The following Major League recommendation was written by Coach Pat Murphy, the Head Baseball Coach for Arizona State University.

Congratulations to Coach Murphy for his 3rd Pac 10 Coach of the Year Award!

 

From: Patrick Murphy
To: All Major League Baseball Scouting Directors
Sent: Tue 6/3/2008 5:11 PM
Subject: ASU/Jason Jarvis

I just wanted to bring to your attention that Jason Jarvis is eligible for the draft. Subsequently I'd like to emphasize that Jason is a tremendous competitor and a young man who accomplished a great amount in a short period of time in the extremely competitive Pac-10 Conference.

Jason had 11 saves in half of a season and lead us to a College World Series in 2007; 8 of 11 of the teams he had saves against were top 10 teams. He also had a very positive attitude in the locker room.

His positive attitude has continued with The Saltdogs and he has earned the reputation of being a model player with his coaches and teammates.

Coach Tim Johnson with the Lincoln Saltdogs said that Jason has consistently thrown the ball 94-95 with a much improved changeup and breaking ball. I feel confident that Jason has the ability and the drive to pitch in the major leagues.

While Jason's circumstance is unorthodox he certainly deserved better fate than his ruling at ASU. He was honest and was penalized because of that. I feel like Jason is a great prospect and I hope he receives full consideration.

Jason's off-the-field issues were blown out of proportion. While at ASU he never had legal issues nor did he fail to pass a drug test. Jason was a tremendous teammate and wanted the ball in every big situation. He was a very unique, honest, and competitive pitcher.

Jason is a talented and gifted pitcher who I recommend at the highest level for the upcoming draft. I remain available to answer any questions regarding Jason's character and baseball talents.

Best of luck as we enter the 2008 First-Year Player Draft.

Sincerely,

Pat Murphy

 

The article below was written by Bob Wirz who has 16 years of major league baseball public relations experience with Kansas City and as chief spokesman for two Commissioners and runs his own sports consulting company in Stratford, CT. He does not have any connections, business or personal with Jason Jarvis.

Draft Lightening Could Strike a Third Time in American Association
Through Lincoln’s Jason Jarvis

By Bob Wirz

            Luke Hochevar and Max Scherzer have given significant credibility to the American Association by jumping into key major league pitching roles in a very short time, and there is a chance a third highly-regarded right-hander may add to the aura.

            Jason Jarvis does not command the same “can’t miss” attention of the two first-round draftees, but his image could escalate depending on where the 20-year-old Arizona State product now pitching for the American Association’s Lincoln (NE) Saltdogs ends up come the start of this year’s June 5 draft.



“He is going to be the same kind of pitcher,” proclaims Saltdogs Manager Tim Johnson, the onetime Toronto Blue Jays skipper whose Lincoln teams faced both Hochevar and Scherzer when they were with the Fort Worth (TX) Cats.  “Their fastballs are the same.”  Jarvis set an ASU freshman record with 11 saves in 2007, then became ineligible early this season and successfully petitioned to be eligible for this year’s draft even though he was only a sophomore.

            Johnson pegs the 6-foot-2 Jarvis’s fastball at 94 miles an hour, which he combines with a slider and an “outstanding changeup”.  “Outstanding”, Johnson repeated, for emphasis.  “This kid has a chance to be in the big leagues.”

            Don’t think the major league teams aren’t noticing, even though his draft ranking seems uncertain.  Johnson says scouts were in Pensacola, FL and Fort Worth during Lincoln’s opening road trip, and he has “probably fielded 150 calls” asking this or that about Jarvis, who calls Scottsdale, AZ home.  “He has no fear on the mound,” Johnson says.  “He loves to be out there.”

            Jarvis landed in Lincoln, where he has a 2.57 earned run average and alternates between setup and closing roles, because of a long term friendship between Arizona-based agent Oscar Suarez and Johnson.  Part of the accord has been established in that Johnson has managed in Mexico during the winter for this entire century.  Suarez, who was in Johnson’s Haymarket Park office part of the time we were talking, already has two major league relievers (Kansas City’s Joakim Soria and Houston’s Oscar Villarreal) as well as onetime Chico, CA infielder Howie Clark, now in the major leagues with the Minnesota Twins.   He also stays close to the Independent Baseball scene because his son, Gabe, is an infielder in the Atlantic League (Camden, NJ).

