Former Missouri State pitcher Jake Eddington pursues his MLB dream despite injuries
Jake Eddington grew up on a farm near the Current River. Now he lives near the beach, where thresher sharks aren’t farm machinery, they’re sharks.
Eddington, a right-handed pitcher for Missouri State last year, was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the seventh round in 2023.
Now he plays for the Single-A Threshers of Clearwater, Florida, near Tampa. At just 23 years old, he has missed a lot of time recovering from an injury and healing his arm. Fortunately, he is not alone.
Young love
Eddington no longer has to share a house with a group of baseball players. He married Kennedy Thies last fall and she is spending the summer in Clearwater before returning home to Ellsinore to teach second grade.
The two grew up in small towns in southeast Missouri, half an hour apart; Jake was born in Doniphan. Both were born in a hospital in Poplar Bluff because, Jake said, “the hospital in my town isn’t big enough to have babies.”
They knew each other, but a few years ago Jake got back in touch with them, as people do these days.
“I contacted her and tried my luck on Snapchat, so to speak,” he said.
When they reunited in 2021, he played in summer ball after his freshman year at Alabama. Kennedy studied education at Lindenwood in St. Charles.
“We both went through some pretty difficult relationships and then realized – we both grew up in Christian families and pray for (our future spouses) – and God brought us into each other’s lives,” Eddington said.
They were in a long-distance relationship for most of the time, but it wasn’t long before they took the next steps.
“Everything just clicked,” Eddington said. “We have the same morals, and she’s really ambitious and pushes me to be better every day. She’s also my best friend, so this is really special.”
Torn ligaments lead to Tommy John Proceedings
Still, 2021 hasn’t been all good for Eddington. One fall day, he was pitching and heard his elbow crack. He had torn his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL), and his sophomore season was over before it had even begun. But thanks to an innovative surgeon and a desperate baseball player decades earlier, Eddington didn’t have to hang up his cleats for good.
In 1974, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tommy John tore his ACL, destabilizing his elbow and cutting short his career. But the Dodgers had a doctor, Dr. Frank Jobe, who suggested a procedure to help his polio patients regain some mobility. He had never performed it on an athlete before, but John was all for it.
So Jobe took a tendon from the pitcher’s right wrist, drilled holes in John’s left elbow, and threaded the tendon through the elbow to create a de facto UCL. After 18 months of recovery and rehab, John returned to the major leagues. He pitched for another 14 years.
Eddington missed 14 months. By the time he was ready to take the field, he was a Missouri State Bear.
A change of scenery
After redshirting in 2022, Eddington opted for a change of scenery and entered the transfer portal. Missouri State’s new head coach Joey Hawkins, then an assistant to Keith Guttin, had recruited the young pitcher from tiny Doniphan High and was happy to sign him.
“He needed to go somewhere where someone would give him a chance to finish his rehab, get on the mound and throw a lot of innings,” Hawkins said. “We were looking for a guy like him.”
Eddington was sold.
“I’m grateful that I transferred because MSU will always be home to me,” he said.
Hawkins wasn’t worried about Eddington returning to form, as Tommy John is now a familiar name among pitchers and his relatively low innings did not bother MLB scouts.
“When guys come back, most scouts are just looking for them to stay healthy and take another step in terms of strength and physicality,” Hawkins said.
The mental side is also important, said Eddington.
“This is quite normal today. So it’s all about how you come back from it and accept the situation,” Eddington said.
Eddington said he throws “95, 96, somewhere around there,” and has a slider and a changeup.
“I have grown as a man”
The young pitcher also matured, Hawkins said, when he realized that Missouri State’s small roster required each player to be responsible for the others.
“You really have to take care of each other and work for each other,” Hawkins said. “I think once he figured that out, he really evolved as a person, which prepared him for the next level.”
Eddington was unable to throw a baseball for four and a half months after the surgery, but he learned to take better care of his body and mind.
“It makes you much more grateful because you realize it can be taken away from you at any time,” he said. “I’ve grown as a man.”
In 2023, he made 14 starts for the Bears, holding his opponents to a .226 average for 55 innings.
One of his best friends at Missouri State, pitcher Hayden Minton, was also drafted last year. Minton plays for the Lakeland Flying Tigers, the Single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. Minton attended Eddington’s wedding, and Eddington will return the favor this winter.
“I think we get along so well because we’re very similar,” Minton said. “We both enjoy hunting, fishing and golf. We were also roommates on trips last year, which strengthened our friendship.”
The two will reunite next week when the Threshers head to Lakeland for a six-game series.
Keeping the faith
In addition to his friends and family, Eddington relied on his Christian faith to get him through the arduous and frustrating process of rehabilitation.
“When you’re afraid that you might not be able to come back, you understand that God put you in certain situations for a reason,” he said. “You continue to trust His plan, not your own.”
His favorite Bible books are Matthew, Mark, and the Psalms. Unlike many players, he doesn’t rely on a particular verse.
“Maybe a little verse motivates you, but you don’t have the full context of what’s actually happening in the whole book,” he said. “I just like reading the Bible and learning from it.”
The new Eddingtons have a church in Clearwater and one in Poplar Bluff. The two are motivated to act faithfully in the present to create a more peaceful future.
“When we fight each other, it’s not because we’re angry,” Eddington said. “It’s just because we want to help each other. When we have kids one day, we want to try to be the best version of ourselves.”
Farm boy
Eddington grew up on a small dairy farm in southeast Missouri, so he’s always ready to work.
“I grew up on a farm with a lot of cows, so I built a lot of fences, a few barns,” he said. “I’m definitely more than just a baseball player.”
He still loves to help out when he gets home and has also added on to his own house. He recently built a storage shed as well.
“I enjoy starting a project and seeing it come to fruition,” Eddington said.
Just like in baseball, he takes it step by step.
“I do a lot of building in the off-season,” he said. “And if you try to rush it and cut corners here and there, it might last a few years – but maybe not 10, 20 or 30 years.”
Family is important to Eddington
He also enjoys playing golf and spending time with his family. His father, Brad, works in sales for BSN Sports and on the farm. His mother, Jessica, is a physical therapist and his older sister, Paige, is in physical therapy school. The youngest sister, Madison, is studying to be a nurse and runs a photography business on the side. The siblings are 18 months apart.
Doniphan is near the Mark Twain National Forest and they grew up near the water.
Literally.
“The (Current River) flows right through our town,” Eddington said.
His contract doesn’t prohibit water activities, but it’s hard to find time for them, he said. He’s just happy to see his family.
“I am blessed with very, very great parents and my wife’s parents are also extremely good people,” he said.
In the long term
At the time of this interview, Eddington was in the midst of rehabilitation for shoulder inflammation, but he remained optimistic. He is not worried about another setback.
“The preparation I do and staying healthy is all I can control,” Eddington said.
That’s why he doesn’t skimp on resting his arm when it’s injured.
“If you try to rush things, you’ll never get what you want,” Eddington said. “And I believe you have to trust your preparation and trust the people around you.”
And trust the dogs around you.
Recently, Layla, the Threshers’ 13-year-old bat dog, retired after retrieving bats for six seasons. Layla, a white Labrador, hung out with the players in the dugout in her free time. At least some of the players.
“I never saw them because I was in the bullpen,” Eddington said.
Layla’s younger sister Lucy is training hard to take on the role next season. With a bit of luck and success, Eddington will be promoted to the next league by then. But he is not worried.
“It’s pretty hard to sit there and say, ‘I want to be in the big leagues right now,'” he said. “I just try to focus on what’s important today.”
