University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
Inside the Zone with Andrew Wilhite
11/4/2020 9:12:00 AM | Baseball
In the abbreviated 2020 season, outfielder Andrew Wilhite enjoyed a breakout sophomore campaign as he slashed .320/.443/.340 and finished within the top-20 of the Big Ten Conference in both batting average (20th) and on-base percentage (17th). Making 15 starts in the outfield, Wilhite's sophomore season also featured one double, 11 runs scored and four RBI in addition to three stolen bases — a mark that tied for 15th in the Big Ten.
As a freshman in 2019, the Stillman Valley, Ill. native had the opportunity to get some early experience under his belt, playing in 33 total games including 16 starts. Wilhite posted a .229/.341/.414 batting line in his debut college season, but also displayed some pop at the plate en route to three home runs, four doubles, 14 RBI and eight runs scored.
With Wilhite's true junior season on the horizon, the former high school infielder-turned-Gopher outfielder figures to be a major part of Minnesota's offense. As the Gopher Baseball team begins the weight lifting and conditioning phase of their fall schedule, Gopher Sports caught up with Wilhite to stay up to date with the team, as well as discuss some unique topics such as Wilhite's previous status as an ambidextrous pitcher at Stillman Valley High School.
Gopher Sports: How did you get work in during this unique summer?
Wilhite: "I went up to The Cages where [pitching coach Ty McDevitt] has connections and his brothers own the place. I worked up in Burnsville at The Cages, three, four times a week. Just trying to stay busy because obviously there was nothing for me to do at home and it was a tough situation not being able to do anything, and so I decided to come up to Minnesota for the summer and work out at The Cages. I was with [Scott McWilliams], [Chris Johnson], [Easton Bertrand] and a couple of the other guys for a couple months and it was really nice. I was just trying to gain some weight. I gained about 10 pounds over the summer and it was just a really good opportunity for me."
GS: What clicked for you at the plate in 2020 that paved the road for your breakout?
AW: "A little bit of it is the transition from freshman to sophomore year, comfortability with what position you're playing, the competition you're facing and being in college for a second year. It kind of slows down for you a little bit and you get comfortable with what you're doing and where you're at, not only in terms of baseball, but school in general. I think it's a relaxation mentally, just as much as the physical development that I had from freshman to sophomore year, too. Everything went more smoothly for me mentally and I was able to relax more and not think about 'I need to get a hit here to stay in the lineup' and those thoughts didn't really happen as much. It was more me playing to play and have fun and to win and be with the guys. Not really focus on anything from a statistical or success point of view, it's more going up there, trying my best and trying to win a baseball game."
GS: How much more comfortable do you feel in the outfield compared to two years ago?
AW: "It's night and day. My freshman year was the first time I had ever played outfield in my entire life, other than senior night in high school because I wanted to go out there and play center field. I was a shortstop/third baseman my entire life up until I got here, but I was trying to find places to play and we had a bunch of infielders, so I went into the outfield and it's kind of learning something new on the fly, where you're trying to figure it out but at the same time you're trying to figure hitting out and freshman year of college at the same time. Once again, it's just that relaxation and getting repetition that I did all throughout the spring of my freshman year and then continuing to do it that next fall of my sophomore year. It's just becoming more comfortable with it, learning to trust yourself out there and really getting a good feel for it. It's completely different when I started in the outfield to where I'm at now. It feels much more natural."
GS: Can you really pitch with both arms?
AW: "Oh, yeah. I learned when I was probably about 12 or 13 years old about Pat Venditte, who was at Creighton at the time. My dad and I both saw a video of him throwing with both arms and we literally looked at each other and went, 'that's pretty cool, might as well try that out.' I'm obviously a natural right-handed thrower, but I would go into the gym at my high school every single morning and just practice throwing. First, I would throw off a wall left-handed because it was so bad. I couldn't actually throw to a person for the first six, seven months. I kept practicing at it. I got to the point where I could play catch and by the time I got to high school… freshman year I threw a little bit and I threw a lot sophomore year. I threw almost 40 innings I think left-handed, just because I had some arm issues right-handed, so I threw mostly left-handed my sophomore year of high school. It was really cool. I was a starter... I couldn't tell you how much fun it was to throw with both arms."
