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University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
Inside the Zone with J.P. Massey
5/19/2020 9:58:00 AM | Baseball
Entering the 2020 season, right-handed pitcher J.P. Massey was a popular pick among his Gopher teammates as one of the team's breakout players to watch. With a fastball reaching the upper-90s highlighting his four-pitch arsenal, Massey appeared to have a strong hold on a significant role at the back-end of the Minnesota bullpen.
However, by the third week of the season, Massey changed that script and solidified himself as a member of the weekend starting rotation. All told, Massey pitched 19 1/3 innings with a 4.66 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 2020, making just as many starts (three) as he did throughout the complete 2019 campaign. Included in his 2020 resume were dominant outings against heavy hitting Arizona and No. 13 Duke. Against the former opponent, Massey fired 4 2/3 shutout frames to lead the Gophers to a crucial victory on opening weekend.
As the Gophers look ahead to 2021, Massey has put himself in the conversation as the potential ace of the pitching staff. Gopher Sports sat down with the young fireballer to discuss his outlook on his ever-evolving role and more.
Gopher Sports: How are things going for you right now and how are you staying active?
Massey: "I've been on a program that was set by [athletic trainer Chris Johnson] and pitching coach [Ty McDevitt]. They put me on this program that's pretty slow-progressing, but I have been able to get to throwing and have still been working out, so it's starting to get back to my regular life. Obviously, still in quarantine, but it's as close as we can get right now."
GS: How do you look back on the abbreviated 2020 season?
Massey: "2020 was up-and-down. It was a lot of fun, though. Being that I was on the team the previous year when we really struggled to start the season, I know we took that to heart and we wanted to get off to a much quicker start. I felt like the trials and tribulations were building us for something better, later to come. But, it was a lot of fun. It was the first time I was personally able to play inside of the dome with the locker room and everything and there's a lot of good memories I have even from the shortened season. Personally, it was exciting for me just to get out there and get a little bit more responsibility this year than I had my freshman year, and I worked my butt off all offseason, and so did the whole team. It was a lot of fun and there were a lot of learning experiences that I think I'll take with me going forward."
GS: Discuss your two dominant outings against Arizona and No. 13 Duke from this past season.
Massey: "In particular, the Arizona start, that was really big for me because like I said, I was there last year when we started off 3-14 and it was tough. We were fighting out of a hole. While it was just one game, I did take it to heart, because as a leader, I wanted to start the team off in a different direction than last year. I wanted to go out there and give the best performance I could, didn't really matter who was on the other side, just go out there and compete, play your best game and you should be able to compete against anyone else's. That was the mentality I took. In terms of Duke, it was a lot of fun for me because one of my best friends from back home plays on Duke. I had my family, his family and one of my other good buddies' family, they all came just to support us. It was a little bit more personal for me, but it was just a lot of fun to get out there and compete. We had a lot of fans at the game, so I just wanted to go out there and follow Max Meyer's performance the night before. He dominated against North Carolina and I just wanted to make sure I put my best foot forward to put us in a good position to win out that weekend."
GS: How have you built up your velocity up into the mid-to-upper 90s during your time with the Gophers?
Massey: "It was just trusting the process. Coming into college, I didn't throw that hard. But when I came in, I just trusted everything Ty gave me and prescribed to me mechanically, and then I got after it in the weight room with our strength and conditioning coach, Scott McWilliams. It's been a great program for me in terms of development and I love every step of it, from the coaches, to the trainers, to the staff that works for us. Honestly, it wasn't anything specific that I did. I just worked hard and didn't take any reps off."
GS: What is your focus in regard to improving your game leading up to the 2021 season?
Massey: "At this point in life, it's really tough to do everything you normally would do, getting in the weight rooms and working out, so you have to be very meticulous in how you approach things. For me, I wanted to go back and look at my delivery and look at points I might have been a little weak at and where I can improve. Just taking very minute things and details and focusing on them. Trying to get stronger in those positions, so when I get back on the mound, everything is much more fluid and the velocity hopefully increases because I'm stronger at different stages of my delivery. On top of that, just getting back on the mound. I want to be able to command all four of my pitches at any time and I think if I can do that, I'll be pretty lethal this year."
GS: If 2020 was dubbed "Film Time" for you, what can we expect for 2021?
Massey: "You'll have to wait and see. Obviously, I said this year was going to be a movie. I didn't know what type of movie this was going to end up to be. We'll just say that we'll have to see. We have something brewing for next year. It could be the same; it could be different."
GS: How do you see your role and your preparation changing as the potential ace of the pitching staff in 2021?
