There aren’t many relievers like Rocket City’s .
The 25-year-old’s eight saves rank second among closers, converting on 80% of his opportunities.
“I love the fact that I come into a game and the team knows that I’m coming in to finish it,†Yovan said.
But the Trash Pandas' last line of defense didn’t start his minor league career on the mound.
In 2021, and part of 2022, the former star played first and third base for the Tri-City Dust Devils -- batting .214 with six homers and 23 runs batted in 61 games. In July of last year, he got back on the bump and the results were hard to ignore -- a 1.77 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 20.1 innings.
“Coming from Oregon, we always kind of joke about it on the staff, it’s like there’s no such thing as just a pitcher only in Oregon. So everyone pitches and hits, so it’s kind of something I’ve done my whole life,†said Yovan.
Yovan wasn’t just a two-way player in Eugene, he was the first Ducks’ player to earn All-America honors as a pitcher (2017) and a hitter (2020).
“They correlate so much with each other, obviously you’re trying to hit something instead of trying to make someone not hit it, but in reality, the motions and everything work all in one,†he explained.
Now serving as the Trash Pandas’ finisher, he’s proved what he can do. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t still think about picking up a bat, joking with manager Andy Schatzley that he’ll be ready if needed.
“I chirp at him because he was my first manager when I got to pro ball in High-A and I was hitting and I always make jokes to him and [Sean] Kazmar, ‘Hey, you know, I can hit. I’ll take a couple rounds of BP a week just in case.’â€