GS: How high could you crank up the velocity left-handed today?
AW: "Oh, goodness. I would probably say about 80, 82 [miles-per-hour]. Throughout high school, I was mostly mid-to-high 70s. I think I got it up to low 80s at one point, 83 maybe. The issue would be finding the strike zone. That was always the issue. I could throw it decently hard and I had good movement, but it was much different trying to throw strikes. I have plenty of stories for you about me trying to throw to actual bases. Not one time in my life did I ever pick-off to first base left-handed because that was a whole other movement that I could never figure out."
GS: What were your impressions and takeaways from fall practice?
AW: "Obviously, it was hard just because we were never really a full team. But, I think that the attitude and how we went about every day that we got was really good. We tried to have a positive attitude as much as we could in situations like these. At the end of the day, you're here and you're able to play baseball, which not everybody has the opportunity to do. There are many more issues going on in the world that are more important, so you have to look at it from a positive viewpoint, which is that you're able to be here with your friends, playing a game that you love… We were really able to bond together as a team. Now, we have our opportunity to get bigger, get stronger, now that we're lifting five days a week. Hopefully, take advantage of that and be ready when we come back in the spring."
GS: What does a typical day for you look like right now?
AW: "Normally, I wake up and have classes in the morning. For me, it depends. Tuesday, Thursday, I'll have between two and three classes. Get up, we'll eat, go through our classes, get our homework done if we a little bit of extra time and then somewhere in the afternoon, usually for position players once it hits three o'clock, we might head to the training room a little early and then once it gets to three o'clock, we'll have our arm care, we'll throw, we'll do some agilities, some conditioning, for about an hour. After that, we'll head to the weight room and we'll lift for 45 minutes to an hour. By that time, it's usually about five o'clock and then we'll head back, shower up, get some dinner. Maybe if you have some downtime, we'll watch TV or later at night, do some more homework and try and stay up-to-date on classes and everything."
GS: What asepcts of your game are you focusing on improving for 2021?
AW: "One thing definitely is I want to get bigger and stronger. I think I could put about five, 10 more pounds on myself. Just hitting the weight room, trying to be able to get bigger and stronger, but still maintain my speed and not lose any of that. Another thing is focusing mentally. Even my freshman to sophomore year, a lot of it was that I was able to slow down mentally and focus more and I think I can make an even bigger jump, and guys on the team can do the same. Mentally focusing on what we're doing every day and not looking too far into the future. Focusing on doing what we can each and every day to be the best version of ourselves. I think that's such an important thing with everything going on, being able to take it one day at a time and make sure you're getting better."
GS: Did you pick up any unique hobbies during quarantine?
AW: "I have kind of a boring answer, but I've really watched a lot of movies during quarantine and I do that all the time now."
GS: What do you expect from this team heading into next season?
AW: "I think our potential is pretty much unlimited. We had obviously some really good offensive numbers last year and we've got pretty much our whole lineup back. The good thing we have is we have the upperclassmen and the age and maturity to be able to handle anything that happens in this different type of season. But then, we've also got younger guys that are willing and able to come up and succeed and have an impact right away. I think that's a cool thing to really see… We've got a lot of older guys that can take the reins and lead this team to do some really good things."
GS: What does John Anderson's 50-year plan mean to you as a student-athlete?
AW: "I love that. That's probably the biggest thing that attracted me here: that philosophy and that mentality. The chances of all of us going and playing at the next level just isn't going to happen. We're going to have, hopefully, a fair amount of guys that end up doing that. But, we have to be prepared for what happens after baseball and I think that's a really good thing to be focused on, as well as baseball. Making sure you're getting it done in the classroom and have a plan for after you're done playing baseball. I really love that and take that to heart, because it's such an important thing... For just about everybody, there's going to come a time where you're done playing baseball and you need to be able to have a job, and not only have a job, but have a job that you really enjoy and want to do for the rest of your life."
