Former prep star hurts elbow

     By Todd Dewey
     View staff writer
      Mike Esposito was everything Arizona State University hoped he would be when the perennial baseball power gave the former Cimarron-Memorial High standout a scholarship.
      The freshman right-hander blew away his coaches, teammates and opposing hitters with a fastball that's been clocked at 96 mph and emerged as the ace for the Sun Devils prior to their season opener.
      Esposito, who went 18-3 with a 1.39 ERA and 227 strikeouts over his last two seasons with the Spartans, picked up a win against the University of Utah on opening day and fanned 14 batters in his first nine innings.
      The adjustment to college ball could not have gone smoother for Esposito, who earned all-state honors his last two years of high school and was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the fifth round of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft last summer.
      But all it took was one pitch to change all that.
      On Jan. 28, in just his second start of the season, Esposito felt a sharp pain in his elbow as he tossed a curveball to the plate.
      "Right when I threw it, it felt like someone stuck a sword through my elbow," Esposito said.
      It would be the last pitch of the year for Esposito, who underwent season-ending "Tommy John surgery" on March 30 to repair a torn ligament in his elbow.
      "The only thing I'm upset about is I can't help the team this year on the field," he said. "So I'll try to support my teammates off the field and do what I can."
      Despite the surgery, which calls for 12 to 18 months of rehabilitation, Esposito is confident he can regain the form that made him one of the most feared prep hurlers in the country last year.
      Dr. James Andrews, who performed the surgery not only on Esposito, but on noted pitchers such as John Smoltz, David Wells and Kerry Wood, told Esposito there's a good chance he can return to the mound.
      "He said it's never (a) 100 percent (guarantee) on recovery, but most of the time guys do come back," Esposito said. "He said 80 to 90 percent of guys come back throwing. I definitely have a shot to get back to where I was or better. My main concern is getting my arm back where it was before the surgery, if not stronger."
      While Esposito would've been financially compensated had he opted to sign with the Reds last summer, he refused to look back.
      "I have no regrets at all," he said. "Everything down here has been better than I imagined. I'm really happy with the situation I'm in now even though this happened. I just figured it's a little speed bump in the road, and hopefully I can turn it into a positive. Mentally, it will be one of the biggest things I face my entire life."
      Arizona State baseball coach Pat Murphy, Baseball America's reigning national Coach of the Year, is confident Esposito can come back strong.
      "There's no reason to believe he won't be back as our No. 1 guy," Murphy said. "Three pitchers in last year's draft that were taken in the first 38 picks came off Tommy John surgery."
      Tommy John was a 27-year major-league pitcher who saved his career with the then-experimental surgery. John earned more than half of his 288 wins after undergoing the surgery.
      Esposito started to rehab his arm the day after his surgery.
      "The biggest thing is getting in the weight room and getting my body back into competing shape and getting stronger physically," he said. "We do a lot of manual resistance, and a lot of it's done through the trainer. We're not using a lot of free weights."
      Esposito's arm is in a brace for the first six weeks after the surgery. The following eight weeks of work are designed to strengthen the shoulder and forearm. Following that, Esposito will embark on a throwing program, culminating in throwing on the mound and in the bullpen until he's ready to face opponents again.
      Esposito estimated he'll work out up to three hours a day in an attempt to get back on the hill.
      "They're not going to try to rush me back," he said. "If I pitch next year, great. If I don't, that's fine. I think they want what's best for me, and they're willing to do whatever it takes."
      Before Esposito's ill-fated pitch, the third-ranked Sun Devils (33-9) had built their staff around him.
      "He was going to be an intricate part of our pitching staff," Murphy said. "For the first two weeks of the season, he was our No. 1 Friday night starter. We really felt he would be a freshman All-American. Now everything is put on hold for a year. The most important thing is for Mike to get better physically and mentally. Once he's recovered, we'll take it slow."
      One positive Esposito can take from this season is that he got a chance to prove himself before the injury.
      "I expected to start, but I didn't expect to throw the first game," Esposito said. "It meant a lot to know the coach had confidence in me that I could do the job as well as anyone on the team. I just wanted to help the team win no matter what role I was put into."
      For the record, Esposito scattered four hits in five innings, gave up two runs, struck out seven and walked three in winning the season opener. He finished the year with a 1-0 record and a 5.00 ERA and gave up eight hits and five earned runs in nine innings with six walks and 14 strikeouts.
      "His first night on the mound, he was very sharp," Murphy said. "A week later, he wasn't as sharp, but he showed poise beyond his years."
      Despite suffering a career-threatening injury, the 18-year-old Esposito continues to show plenty of poise.