THIS LEFTY IS ALL RIGHT

Prodigious talent, meticulous work ethic propel Asa Lacy into draft

- JOE HEALY

Wanting to be great has never been an issue for Asa Lacy, and he’s more than willing to put in the requisite work to be great. In fact, Texas A&M coach Rob Childress says that’s what makes the lefthander special.

“He’s a sponge and wants to be great, and I think the biggest attribute Asa has is when his feet hit the floor every day, he wants to be the very best at his craft. To me, that’s what separates him from so many,” he said.

But after his freshman season, it was clear that if Lacy was truly going to be great, he needed a breaking ball. So he went to Alaska to find one.

To be fair, he had a breaking ball. Two of them, in fact. But neither his curveball nor slider was going to cut it if he wanted to be a quality weekend starter in the Southeastern Conference. At the time, he wasn’t throwing either of them with conviction.

Lacy was coming off what anyone would consider a successful campaign. He had a 2.75 ERA in 39.1 innings for Texas A&M, mostly in relief. He struck out 48 and held opponents to a .200 batting average. Still, he needed a more diverse repertoire.

“As a freshman, (he) really was a two-pitch guy,” Childress said. “(A) fastball/ changeup guy. He didn’t spin it exceptionally well. He was in between a curveball and a slider.”