A lefty arm with pop

It’s no secret Manhattan baseball has been in a rebuild mode over the past two seasons. But if this is the season the Jaspers can nudge their way into the conversation as a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championship contender for the first time since winning back-to-back conference titles in 2011 and 2012, it will all hinge on one thing: 

Good, talented pitching… and lots of it.

When you talk about Manhattan’s talented young arms, one of the first names you hear is that of freshman lefthander Tom Cosgrove. In the 2014 college baseball draft class, Cosgrove was Manhattan’s top recruit based on his physical ability, electric fastball and competitiveness. But there’s something else he possesses that makes him special at just 18 years old.

“When you get to meet him, that’s when he really became our top recruit,” Manhattan head coach Jim Duffy said. “He’s mature beyond his years, especially on the field. I don’t think I’ve ever had to tell him, since we’ve stepped on the field together, to pick it up or to do more.

“I’m more impressed with those intangible things then I am his actual physical pitching,” Duffy added. “I say that as a compliment because he certainly is a hell of a pitcher and he’s going to get better.”

The coach also said his make-up, drive, determination and work ethic is what’s going to help Cosgrove go forward and separate himself from the average pitchers in the MAAC because that’s what got him this opportunity.

Quick study

Cosgrove experienced how he must adjust as a pitcher on the college level during a two-inning stint against Columbia University during a fall exhibition game. With a two-strike count on a Columbia batter, Cosgrove looked to finish him off with his fastball. In high school he would have gotten away with such a pitch selection, but not against Division I college hitters. His pitch was promptly hit right back at him and through his legs for a base hit. 

As he headed off the field at the end of the inning, Duffy prepared to use the situation as a teaching moment and tell Cosgrove, “See there, you can’t just go to your fastball.” Instead, Cosgrove came over to Duffy in the dugout and told him, “There it was coach. I thought I could just reach back.”

“We saw last year, as a senior, that generally speaking he had his good stuff and occasionally he had lights out stuff,” said the coach of Monsignor Farrell High School, where Cosgrove went.

Bob Mulligan recalled, “There was one game he struck out 14 batters in a row. It was mind-boggling. We had never seen that before. Total domination. Really that was just with a very good fastball.”

Pitching pros

Learning from situations, as in his appearance against Columbia, is a main reason why he decided on becoming a Jasper. He loves how much Duffy, former Jasper pitching coach Elvys Quezada and new pitching coach Justin Echevarria know about pitching. They create an atmosphere he compared to his high school.

“Manhattan had a different feel than all the other schools that I was looking into,” Cosgrove said. “It was more of a homey feel, I guess, so it reminded me of my high school.”

Right now, it’s too early to tell whether Cosgrove projects as a front-of-the-rotation starter or a dominant relief pitcher. So far this season, the Staten Island native has made seven appearances, including four starts, while posting a 1-2 record and a 4.05 ERA, the second lowest on a young and improving Jaspers team. But both Duffy and Mulligan predict Cosgrove will make a major impact for the Jaspers in the long run.

“His main objective would be he just wants to pitch,” Mulligan said. “Given the opportunity to pitch — whether it’s middle, short-relief, starter — he should welcome that and do the very best he can.

“The sky’s the limit for him,” Mulligan concluded. “He’s the complete package.”