            Jarvis has gotten tougher in recent outings, allowing only three hits in his last five games (4.1 innings), although the .300 batting average against him for his young season’s work will not sit well with major league organizations.

 

** Note from Saltdogs Manager, Tim Johnson on 5/28/08: Since the below article was written, Jason has been averaging 92-94 and touching 96-97 mph when he's needed to.

From Baseball America on May 14, 2008 :

Learning In Lincoln

Jarvis joins Saltdogs to get ready for the draft

By J.J. Cooper
May 14, 2008

When righthander Jason Jarvis arrived in Lincoln, he brought with him a couple of suitcases, a glove and a whole lot of baggage.

There have been questions about his maturity and his decision-making that have followed him since his high school career. It's not possible to say that all of the makeup questions that surrounded him are behind him after just a couple of weeks with the American Association's Saltdogs, but there are signs that the professional life suits Jarvis pretty well.

To help get Jarvis ready for his future, Lincoln pitching coach Jim Haller decided that he'd put his new pitcher under plenty of pressure and see how he responded.

"I exploded on him," Haller said. "And he always came back and looked me in the eye and shook my hand. I was trying to see if the kid would break. He didn't. I'm becoming a fan of the young man."

As a senior at Chapparral (Ariz.) High, questions about his maturity and his price tag caused him to slip to the 25th round in the 2006 draft, despite the fact that he featured a 92-93 mph fastball as he went 12-0, 1.40 to lead his team to a state 4-A title.

After failing to reach an agreement with the Angels, Jarvis enrolled at Chandler-Gilbert (Ariz.) JC, but transferred to Arizona State midway through the season. With the Sun Devils, Jarvis saved an Arizona State freshman record 11 games, but then was declared ineligible early in his sophomore season.

That's where the Saltdogs came in. Jarvis' agent, Oscar Suarez, is also the agent for Lincoln manager Tim Johnson. Suarez was able to get Jarvis declared eligible for the 2008 draft, but he needed to find an independent league team that could help Jarvis get innings in the months leading up to the draft.

While Johnson and Jarvis may share an agent, the Saltdogs weren't exactly going to turn over the team to the 20-year-old. When Max Scherzer pitched for the American Association's Fort Worth Cats in 2007, the team set up his starts to ensure that scouts would get plenty of looks. Jarvis joined the Saltdogs bullpen as just another guy trying to help the team win—scouts can't be sure he'll pitch on any given day.

And Haller went out of his way to ensure that Jarvis would be treated just like any other young pitcher—because he figured that would help Jarvis prepare for his upcoming career in affiliated ball.

There were some clashes of opinion during Jarvis' first couple of weeks in Lincoln. But pretty quickly Jarvis buckled down, picked up a new changeup grip that Haller taught him and went out and became an integral part of the Saltdogs bullpen.

The changeup has given Jarvis a different look. When he was at Arizona State, he was a fastball/slider pitcher who used his lively 92-93 mph fastball to simply blow away batters. Every now and then he would show the slider to keep hitters honest.

With Lincoln, Jarvis has moved his release point up a little, which freed up his arm to command a changeup. Haller has also worked with Jarvis at turning a head jerk into a smooth head turn and at rotating his shoulders better to avoid pushing the ball. After just a couple of bullpen sessions with the Saltdogs, the changeup, which sits at around 78 mph, quickly became an asset.

"His third bullpen session he shows a changeup that was just filthy. It's his second-best pitch," Haller said. "The kid has gotten swings on the changeup so far where veteran hitters have had pitiful swings. The arm action is spectacular with the changeup . . . I would consider his fastball his bread and butter, but he can throw the changeup in any count."

The slider is still there, but it's now a third pitch that is more of a chase pitch than something he throws with regularity. There are times when Jarvis' fastball velocity has suffered as he adjusts to the new delivery—in one recent outing he was sitting 89-90 mph instead of the 92-95 mph he showed at Arizona State, but his command has improved and the fastball still has life. In other outings, it has sat at 92-93 mph. Jarvis was 0-1, 3.38 in his first 22⁄3 innings with Lincoln.

