Highlights:
>>Wang, an avid weight-lifter who is sculpted at 6-3 and 210 pounds, began playing baseball in the third grade. Hitting wasn’t really an option, he said, because of his “terrible eyesight”.
Pitching, though, could be the ticket that takes him to almost unimaginable heights.
Josh MacDonald, who has tutored six All-Americans since becoming UConn’s pitching coach in 2012, puts Wang in an elite class, and that’s saying something.
Just last year, former UConn pitcher Anthony Kay made his major league debut for the Blue Jays, ex-Huskies star Jacob Wallace was drafted in the third round by the Rockies, making him the highest selection ever for a Connecticut reliever; and Mason Feole set the school record for career strikeouts.
Yet, here’s what MacDonald told D1Baseball when asked about Wang:
“I don’t think we’ve ever had anybody with his ‘wow factor’. He has zero body fat and incredible balance in his windup. He hits 95 (mph), and, as he continues to grow, he could be 97, 98, 100.
“Jimmy is like a piece of clay. When he gets to the pros, and he is able to train 10 months of the year without worrying about school, I would not be shocked if he makes the majors.”
If so, Wang would be the first pitcher born in mainland China to make the big leagues. The only hitter born in mainland China to make it to the majors was Harry Kingman, who played four games for the Yankees in 1914. Outfielder Austin Brice, who was born in Hong Kong, made his major league debut in 2016.<<