2016 was a great year for Fresno State’s Ricky Tyler Thomas (no relation to Jonathan Taylor Thomas). With a 2.16 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP in 104 innings, the slender left-handed starter led the Mountain West Conference with 108 strikeouts. In addition, he only walked 16 all season. Thomas parlayed that experience into playing for USA baseball’s national collegiate team, where he was named their player of the year.
The first thing you notice about Thomas is he does not look very big. At 6′ 1″ and 175 pounds, he’s maybe slightly larger than Carl Edwards Jr., but I think I’m being generous there.