MSSU's VanWey blossoms as starter, takes talents to Frontier League

May 14—At one point this spring, Logan VanWey was ready to throw in the towel on being a starting pitcher.

VanWey even sat across from Missouri Southern coach Bryce Darnell and had that conversation in the coaches' office.

But Darnell offered some words of encouragement for his senior who was making the challenging full-time transition from bullpen to rotation for the first time in his career.

"Logan actually came into my office earlier in the season and talked about moving back to the bullpen," Darnell said on Friday. "I encouraged him to stick with it, give it another couple of starts and see where we were at."

VanWey never asked to return to the bullpen again.

A 6-foot-3, 205-pound righty, VanWey became one of the top starters in the MIAA.

The Webb City product lowered his ERA from 9.18 after a clunker against Pittsburg State earlier this season down to 3.47 following an eight-inning shutout against the Gorillas in his final start as a Lion in the MIAA quarterfinals on May 6.

VanWey wound up posting astronomical numbers this spring. He nearly struck out (125) over 100 more batters than he walked (25) through 14 starts.

He was officially acclimated to the newfound role.

"Once I got the feel for starting and staying locked in mentally and physically getting my stamina to where it should be, I think I really proved myself as a starter," said VanWey, who dialed back on his fastball velocity to be around 91-93 miles per hour.

"I just tried to stay at the same tempo and not try to blow my arm out in the first inning, try to go late in the game. Let the stats be proof for itself this year."

When it came time for the All-MIAA team to be announced, VanWey was MSSU's headliner on the list. He was a unanimous selection as a first-team pick at starting pitcher.

Some could argue VanWey made the case to be the league Pitcher of the Year.

"Once he learned that he didn't need to go all out as a starter, things really clicked," Darnell said. "He was as good as anybody in our league. I was actually a little surprised he didn't get pitcher of the year. I thought he should have gotten it, but that's not a criticism of the guy who got it (Kyler Patterson of Central Oklahoma). After the first conference weekend, Logan was just amazingly good. He was just outstanding."

New opportunity

VanWey is no stranger to pitching on a big stage during the summer.

He's had three different stints in the Northwoods League, which is one of college baseball's premier summer leagues. In 2020, VanWey tossed three scoreless outings for the La Crosse Loggers and registered a whopping 14 strikeouts through six innings of work during that span.

Last summer, VanWey turned heads in the MLB Draft League. He logged a 2-1 record with a 1.61 ERA in 17 games, striking out 32 batters and walking only nine through 22 1/3 innings.

There, he showed a three-pitch arsenal, including a fastball averaging 92-94 mph and topping out at 96 mph, as well as a lethal slider and a changeup.

Now that he's finished his college career at MSSU, VanWey looks to make another impression.

He's signed with the Glacier Range Riders of the independent Frontier League in advance of July's Major League Baseball Draft. The Range Riders are based out of Kalispell, Montana.

VanWey said he got connected with the league through Stu Pederson, Joc Pederson's father, a hitting coach on the team.

"Stu asked me in the fall if I wanted to come up here and I talked to my agent," VanWey said. "We thought it would be the best decision to come up here before the draft."

The competition is no slouch, either. VanWey said it will feature a lot of bounce back types from Double-A and High-A, as well as journeymen who are trying to get back into affiliated ball.

In fact, Vanderbilt pitching star and former New York Mets No. 10 overall pick Kumar Rocker signed with league foe Tri-City ValleyCats on Friday.

"We'll have to get him into the batter's box," VanWey said with a laugh.

Looking ahead

As of right now, VanWey said it looks like he will continue on as a starter this summer.

"I don't know what my role would be moving forward after if I were to get drafted or sign with somebody else," he said. "But it's looking right now, that I will be a starter."

"He's a power arm with a power slider, who once he became a starter, really learned how to use his changeup," Darnell said. "Logan's burst into both of those roles. It will be interesting to see how that goes."

VanWey looks to keep proving himself on the national stage.

"In the draft league last summer, there were 30 and 40 guys drafted and signed to professional teams," VanWey said. "I'd say I had some of the best numbers out of the bullpen in that league. I'm just trying to show I can pitch to the best of my ability. I want to keep riding that momentum going into this summer and prove what I can do."

Darnell said VanWey left a lasting legacy at MSSU.

"It's just awesome Logan was good enough to play in our program," Darnell said. "The reason why I saw that is because his grandpa (Clyde) has been coming to Missouri Southern baseball games since I was a player. It was great for his family that Logan had the skill level to be a Division II player, let alone an outstanding all-conference Division II player. He left a huge mark.

"He's on our leader board for strikeouts in a single-season, as well as saves in a career. He's left a mark in a lot of different ways. He's an outstanding teammate, an outstanding pitcher. We'll really miss Logan and his family, for sure."

Even though he's pitching in a different timezone now, the impact MSSU left on VanWey will not be lost.

"Back when I was in high school, there was a website called FieldLevel where you pick the top three teams you want to play for," VanWey said. "I remember putting Missouri Southern down as one of them. ... But just thinking, 'Man, that would be a dream come true to play for Southern.' I feel like Coach (Nick) Tuck and Coach Darnell always treated me well, gave me every opportunity I could get.

"If I got to do it again, I would definitely go back to Missouri Southern. It opened up a lot of doors for me."

The door to professional baseball included.