He's also shown his competitiveness and a newfound composure. In a mid-May outing, the first batter Jarvis faced hit a grounder that took a bad hop off a rock for a hit. The next batter laid down a bunt that should have been an easy out, but the first baseman failed to catch the throw, resulting in an error that put runners at second and third with no outs. On the first pitch of the next at-bat, Jarvis was squeezed by the umpire on a pitch that could have been called a strike. Jarvis wasn't affected by the bad luck. He just grabbed the ball and threw a strike on his next pitch.

"Everything that could have gone wrong did and he never showed anything." Haller said.

Jarvis also recently went to Haller and apologized for his pitch selection in a recent game—he threw a slider in a count where Haller had told him to stick with his fastball and changeup. While it was a minor moment, it said a lot about Jarvis' developing maturity.

"I'm not in awe of the kid, but I like what I'm seeing in his composure."

It's hard to get a read on where Jarvis will go in June's draft, but scouts who see him with the Saltdogs will have a reason to update their scouting reports.

 

Click here for Saltdogs 2008 Schedule

 

 

For Immediate Release 03/24/2008:

Major League Baseball announced today that Jason Jarvis was transferred from the "NOT ELIGIBLE FOR SELECTION LIST" to the "ELIGIBLE FOR SELECTION LIST", which means he is now eligible for the 2008 Draft this June.

In order to prepare for the draft, he will be playing in The American Association of Independent Professional Baseball league. He has signed a contract with the Lincoln Saltdogs and will report to spring training in mid April. Games begin on May 8th, 2008.

Click here for Saltdogs 2008 Schedule

 

March 13, 2008

A short time ago I requested a hearing to appeal a grade change which resulted in the 'A'. that I rightfully earned, being dropped to an 'XE' on an Internet music course that I took in the fall of 2007. An XE grade indicates academic dishonesty, which I did not commit. My appeal was upheld and I was exonerated for the academic dishonesty. However, the Herberger College of the Arts will not restore my grade back to the A that I rightfully earned so I will get no credit for taking the 3 credit class. According to the NCAA regulations, I am now considered academically ineligible for the 2008 baseball season. I could stay in school and regain my eligibility next year, however, I am continually amazed with the inconsistent way the ASU administration randomly executes their rules to suit themselves with no care whatsoever for the student. So, rather than continue to struggle through the academic bureaucracy at ASU I have decided to pursue a career in professional baseball and I am currently in the process of petitioning the commissioner of MLB to approve me to enter this years amateur draft in June. ASU Baseball, my teammates, & especially Coach Murphy, are the BEST! I believe they will go on to win the College World Series and I, as well as my family will be rooting them on as though I was on the field with them. GO DEVILS!

Sincerely,

Jason Jarvis

Date: March 4th, 2008

I would like to make a public statement that should help clarify rumors that have been going around the local news and baseball world. Recently there have been several inaccurate statements made to the press by former ASU baseball  manager, Mikel Merino, about the academics and legitimacy of my grades a s well as some of my teammates. I am an easy target because it’s no secret that I have had academic problems throughout my entire school career. I was diagnosed with  a learning disability when I was 6 years old. I worked very hard in high school to graduate with an overall GPA of 3.0 so I could attend college. Even though it’s much harder for me than other kids, I remained eligible through my Freshman year at ASU and I have again met all the NCAA requirements for my sophomore year. Now my grades are being called into question by none other than a disgruntled former manager , who lost his job at ASU recently . I have never even once had a conversation about school or school work with Mr. Merino. This person knows nothing about my classes or my grades yet I and my teammates have been called into question.  Soon I must attend a hearing to defend myself against false charges. The process of taking online study courses and tests is well documented by others who take these classes at  ASU. I am registered with the DRC at ASU and it was on the advice of my academic advisor that I study and take tests in this manner. However it is a possibility that my college career could be over because I followed the instructions of my ASU academic advisor. I love ASU, it's baseball program and my teammates and I am sure I will continue to struggle with my academics due to my learning disability, but I am doing the best I can especially during a very demanding baseball schedule. Hopefully now the readers know the facts and not just what others say. If you want to keep up with the facts of what’s actually going on and not just rumors please visit my website: www.jasonjarvisbaseball.com . I look forward to being vindicated.

Sincerely,

Jason Jarvis