As disappointing as the 2020 Covid-shortened season was for players and teams all throughout college baseball, Georgia junior Jonathan Cannon said lessons learned during the abbreviated campaign have made him a better pitcher today.
Those lessons? Having the opportunity to watch former teammates Emerson Hancock and Cole Wilcox go through their respective routines.
Considering Hancock would ultimately be selected with the sixth overall pick by Seattle with Wilcox going in the third round to San Diego, Cannon knew he could certainly do worse than attempt to emulate what made the pair such a success.
“I learned so much from them, and even Ryan Webb last year, just being able to follow those guys around, and seeing the routines that they do,” Cannon said. “Just looking at the habits that they have. You’re talking about three great guys, and I learned so much from them, and a lot of the stuff that I do. Whether it’s pre-start or between starts, I learned from them.”
Why is this noteworthy?
Skipper Scott Stricklin has already let it be known that Cannon is penciled in as Georgia’s Friday night starter, meaning he’ll be the man on the mound when the Bulldogs kick off their upcoming SEC series.
There’s every reason to believe that the 6-foot-6, 213-pound righty will be able to do exactly that.
A year after a double whammy of mononucleosis and Covid-19 slowed his start to the 2021 season, Cannon is back at 100 percent and anxious to build on what was a strong finish with the team.
Over his last three appearances last spring, Cannon went 2-0 with a 2.09 ERA, allowing just 13 hits with five walks and 17 strikeouts over his final 17.2 innings.
“He’s 6-5 and athletic, he’s a four-pitch mix. He’s competitive, and that’s the thing I was really happy with the second half of the season,” Stricklin said. “The first half of the season he was trying to get on track, but the second half of the season he pitched a lot better.”
A May 16 start at Florida resulted in Cannon finally getting the ball rolling.
The Bulldogs dropped the first two games of the series and needed a win before Cannon responded by scatting six hits over 5.2 inning in the Sunday finale. Georgia won, 6-1.
“We needed a win on that Sunday. He caught me Saturday night in the hotel and told me, ‘Coach, I got you tomorrow.’ He just looked at me and said, ‘I gotcha.’ I kind of nodded. I thought to myself, I hope so."
He went out and pitched his tail off and was really good for us down the back stretch,” Stricklin said. “That’s what we’re expecting to happen. We’re expecting him to be a legitimate Friday night guy, similar to an Emerson Hancock, who can go out there and give us length. That’s what you need on Friday.
You get a starter who goes out and gives you four, then you’ve got to go out there and burn the bullpen. You need a guy who can go out there and give you six plus, and I think Jonathan can do that.”
Cannon believes that he can.
“One of the biggest things with Emerson, I always used to watch him on the mound, just kind of doing mental reps,” Cannon said. “At first, I was like why are you doing this? But I’ve learned to appreciate him so much, from just getting those reps in the pen so, when you’re in those situations in a game, you’ve already repped it 100 times.”
Cannon’s routine-like all starting pitchers-is scripted every day between starts.
It includes:
• Friday: Start that night’s game.
• Saturday: Lifting with baseball strength coach Ryan Gearheart, including arm repair and recovery drills.
• Sunday: Off day with some light tossing.
• Monday: Back in the weight room with Gearheart with additional throwing.
• Tuesday: Bullpen day.
• Wednesday: Back in the weight room for a final lift.
• Thursday: Flexibility recovery with Gearheart.
Another reason for Cannon’s optimism: he’s finally 100 percent.
“Last year was tough. Having Covid and Mono was such a huge setback for me. So, having all this offseason to prepare this spring, I feel really good, and I’m excited to get out there,” Cannon said. “I didn’t really have any symptoms with the Covid, but the Mono really got me. It took a toll on my body, and I basically had to start from scratch building everything up.
I didn’t get to build up that we’re going to do over these next three weeks where I’m honing my pitches. I was kind of learning as I was going, so I’m really thankful to be back and healthy right now.”
A late season change at the behest of pitching coach Sean Kenny combined improved health also helped Cannon rediscover his game.
“Coach Kenny and I sort of shifted more toward a sinker/fastball. My fastball was kind of flat to begin the year, and it got kind of hit around a little bit, so that was one of my adjustments,” Cannon said. “He felt if it weren’t made now, it would get made once I made it to pro ball, so I’m throwing primarily sinkers. I’m throwing a changeup; slider. I’ve got a cutter that I’ve been working on, and we’ll be able to see it this spring. I think it will be a really good pitch for me. I’m feeling a lot more confident about my arsenal now than I was going into last year.”
