Erik Tolman likes hot yoga, perhaps something that is atypical for a Division I baseball player.
This offseason, Tolman, a sophomore two-way baseball player at ASU, learned that extra stretching and mobility exercises will help his physical stamina for the grind of a long baseball season.
“I really didn’t expect it to be as tiring,” Tolman said of the 2019 season. “After the whole season my body was broken down a little bit.”
Overall, Tolman had an excellent freshman campaign. On the mound, he boasted a superb 2.83 earned run average during the regular season. At the plate, he hit three home runs in 44 at-bats.
As the year came to a close, Tolman’s numbers started to take a hit. As a pitcher, the freshman allowed two or more runs in six of his last eight appearances, and at the plate he was hitless in his final 17 at-bats of the season.
This offseason, getting his body ready for the long season ahead was most important.
“I’ve been doing a lot more mobility (exercises) in my legs, hips and back,” Tolman said. “I’m just trying to stay healthy and loose. Last year I didn’t do that as much.
“I’ve been doing it for a couple months and my body has felt really good.”
All of Tolman’s exercises are, in his words, “simple.” Body squats with no weights and back stretches are just a few of the sophomore’s daily exercises.
“Our trainer Jesse (Lowman) and our weightlifting coach Jason Robbins have been really pushing it for me,” Tolman said.
Physical preparation has been priority number one for the lefty this offseason.
Tolman took his talents across the country this summer to compete in the Cape Cod Baseball League. The amateur league was once home to over 300 of this season’s major leaguers.
“I feel like his baseball IQ got a little stronger because of playing in the Cape for a whole summer,” ASU junior first baseman Spencer Torkelson said. “I see his maturity on the mound and his work ethic. Freshman year it’s kind of hard to figure out your routine.”
On the mound for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, Tolman saw a vast improvement in his changeup. A pitch that he said has much more dip than it had previously.
Originally, Tolman’s changeup grip was that of a circle change, which is a common grip among younger pitchers when learning how to throw a changeup. However, a change in the placement of his thumb on the ball has turned the left-hander's off-speed offering into a lethal weapon.
“The changeup is probably my best pitch now,” Tolman said. “It wasn’t a big change but he (Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox pitching coach Christian Wonders) told me to hold the ball differently on my thumb and I thought it was super comfortable.”
As a hitter, Tolman used the summer to work on staying back and exploding through the baseball. At times last season, the sophomore had a tendency to lean on his front foot, which resulted in either softly hit ground balls or swings and misses.
In particular, off-speed pitches gave Tolman the most trouble toward the end of his freshman year.
“They were starting off with off-speed pitches. Kind of pitching to me backwards,” Tolman said.
His summer ball teammate, ASU reliever Brady Corrigan, witnessed the sophomore's progress first hand.
“It was really impressive,” Corrigan said. “He cut down the walks a ton and was probably our best starter, if not our number two starter all summer.”
Tolman may be a two-way player, but he describes himself primarily as a pitcher. That is why ASU's hiring of pitching coach Jason Kelly this offseason excited the lefty.
Prior to arriving at ASU, Kelly helped coach Washington to the College World Series in 2018. He was named Assistant Coach of the Year by d1baseball.com.
“I love him,” Tolman said. “He is a great coach. He is a guy who has a plan and sticks to it.”
Last season, ASU’s pitching staff was the team's weakest link. In the Baton Rouge Regional against Southern Mississippi, the Sun Devils blew a 10-2 lead and allowed seven runs in the final two innings of their season-ending defeat.
