Former Ohio State baseball player Jacob Bosiokovic making pitch for MLB role

Faced with a career-changing decision, former Delaware Hayes baseball standout Jacob Bosiokovic wasn’t afraid to pivot to keep his major league dream alive.

A power-hitting shortstop in high school, Bosiokovic went on to play at Ohio State before being selected as a first baseman and corner outfielder in the 19th round (560th overall) of the 2016 MLB draft by the Colorado Rockies .

He never advanced past Single-A with Colorado, and continued struggles at the plate forced him to switch to pitching heading into the 2019 season. St. Louis selected Bosiokovic in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft following that season, a move that led to a breakthrough.

Although he’s currently with Triple-A Memphis, the top minor league affiliate of the Cardinals, the 30-year-old Bosiokovic was called up by St. Louis earlier this season. He didn’t get into a game, but he got his first taste of MLB.

Back in central Ohio this week – Memphis is playing a six-game series against the Clippers through Sunday – Bosiokovic had a chance to see family and friends and pitch with them watching from the stands.

The 6-foot-5, 240-pound Bosiokovic always has had a powerful right arm, and it opened a door his bat couldn’t.

“I’m lucky enough to get the second chance of life switching to pitching,” he said. “It’s taken me to a lot of different places.”

Bosiokovic enjoys return to central Ohio

One of those places is Columbus, with this week marking the first time he has played in a game here since graduating from Ohio State in 2016. He pitched one inning of scoreless relief in an 8-6 loss Tuesday.

“I spent a lot of days in college coming here (to Huntington Park) to watch (Clippers) games,” Bosiokovic said. “Obviously, growing up in the area, it was really cool to be able to come back here and play and have family here.”

Another one of those places was St. Louis. He was promoted to the Cardinals on June 30 and warmed up in the bullpen during his short stay but didn’t appear in a game before being sent back to Memphis on July 5.

“I got warmed up three times, but the situations of the game never dictated me going in,” he said. “Being there and not pitching was a bummer, but to get back there and get that chance would be really special to me as well as the people who have been part of my journey, my family, (an) endless amount of people. That would be really neat to have happen.”

Entering play Thursday, Bosiokovic had appeared in 31 games for Memphis and had a 3-3 record. He had a 3.58 ERA with 49 strikeouts and 25 walks in 37 ⅔ innings. He was 13-8 with a 4.15 ERA and 11 saves in 149 ⅔ innings during his minor league career.

Bosiokovic hit 100 mph on the radar gun during this past winter ball season, former Delaware coach Mike Yinger said.

“He’s a big, strong kid,” Yinger said. “He works hard. There’s not much else there besides muscle.”

Pitching puts Bosiokovic on MLB radar

In Memphis, Bosiokovic quickly caught the attention of manager Ben Johnson, who said Bosiokovic made a “great decision” when he switched to pitcher.

“He has an incredible arm,” Johnson said. “He’s made himself a major league prospect. ... The guys usually go up and they gain some confidence because they see that they can compete and perform at the major league level. Jake is no different, so usually when they come back, they usually pitch with more confidence, and we’ve seen that from him.”

Bosiokovic is accustomed to impressing coaches. He caught the attention of Yinger as an eighth grader.

“He was pretty incredible as an eighth grader,” said Yinger, who is now an assistant principal at Marion Harding. “We told him to play as many sports as he possibly can, play as many positions as you possibly can, because you never know. It’s actually worked out.”

A 2012 Delaware graduate, Bosiokovic earned Division I state Player of the Year honors twice in baseball and also excelled in basketball for the Pacers.

“High school feels like ages ago now, but a lot of stuff that happened then definitely shaped me to the player I am and the teammate and person I try to be today,” he said.

At Ohio State, Bosiokovic had a career batting average of .268 with 16 home runs and 94 RBIs.

After his stint in the Colorado organization, he saw his debut with the Cardinals’ organization put on hold when the 2020 minor league season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He missed most of 2022 with an elbow injury and was released by the Cardinals following the season. He pitched last year for the Charleston Dirty Birds of the independent Atlantic League.

“I was a little older when (the injury) happened, but I just worked through it and did my year in (independent) ball, put in the work until I was healthy and could pitch and luckily I got another chance," he said.

Bosiokovic and Yinger talk on a regular basis. Yinger attended Bosiokovic’s wedding and the Cardinals’ games in Pittsburgh after Bosiokovic was called up.

Yinger hopes watching Bosiokovic pitch in St. Louis becomes a regular summer routine.

“Jacob is an impressive person,” Yinger said. “He’s not going to quit on something. He’s going to give everything he can, and he’s such a good person that people want him to be a part of the organization. You have some players that are in it for themselves. He just has a bigger scope of what he’s doing. That’s the most important thing. He’s so humble.”

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@DispatchFrank

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Former Ohio State baseball player Jacob Bosiokovic making pitch for MLB role