Image credit: © Matt Marton-Imagn Images
Colter McAnelly came into his junior year at the University of Utah off a sophomore season that saw him land a first-team All-Big 12 selection. He worked deep into games, struck out around a batter an inning and managed a sub-4.00 ERA while pitching half his games in a very hitter-friendly home park. He was never one to overwhelm you with stuff, but he’d bob and weave with a four-pitch mix, including a low-90s cut-ride fastball and a pretty good, and quite spinny 12-6 curve he could move up and down.
Not much changed in his scouting report this year—which can be read neutrally or negatively, depending on your point of view—but his ERA jumped three full runs. Consequently, he averaged only around five innings a start, with all his peripherals (K, BB, HR, and H/9) getting a modest bump. But while the scouting report didn’t really change, where he threw his pitches did. The Utes previously played at Smith’s Ballpark, sharing a home with the Salt Lake Bees, the Triple-A affiliate of the Angels. The Bees moved from downtown Salt Lake to the southwestern suburbs and a new ballpark in the master planned community of Daybreak. Utah spent one more season at Smith’s before opening a new on-campus stadium, an eight-figure renovation of their former practice field. It’s much cozier confines, and a couple miles further up the Wasatch bench, providing an extra 400 feet or so of elevation.
