Josh Ekness had a 6.34 ERA in three college seasons, but the 23-year-old reliever has been a revelation in pro ball.
Through the end of May at Double-A Pensacola he had a 3.06 ERA in 17.2 innings, which included 26 strikeouts, seven walks and zero home runs allowed in 13 appearances.
None of that is a surprise to Skip Allen, who coached Ekness on a high school travel team in Houston.
“Josh is very mature,” Allen said. “When he was 16, it was like you were talking to a 33-year-old.
“He has a low pulse rate—doesn’t get rattled. He just needed to work on his coordination because he’s a big guy.”
Ekness, who is 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, struggled throughout his college career, which included two years at Lamar and one at Houston. The Marlins drafted him in the 12th round in 2023.
Yet, Houston coach Todd Whitting said he saw the potential.
“Josh’s stuff is filthy and explosive,” Whitting said. “He comes at you with a high angle.”
Ekness made his breakthrough last year, when he pitched at Low-A Jupiter and High-A Beloit. In 48 appearances covering 66 innings, he struck out 83 batters and posted a 0.97 WHIP.
Ekness, whose original college major was mechanical engineering before switching to mathematics, said his analytical mind is both a gift and a curse.
“I can look at things in a thoughtful manner and attack a solution,” he said. “But when it’s game time, all that needs to go out the window, and I need to just compete.”
That awareness, Ekness said, is what has fueled his breakthrough.
It helps that he has a four-seam fastball that is effective up in the zone and a sinker that’s best in the lower half. Both pitches sit 96-98 mph and have touched 100.
Once he turned pro, the Marlins had Ekness scrap his slider in favor of a mid-80s sweeper with more movement.
This year, he has added a gyro slider with more power at 89-90 mph.
Said Whitting: “He’s definitely a big league pitcher.”