Joseph Dzierwa’s decision to return to MSU pays off as MLB draft nears

EAST LANSING – Michigan State baseball coach Jake Boss and pitching coach Mark Van Ameyde had said their goodbyes to Joseph Dzierwa. They thought they had lost their star pitcher to the transfer portal and to Vanderbilt, a college baseball powerhouse which offered the limelight and a significant NIL package. No hard feelings. They understood.

“I was surprised as anybody when he called me and said, ‘I’m coming back,’ ” Van Ameyde said.

Dzierwa first called Boss on July 4th and asked to talk. The conversation that followed in Boss’ office said a lot about Dzierwa and his priorities.

“He thought he could have a bigger impact here at Michigan State,” Boss said. “And I’m certainly not going to argue with that.”

Dzierwa also thought he had more to give than he had and too many good relationships at MSU that he enjoyed and that benefited him.

“My teammates, just knowing that some of my best friends are here, and knowing that, it’s not necessarily that I didn’t give it all I had, but kind of leaving some stuff on the table,” Dzierwa said. “My sophomore year, looking back at it, I probably could have done more. This year, I told my dad, ‘Hey, man, I’m going all in on this. Whatever happens, happens.’ And that was kind of my focus. I want to give everything I have here. Not leave with any regrets.”

Based on the junior season he’s having, he won’t.

Dzierwa has been a bona fide ace in his final season for MSU. He’s 7-2 with a 2.20 earned-run average (second-lowest in the Big Ten), with 86 strikeouts and 19 walks and a league-leading WHIP of .99 in 73-plus innings. Major League Baseball has taken notice. Dzierwa is projected to be selected in the first two or three rounds of the 20-round MLB draft in mid-July.

With Dzierwa pitching every weekend, often on Friday nights, the Spartans are 25-22 overall this season, 10-14 in Big Ten play, tied right now for the last spot in the 12-team Big Ten tournament heading into the second to last weekend of conference play. MSU plays at 25th-ranked USC this weekend in Los Angeles, before hosting Minnesota next Thursday through Saturday (May 15-17) in a series that could determine the Spartans’ postseason fate.

In two of their remaining Big Ten games, they’ll have their 6-foot-8 lefty Dzierwa on the mound.

His journey at MSU is an argument for college baseball over entering the draft out of high school and going straight to the minor leagues.

Dzierwa was a three-sport standout at Otsego High School near his hometown of Haskins, Ohio, and a heckuva quarterback, playing for his father. Dzierwa had Division I interest in football from Mid-American Conference and Ivy League schools. He loved whatever sport was in season.

“But there was something about baseball, something about touching the mound every time,” Dzierwa said. “It’s just different.”

He could have gone the pro route out of high school — he was high enough on MLB radars. But it would have been a different road as a more developmental prospect and perhaps one he wouldn’t have been ready for.

“When he got here as a freshman, he didn’t say three words in the fall and we were a little concerned about him, honestly,” Boss said. “I thought he might be homesick. I thought he might be kind of overwhelmed here.

“And then watching him grow through all of that. He was better as a sophomore. The weight room was getting better. He’s starting to gain some weight. He was coming out of shell a little bit more. You could see more of his personality on the mound a year ago and then, this year. I mean, he’s the leader out there. Guys look to him. I think he likes that and embraces it. He wants that role. And I think he’s ready for what’s next.”

His pitching velocity, in the upper-80s when he arrived, now tops out in the mid-90s. He’s more than 50 pounds heavier, up to 215. He once ate seven peanut butter and jelly sandwiches during a doubleheader back when he was trying to put on weight.

“The size, being left-handed, and he’s got kind of a unique arm slot,” Van Ameyde said. “And it’s an arm slot that probably, with the increase of analytics in pro ball, has become an arm slot that the pro guys really seem to like. He’s a tall guy with that kind of lower slot. They like to use those guys to pitch up in the zone with fastballs. It gives the appearance to the hitter like (the ball is) rising.

“He’s continued to get better, because he’s been able to add pitches. … He’s been able to develop into a guy who can throw his fastball to all quadrants of the plate. He can throw the change-up just about anywhere in the plate. But he’s added those two breaking balls now, like a harder cutter that has really been a big pitch for him this year that he didn’t have really even last year as much. And then the slower, we call it a sweeper, it’s probably like a curve ball — it’s a slower pitch that we utilize to lefties just to get them off the fastball or get them off the cutter. He has pretty good command of everything. So it’s like a four pitch mix.

“And then he’s got the stuff inside that a lot of guys struggle with to compete — the confidence, the belief in himself, the desire. Like he wants to be a pro, he wants to be as good as he possibly can get. And he’s willing to do whatever it takes. Doesn’t leave any stone unturned.”

Dzierwa has become obsessed with analytics and learning that side of the game to the point that he’s become a go-to guy for his teammates in that area.

What’s impressed the coaches most, however, is how he’s handled the noise — the scouts, the interviews — and remained grounded and willing to share his gifts. That includes for a 6-year-old boy from Lapeer, Luca Wright, who’s battling leukemia. With every strikeout he throws, Dzierwa makes a donation toward Wright’s care, through his NIL collective, Charitable Gift America.

“I think God’s given me a gift and a talent to play baseball at a high level. And I think the reward has been some money and meeting a lot of people,” Dzierwa said. “I think God puts you on this earth for a reason, and for mine, I think I can impact people with the talent he’s given me.”

As for the NIL money he isn’t giving away, he’s trying to put back into his game.

“I had to see how good I could get here,” Dzierwa said.

His numbers and MLB draft projection suggests that was a wise approach.

“I’m biased, but I do think he made the right decision (to come back),” Boss said. “He turned down a lot of money. At the same time, I think he’s going to make a lot more money in the draft because he stayed. You’re rolling the dice a little bit if you would have went to a Vanderbilt or someplace else like that. You’re the new guy. You really have one year. If you come out, you don’t throw great maybe the first weekend, you could get bumped. And the next thing you know, you’re a midweek guy or a bullpen guy. And things change as far as the draft is concerned. That’s where the value was in throwing every Friday night (at MSU).

“There’s no question in my mind that he’ll be ready for pro ball because he’s taking ownership of what happens, and of his game. And when you get to pro ball, that’s all you’ve got. I mean, it’s you. And if you’re not dedicated to it, you’re not going to play very long. I think he’s going to play for a while.”

That’s the plan. Coming back to MSU this season — to work with coaches and staff he knew and trusted and teammates he cherished — was playing the long game.

“I took a pay cut, but I knew if I did everything I could here, I’ll learn more about myself,” Dzierwa said. “I think that’s going to help me a lot. When I made the decision, I thought it was going to help me a lot more long-term than short-term. And I think money is great and everything. But if you can impact people and have an impact on yourself, too, long-term, I think that’s a better outcome.”

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Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch and BlueSky @GrahamCouch.