Massey: "Obviously, we're losing [Max], our ace of the staff. He's put the program on his back and done his best since he first got into a Gopher uniform. Going forward, I don't know what my role will be. I'm prepared for anything, but I don't think that my approach changes in any way. Any time I go on the mound, I want to go out there and compete and put my team in a position to win. Whether that's on a weekend, mid-week, starting or relieving, I just want to make sure I work as hard as I can so when I step out there, I can help my team win. I think that whatever position they put me in, I'm going to do my best."
GS: How do you think the Gophers will stack up against the Big Ten in 2021?
Massey: "I think it's going to be scary. I think we have a lot of good players that we assumed this was going to be their last year in the program. Potentially having some of them come back to guide our young players that we have coming in, which is a really good recruiting class, it's going to be dangerous. I think we have a lot of freshmen that also were able to get a little bit of experience. It wasn't a full season, but anything helps. I think it's going to be a very fun and exciting roster that we put on the field next year."
GS: What level of excitement do you have to welcome in and mentor the incoming class?
Massey: "I think that we have a very strong class coming in. We've already had a few meetings with some of the guys and I love the kids that are coming in. I can't wait to get back on campus and growing up a little bit and trying to mature, I know I have a leadership role that's different than the previous two years. All I will do is just give my best effort to guide them along and let them be who they are and go out there and have fun."
GS: Have you picked up any new hobbies or talents during this extended time at home?
Massey: "I didn't play video games much – I haven't played since my sophomore year of high school – but I got back on that. I've been dominating to say the least. Other than that, no. I don't have anything that I've been doing that's real special. I haven't been able to get out of the house. We'll definitely have some things coming soon, I'm sure. Last Dance has me inspired to be great at everything I do."
GS: What is your acceptance speech after winning the Gopher Baseball warm-up music bracket on social media?
Massey: "I just want to thank everyone for supporting. There were some tough battles and some valiant opponents that I faced, but obviously, we can all tell that I'm the guy that people come and buy tickets for. They just want to hear my song. It cheers them up and it brings light to everyone's day. I just want to thank everyone for supporting me and I can't wait to see what the future holds for all of us."
GS: What will it be like for you to finally return to play at Siebert Field, whenever that may be?
Massey: "I just think that we'll value it more. I think that's a part of this whole pandemic, just the understanding and appreciation for everything you do. I think a lot of times we go through life and take things for granted, just because they happen so fast and so often. The next time I can not only step on the mound, but step on Siebert's mound, will be very important and very monumental for me, because I know that at any point it can be taken away for any reason. Going forward, I'm going to work my butt off, just because I know the next time I step on that mound, I want to be at my best."
However, by the third week of the season, Massey changed that script and solidified himself as a member of the weekend starting rotation. All told, Massey pitched 19 1/3 innings with a 4.66 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 2020, making just as many starts (three) as he did throughout the complete 2019 campaign. Included in his 2020 resume were dominant outings against heavy hitting Arizona and No. 13 Duke. Against the former opponent, Massey fired 4 2/3 shutout frames to lead the Gophers to a crucial victory on opening weekend.
As the Gophers look ahead to 2021, Massey has put himself in the conversation as the potential ace of the pitching staff. Gopher Sports sat down with the young fireballer to discuss his outlook on his ever-evolving role and more.
Gopher Sports: How are things going for you right now and how are you staying active?
Massey: "I've been on a program that was set by [athletic trainer Chris Johnson] and pitching coach [Ty McDevitt]. They put me on this program that's pretty slow-progressing, but I have been able to get to throwing and have still been working out, so it's starting to get back to my regular life. Obviously, still in quarantine, but it's as close as we can get right now."
GS: How do you look back on the abbreviated 2020 season?
Massey: "2020 was up-and-down. It was a lot of fun, though. Being that I was on the team the previous year when we really struggled to start the season, I know we took that to heart and we wanted to get off to a much quicker start. I felt like the trials and tribulations were building us for something better, later to come. But, it was a lot of fun. It was the first time I was personally able to play inside of the dome with the locker room and everything and there's a lot of good memories I have even from the shortened season. Personally, it was exciting for me just to get out there and get a little bit more responsibility this year than I had my freshman year, and I worked my butt off all offseason, and so did the whole team. It was a lot of fun and there were a lot of learning experiences that I think I'll take with me going forward."
GS: Discuss your two dominant outings against Arizona and No. 13 Duke from this past season.
