuff that Pilarski had developed made it a fairly easy assumption that the Draft was in his future. 

But, it wasn’t, and neither was an undrafted Free Agent offer. 

Coming off of the 5 Round 2020 Draft, teams were very tight with their money that year and jobs were hard to be found. Many, many affiliate-caliber players were advised to play Indy ball and use that as a springboard to an affiliate when more jobs became available. 

So, that’s the route that Pilarski took. 

As a matter of fact, he signed with Lake Erie before the 2021 Draft with stipulations in his contract that he could still be drafted, although he wasn’t. 

Pilarski played with Lake Erie, then was traded to Washington before the offer he’d been seeking finally came. 

A buddy that he had played with back at Lake Erie suggested that he start going to a workout facility and organization named Tread Athletics. Tread Athletics has connections all over affiliated baseball and they are very well known for their work in training professionals.

Pilarski was put on a workout and throwing routine at Tread, and, before too long, he was hitting triple digits with his fastball. That’s when a scout that Pilarski had known since his days in College, Jonah Rosenthal, decided to endorse and push for the Dodgers to sign the traveled young flame thrower, and they did, and that leads us into this past off-season where he took the game of baseball and Dodgers fans by storm. 

Here’s what he had to say about that whole process

I’m not going to lie, not getting drafted sucked. I had talked to several scouts and there was all this high hope for me, and then the Draft came and went and my name wasn’t called. But, at the end of the day, I think the route that I did take is going to make me better off anyways. 

Pilarski continued on and talked about how he ended up with the Dodgers.

This was the year after Covid, so money was tight for Free Agent signings, and everyone told me to go to Indy ball, and pitch well, then I could get out of there when jobs came open. I had talked to a handful of scouts before I talked to Jonah and they were 30 minute phone calls where they wanted to know you’re routine, pitch grips and what made me think I could play in their organization. 

Pilarski continued and talked about Rosenthal

I was on the phone with Jonah for probably 3 hours and he hit all those things, but we also talked about Pittsburgh and where I was from for probably 2 1/2 hours. It was nice to talk to someone who knew where I was from and had a lot of history with Pittsburgh at a time that I was stressed out and trying to make a good impression. He just stayed on me through not getting drafted, and the next thing you know I’m throwing 100 at Tread, and he was like, we have to pull the trigger. Thankfully his bosses agreed with him and he was able to make me a Dodger. 

Prospect Feature

Pilarski throws 100+, and, as you’ll see in the video below, he has a slider as well that has a lot of depth and hard break. He also sprinkles in a changeup to keep hitters honest as well. 

Check out the velo & the depth on the cutter from Jake Pilarski. If you haven't ever heard of him, join the club, he's been in Indy ball for the last couple of years. @JacobPilarski struck out the side and his last of the inning was 101 MPH. Wow! Can't wait to see more! #dodgers pic.twitter.com/sntSvsZWJZ

— Dodgers Daily (@dodger_daily) March 21, 2023

Finishing Up

Minor League Baseball is a game of odds that can be overwhelming at times if you get lost in thinking about the long road to the Major Leagues. Guys that continue climbing, and eventually make it, have an impeccable off-the-field process. supreme confidence while on it, extraordinary talent, and the ability to take their journey 1 mile at at time. 

Pilarski checks every box!

He knows how to keep working in the face of odds that aren’t in his favor because he’s had to do it before, and, despite that, he’s continued to bet on himself because he knows he has the ability to be a Major League pitcher. 

He has impeccable character, a 100+ fastball, and, as you can tell in the interview above, he’s a very grounded and humble person, despite the supreme amount of confidence he has in himself. 

Pilarski has, no doubt, taken baseball by storm, except for those that have always been around him, like his college coaches, Jonah Rosenthal, and others in the same boat. To them, this was destined to happen, and, well, it’s happening. 

In closing, I would like to thank Jake for joining Dodgers Daily for an interview. He was in his hotel waiting for his bus to take him to the Freeway Series when we did the interview, so he is super busy, and Dodgers Daily is super appreciative of his time. 

Jake is an awesome young man to get to speak with, he’s super talented and Dodgers Daily will be rooting for him all along the way.