Wissman grew up in Dayton and attended Dragons games every summer. He pitched in a high school game for Chaminade Julienne on the same mound he stood on Thursday night at Day Air Ballpark pitching against the Dragons. He pitched on that mound twice in relief for the Dayton Flyers and earned a victory.
“Being back in this stadium, specifically, it was a little weird the first couple nights,” Wissman said. “But I had a couple nights to at least be in the environment and get used to it. But growing up going to a lot of these games, pitching in one is a little weird.”
But pitching for the first time as a professional feels quite normal to Wissman. The San Diego Padres drafted him in the eighth round last summer to make him the highest drafted Flyer.
Wissman entered Thursday’s game for the TinCaps, a game the Dragons won 5-1, with two outs in the seventh inning and the bases loaded. Then he got a bad break when Ariel Almonte hit a tapper up the first-base line. Wissman fielded the ball but he couldn’t quite slip the throw to first past Almonte.
Instead, the throw hit Almonte in the back for an error and two runs scored. Wissman came back for a strikeout to end the inning. He pitched around a double for a scoreless ninth.
Wissman’s first stop after the draft was Arizona at the Padres’ minor-league complex. For the next two months he pitched live several times in controlled games with pitch counts, etc.
When Wissman arrived at spring training he worked mostly with a group of players who were expected to start the season for the High A TinCaps. He was pleased to start in Fort Wayne instead of Low A Lake Elsinore in the California League.
“I was fine with starting wherever when the season started, but there was part of me that was kind of hoping I could start here,” he said.
Wissman’s parents and sister went to Fort Wayne last weekend for the season-opening series. They and lots of other family members and friends were at Thursday’s game.
“There was a part of me that kind of wanted to pitch right away, but it was also nice just to kind of get settled in with everything,“ Wissman said. ”But I was fine throwing whenever.”
Wissman, 24, relies mostly on his fastball with his sidearm delivery. He has yet to allow an earned run in 3⅓ innings over three appearances. He’s allowed two hits, no walks and struck out four. He said spring training prepared him to start the season confidently.
“You face enough live at-bats there and pitch enough games that by the time this season comes around you’re pretty much already in game mode,” he said. “Things you’re working on get hammered out throughout spring. And once the High A season starts, I’m already in that mode where you’ve got a good feel for your stuff.”
Wissman said his high school and college days prepared him well for pro ball. He said former UD head coach Jayson King ran the program with professional standards.
“Dayton made me, got me ready, all of the above,” Wissman said. “I’ve had incredible coaching staffs from CJ to Dayton. At Dayton I grew substantially from someone who could hang at the DI level, to someone who could really, really contribute. I’ve been lucky to have some really good coaches, specifically just learning to become a successful pitcher, someone that can contribute at the pro level.”
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