Apparently Jacob Wosinski’s glove is OK now after Kernels pitcher was once told it was too light

CEDAR RAPIDS — By the way, Jacob Wosinski is still using the same glove he has all baseball season. Don’t tell anyone.

It was last month when a Midwest League umpire told the Cedar Rapids Kernels pitcher as he was warming up for a relief outing that he had to change his mitt. His, a lighter shade of tan, was too close to the color of a baseball, the ump ruled, and therefore not allowed.

Never mind that Wosinski had been using it prior without any objections. He hasn’t had any objections since that game, either.

Then there was a game earlier this month in which he went out to get ready to throw an inning and was sent right back to the dugout. He’d been sprayed with Bug Soother because (as everyone around here knows) gnats have been plentiful this summer, and apparently was still wet.

This was a different umpire, from a different crew. Still, these guys apparently are out to get him.

“I guess so,” Wosinski said with a smile. “I don’t know what’s going on.”

He threw an inning and a third of scoreless relief Sunday, one of the few highlights in C.R.’s 9-2 loss to Peoria at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The 6-foot-8 right-hander has had a pretty solid first full season in the Minnesota Twins organization.

Wosinski is one of six players on the current Kernels roster who the Twins signed to contracts out of independent baseball. He’s one of three former indy ball pitchers on the club, joining Kyle Bischoff and Ricardo Velez.

In fact, he and Bischoff signed a week apart late last May out of the United Shore Professional Baseball League in Michigan.

“We actually pitched against each other on the opening night of the season last year,” Wosinski said. “I got signed right after that, and a week later, he signed. He’s still kind of mad at me that I got signed before him, but that’s all right.”

Wosinski, 25, has five saves and a 3.75 earned run average in 20 appearances. Thirteen of the 15 earned runs he has allowed this season came in just three outings, one of which was a spot start.

He has allowed fewer hits than innings pitched and averages over a strikeout per inning.

His height certainly helps, with the ball appearing to come down at a hitter. He employs a two-seam fastball, cutter and changeup.

“I’d definitely like to throw more strikes and get ahead in more counts,” Wosinski said. “I feel like I’ve fallen behind, and then I’ve just got to throw it over the plate and hope they hit it to somebody.”

“He’s been pretty solid for the last six weeks or so,” Kernels Manager Brian Dinkelman said. “Made a couple of spot starts for us and has been pretty good. He’s got those long arms and legs, he’s got some sink, has done a nice job for us.”

Wosinki began his collegiate baseball career at Grand Rapids Community College, transferred to the University of Toledo, had to undergo Tommy John elbow surgery, came back from that and pitched at Oakland University in Michigan.

A Grand Rapids, Mich., resident, he went to a ton of West Michigan Whitecaps games in the Midwest League growing up. Wosinski got to pitch back in his home state recently when the Kernels were on a two-week road trip to Great Lakes and Lansing.

“Honestly, this is still pretty surreal,” he said. “I go out there and pitch in from of thousands of fans, and I’m blown away every time. Obviously when you’re in indy ball, you’re thinking ‘Am I ever going to sign affiliated or just play indy ball for a couple of years, and that’s my career?’ I’m beyond thankful that I got an opportunity, and I’m definitely going to make the most of it.”

The Kernels were held to just a pair of hits in this game, and that included a leadoff triple by Rayne Doncon that could have been caught at 407-foot sign in center field. Cedar Rapids won three of the five games in the series, including two of three over the weekend that signified the beginning of the second half of the season.

Beloit comes to town for six games beginning Tuesday night.

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