As a freshman in 2019, the Stillman Valley, Ill. native had the opportunity to get some early experience under his belt, playing in 33 total games including 16 starts. Wilhite posted a .229/.341/.414 batting line in his debut college season, but also displayed some pop at the plate en route to three home runs, four doubles, 14 RBI and eight runs scored.
With Wilhite's true junior season on the horizon, the former high school infielder-turned-Gopher outfielder figures to be a major part of Minnesota's offense. As the Gopher Baseball team begins the weight lifting and conditioning phase of their fall schedule, Gopher Sports caught up with Wilhite to stay up to date with the team, as well as discuss some unique topics such as Wilhite's previous status as an ambidextrous pitcher at Stillman Valley High School.
Gopher Sports: How did you get work in during this unique summer?
Wilhite: "I went up to The Cages where [pitching coach Ty McDevitt] has connections and his brothers own the place. I worked up in Burnsville at The Cages, three, four times a week. Just trying to stay busy because obviously there was nothing for me to do at home and it was a tough situation not being able to do anything, and so I decided to come up to Minnesota for the summer and work out at The Cages. I was with [Scott McWilliams], [Chris Johnson], [Easton Bertrand] and a couple of the other guys for a couple months and it was really nice. I was just trying to gain some weight. I gained about 10 pounds over the summer and it was just a really good opportunity for me."
GS: What clicked for you at the plate in 2020 that paved the road for your breakout?
AW: "A little bit of it is the transition from freshman to sophomore year, comfortability with what position you're playing, the competition you're facing and being in college for a second year. It kind of slows down for you a little bit and you get comfortable with what you're doing and where you're at, not only in terms of baseball, but school in general. I think it's a relaxation mentally, just as much as the physical development that I had from freshman to sophomore year, too. Everything went more smoothly for me mentally and I was able to relax more and not think about 'I need to get a hit here to stay in the lineup' and those thoughts didn't really happen as much. It was more me playing to play and have fun and to win and be with the guys. Not really focus on anything from a statistical or success point of view, it's more going up there, trying my best and trying to win a baseball game."
GS: How much more comfortable do you feel in the outfield compared to two years ago?
AW: "It's night and day. My freshman year was the first time I had ever played outfield in my entire life, other than senior night in high school because I wanted to go out there and play center field. I was a shortstop/third baseman my entire life up until I got here, but I was trying to find places to play and we had a bunch of infielders, so I went into the outfield and it's kind of learning something new on the fly, where you're trying to figure it out but at the same time you're trying to figure hitting out and freshman year of college at the same time. Once again, it's just that relaxation and getting repetition that I did all throughout the spring of my freshman year and then continuing to do it that next fall of my sophomore year. It's just becoming more comfortable with it, learning to trust yourself out there and really getting a good feel for it. It's completely different when I started in the outfield to where I'm at now. It feels much more natural."
GS: Can you really pitch with both arms?
AW: "Oh, yeah. I learned when I was probably about 12 or 13 years old about Pat Venditte, who was at Creighton at the time. My dad and I both saw a video of him throwing with both arms and we literally looked at each other and went, 'that's pretty cool, might as well try that out.' I'm obviously a natural right-handed thrower, but I would go into the gym at my high school every single morning and just practice throwing. First, I would throw off a wall left-handed because it was so bad. I couldn't actually throw to a person for the first six, seven months. I kept practicing at it. I got to the point where I could play catch and by the time I got to high school… freshman year I threw a little bit and I threw a lot sophomore year. I threw almost 40 innings I think left-handed, just because I had some arm issues right-handed, so I threw mostly left-handed my sophomore year of high school. It was really cool. I was a starter... I couldn't tell you how much fun it was to throw with both arms."
GS: How high could you crank up the velocity left-handed today?
AW: "Oh, goodness. I would probably say about 80, 82 [miles-per-hour]. Throughout high school, I was mostly mid-to-high 70s. I think I got it up to low 80s at one point, 83 maybe. The issue would be finding the strike zone. That was always the issue. I could throw it decently hard and I had good movement, but it was much different trying to throw strikes. I have plenty of stories for you about me trying to throw to actual bases. Not one time in my life did I ever pick-off to first base left-handed because that was a whole other movement that I could never figure out."