Massey: "In particular, the Arizona start, that was really big for me because like I said, I was there last year when we started off 3-14 and it was tough. We were fighting out of a hole. While it was just one game, I did take it to heart, because as a leader, I wanted to start the team off in a different direction than last year. I wanted to go out there and give the best performance I could, didn't really matter who was on the other side, just go out there and compete, play your best game and you should be able to compete against anyone else's. That was the mentality I took. In terms of Duke, it was a lot of fun for me because one of my best friends from back home plays on Duke. I had my family, his family and one of my other good buddies' family, they all came just to support us. It was a little bit more personal for me, but it was just a lot of fun to get out there and compete. We had a lot of fans at the game, so I just wanted to go out there and follow Max Meyer's performance the night before. He dominated against North Carolina and I just wanted to make sure I put my best foot forward to put us in a good position to win out that weekend."
GS: How have you built up your velocity up into the mid-to-upper 90s during your time with the Gophers?
Massey: "It was just trusting the process. Coming into college, I didn't throw that hard. But when I came in, I just trusted everything Ty gave me and prescribed to me mechanically, and then I got after it in the weight room with our strength and conditioning coach, Scott McWilliams. It's been a great program for me in terms of development and I love every step of it, from the coaches, to the trainers, to the staff that works for us. Honestly, it wasn't anything specific that I did. I just worked hard and didn't take any reps off."
GS: What is your focus in regard to improving your game leading up to the 2021 season?
Massey: "At this point in life, it's really tough to do everything you normally would do, getting in the weight rooms and working out, so you have to be very meticulous in how you approach things. For me, I wanted to go back and look at my delivery and look at points I might have been a little weak at and where I can improve. Just taking very minute things and details and focusing on them. Trying to get stronger in those positions, so when I get back on the mound, everything is much more fluid and the velocity hopefully increases because I'm stronger at different stages of my delivery. On top of that, just getting back on the mound. I want to be able to command all four of my pitches at any time and I think if I can do that, I'll be pretty lethal this year."
GS: If 2020 was dubbed "Film Time" for you, what can we expect for 2021?
Massey: "You'll have to wait and see. Obviously, I said this year was going to be a movie. I didn't know what type of movie this was going to end up to be. We'll just say that we'll have to see. We have something brewing for next year. It could be the same; it could be different."
GS: How do you see your role and your preparation changing as the potential ace of the pitching staff in 2021?
Massey: "Obviously, we're losing [Max], our ace of the staff. He's put the program on his back and done his best since he first got into a Gopher uniform. Going forward, I don't know what my role will be. I'm prepared for anything, but I don't think that my approach changes in any way. Any time I go on the mound, I want to go out there and compete and put my team in a position to win. Whether that's on a weekend, mid-week, starting or relieving, I just want to make sure I work as hard as I can so when I step out there, I can help my team win. I think that whatever position they put me in, I'm going to do my best."
GS: How do you think the Gophers will stack up against the Big Ten in 2021?
Massey: "I think it's going to be scary. I think we have a lot of good players that we assumed this was going to be their last year in the program. Potentially having some of them come back to guide our young players that we have coming in, which is a really good recruiting class, it's going to be dangerous. I think we have a lot of freshmen that also were able to get a little bit of experience. It wasn't a full season, but anything helps. I think it's going to be a very fun and exciting roster that we put on the field next year."
GS: What level of excitement do you have to welcome in and mentor the incoming class?
Massey: "I think that we have a very strong class coming in. We've already had a few meetings with some of the guys and I love the kids that are coming in. I can't wait to get back on campus and growing up a little bit and trying to mature, I know I have a leadership role that's different than the previous two years. All I will do is just give my best effort to guide them along and let them be who they are and go out there and have fun."
GS: Have you picked up any new hobbies or talents during this extended time at home?
Massey: "I didn't play video games much – I haven't played since my sophomore year of high school – but I got back on that. I've been dominating to say the least. Other than that, no. I don't have anything that I've been doing that's real special. I haven't been able to get out of the house. We'll definitely have some things coming soon, I'm sure. Last Dance has me inspired to be great at everything I do."
GS: What is your acceptance speech after winning the Gopher Baseball warm-up music bracket on social media?
Massey: "I just want to thank everyone for supporting. There were some tough battles and some valiant opponents that I faced, but obviously, we can all tell that I'm the guy that people come and buy tickets for. They just want to hear my song. It cheers them up and it brings light to everyone's day. I just want to thank everyone for supporting me and I can't wait to see what the future holds for all of us."
GS: What will it be like for you to finally return to play at Siebert Field, whenever that may be?
Massey: "I just think that we'll value it more. I think that's a part of this whole pandemic, just the understanding and appreciation for everything you do. I think a lot of times we go through life and take things for granted, just because they happen so fast and so often. The next time I can not only step on the mound, but step on Siebert's mound, will be very important and very monumental for me, because I know that at any point it can be taken away for any reason. Going forward, I'm going to work my butt off, just because I know the next time I step on that mound, I want to be at my best."
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