Joe La Sorsa 'a lot calmer' after eventful 2023 season with Nationals
Washington Nationals left-hander Joe La Sorsa is having a very interesting season for Triple-A Rochester.
La Sorsa has thrown 43.1 innings for the Red Wings in 2024 and is posting one of his lowest ERA and WHIPs in his minor league career. Coming off a year in which the New York native pitched in 25 games in the majors, something has clicked this season.
“I just have to keep doing what I am doing,” La Sorsa said of his 2024 success. “I like the fact that I am throwing a lot of strikes and that I was able to learn a couple of things from some veterans we had at the beginning of the season here. Richard Bleier was here and was helping me out a lot. I got close with him as a catch partner. I like how the season has been going but it is definitely more important to finish strong in the second half than doing well in the first half.”
The 2023 season was full of many firsts for La Sorsa, and he realizes that everything he went through last season was more than the average player experiences in any given season.
“It has made me a lot calmer and it has given me more years of experience jammed into one year,” La Sorsa said of last year. “I feel like I had a career worth of three years last year all in one. I was with multiple organizations, a MLB debut, and being on two different teams as a rookie in the MLB. It was definitely a lot. I matured a lot from that experience last season and had a lot of failures to come with it. It puts it into perspective in how the game works and realizing how minuscule you are in the grand scheme of baseball and how difficult it is to get to that level and stick. Hopefully in the years to come there are more opportunities to come. You just have to keep chugging along and stay healthy to do your job.”
The St. Johns alum has posted a 2.28 ERA and an impressive 0.969 WHIP this season for Rochester. He is getting it done in other ways than the strikeout, as he is limiting contact from both sides of the plate. Right-handers are hitting .207 off him this season and left-handers are hitting just .197. Hitters have not hit over .200 for a month since April.
What is clicking for La Sora in 2024?
“A lot of usage of pitches to right-handed hitters,” La Sorsa said. “I need to keep the same approach and throw strikes regardless, but the Nationals helped me with a plan on how to attack righties a little better this year. That plan was utilizing a four-seam cutter inside to them to go ahead or put them away. It also was shaping the breaking ball a little better to get a little more depth to miss more barrels. Also working on the command low in the zone is very important for me to work on so it has definitely been helping me.”
Even with top prospect James Wood up in the majors, the Nationals still have a loaded Triple-A roster in the second half. The talent on the team is helping push others to keep pace with those around them.
“It pushes all of us because a lot of guys here have said that this staff is the best they have ever been on before.” La Sorsa said. “There is a lot of talent and a lot of prospects performing very well and I think any one of us could get called up. I think the Nationals are in a very good spot right now with where they are at with their Triple-A team, and that includes the pitching. They are doing a really good job. It is also enjoyable to have guys around who were recently on the MLB team who knew what it was like up there and how the team was doing. It is nice to be around them and their aura because it always helps and gives us more motivation to keep fighting to get up there. It is nice to have those guys in the lineup knowing that they will definitely put up a lot of runs and not go silent too often each game.”
La Sorsa is keeping things simple for the second half of the season and keeping things in front of him as the season heads toward the fall.
“To be completely honest with you, it would be to just have a job,” La Sorsa said of what he was looking forward to in the second half. “I just want an opportunity to stay and play next year. The free agent market is very tough. Guys who are really good get released every single day. I have been told I should be thankful that I have a job. You really just need to put it into perspective. As badly as you want everything above you and to get there, I just want to keep having the jersey hanging in the locker and have an opportunity.”