GS: What were your impressions and takeaways from fall practice?
AW: "Obviously, it was hard just because we were never really a full team. But, I think that the attitude and how we went about every day that we got was really good. We tried to have a positive attitude as much as we could in situations like these. At the end of the day, you're here and you're able to play baseball, which not everybody has the opportunity to do. There are many more issues going on in the world that are more important, so you have to look at it from a positive viewpoint, which is that you're able to be here with your friends, playing a game that you love… We were really able to bond together as a team. Now, we have our opportunity to get bigger, get stronger, now that we're lifting five days a week. Hopefully, take advantage of that and be ready when we come back in the spring."
GS: What does a typical day for you look like right now?
AW: "Normally, I wake up and have classes in the morning. For me, it depends. Tuesday, Thursday, I'll have between two and three classes. Get up, we'll eat, go through our classes, get our homework done if we a little bit of extra time and then somewhere in the afternoon, usually for position players once it hits three o'clock, we might head to the training room a little early and then once it gets to three o'clock, we'll have our arm care, we'll throw, we'll do some agilities, some conditioning, for about an hour. After that, we'll head to the weight room and we'll lift for 45 minutes to an hour. By that time, it's usually about five o'clock and then we'll head back, shower up, get some dinner. Maybe if you have some downtime, we'll watch TV or later at night, do some more homework and try and stay up-to-date on classes and everything."
GS: What asepcts of your game are you focusing on improving for 2021?
AW: "One thing definitely is I want to get bigger and stronger. I think I could put about five, 10 more pounds on myself. Just hitting the weight room, trying to be able to get bigger and stronger, but still maintain my speed and not lose any of that. Another thing is focusing mentally. Even my freshman to sophomore year, a lot of it was that I was able to slow down mentally and focus more and I think I can make an even bigger jump, and guys on the team can do the same. Mentally focusing on what we're doing every day and not looking too far into the future. Focusing on doing what we can each and every day to be the best version of ourselves. I think that's such an important thing with everything going on, being able to take it one day at a time and make sure you're getting better."
GS: Did you pick up any unique hobbies during quarantine?
AW: "I have kind of a boring answer, but I've really watched a lot of movies during quarantine and I do that all the time now."
GS: What do you expect from this team heading into next season?
AW: "I think our potential is pretty much unlimited. We had obviously some really good offensive numbers last year and we've got pretty much our whole lineup back. The good thing we have is we have the upperclassmen and the age and maturity to be able to handle anything that happens in this different type of season. But then, we've also got younger guys that are willing and able to come up and succeed and have an impact right away. I think that's a cool thing to really see… We've got a lot of older guys that can take the reins and lead this team to do some really good things."
GS: What does John Anderson's 50-year plan mean to you as a student-athlete?
AW: "I love that. That's probably the biggest thing that attracted me here: that philosophy and that mentality. The chances of all of us going and playing at the next level just isn't going to happen. We're going to have, hopefully, a fair amount of guys that end up doing that. But, we have to be prepared for what happens after baseball and I think that's a really good thing to be focused on, as well as baseball. Making sure you're getting it done in the classroom and have a plan for after you're done playing baseball. I really love that and take that to heart, because it's such an important thing... For just about everybody, there's going to come a time where you're done playing baseball and you need to be able to have a job, and not only have a job, but have a job that you really enjoy and want to do for the rest of your life."
Follow Minnesota Baseball
Support Minnesota Baseball
Support the University of Minnesota Baseball program. Your support helps our student-athletes succeed athletically, academically, and socially. It takes just seconds to make a monthly or one-time donation. Thank you for your support! Give Now
First Practice of Fall
Thursday, September 18
Weber Neels Highlights
Wednesday, May 28
Gophers (11) - Michigan State (5) Highlights
Friday, May 16
Gophers (4) - Michigan State (3) Highlights
Thursday, May 15