Long Offseason Will Soon Pay Off For Andy Archer
The 2019 edition of Georgia Tech Baseball was one of the more successful campaigns in recent memory. Finishing the season with a 43-19 record, it was a year that saw them capture the Coastal Division for the first time since 2011, reach the ACC Championship game, and secure their highest NCAA Tournament national seed since 2005.
Unfortunately for Andy Archer, it was a year he had to enjoy from the dugout.
Prior to the beginning of the season, the now redshirt junior right-hander was forced to undergo non-Tommy John elbow ligament surgery, sidelining him for all of 2019.
"It was brutal," Archer told reporters at GT's 2020 Preseason Media Day. "I had to watch the team have a really, really good year. It was good to support that, but I want to be out there and it sucked. There’s no way around it."
The road to recovery was not a short one for Archer. He spent the first eight months post-op just focusing purely on rehabbing, including participating in shoulder strengthening programs.
It was during this time that he sought out the likes of teammates Jonathan Hughes and Tristin English in order to get their perspective on his situation. Hughes underwent season-ending surgery towards the tail end of his freshman year, while English missed his entire sophomore year due to Tommy John surgery.
"It was kind of like a “student becomes the teacher” moment," he said.
Even when rehab was done, Archer still had work to do. Admittedly, it took him a while to get back into the swing of things as it pertains to pitching.
"I'll tell you, the first bullpen session I threw, I felt like I was naked throwing," he said. "When you take that much time off throwing, you kind of lose it. It's not just like riding a bike. Some people say that, but it's not really my experience with it."
But the coaching staff had a plan for him. He credits athletic trainer Paul Wolkoff to helping him get back to where he needed to be physically, and especially credits first year pitching coach Danny Borrell to correcting and improving his mechanics.
"[Coach Borrell]'s just a guru in terms of all things pitching. Whether that's spin rate, spin action or spin efficiency. We've been introduced to a lot of different mechanics and numbers and built pitcher-specific programs."
All this preparation and assistance from his teammates and coaches is starting to come to a head for Archer. Prior to his surgery, he weighed in at just 200 pounds. Not a lot for a guy who's listed at 6'4" on the roster. Now with opening day just a couple weeks away, he's firmly at 230.
The increase in muscle mass has also yielded on-field dividends. Once regularly in the 90-92 range with the occasional 93 mph heater, he's now added 2 miles per hour to his overall fastball repertoire. And he couldn't be any happier.
"I love throwing hard. I love it. It makes me just so happy to take the ball and throw it literally as hard as I freaking can."
As eager as he is to get back on the mound, he still is unsure as to what capacity that will be in. While he has not started a single game in his Georgia Tech career, the departure of Xzavion Curry, Conor Thomas and Amos Willingham has left the starting rotation almost completely up for grabs.
Archer himself does not have a preference as to how he is utilized by coach Danny Hall. He likes the concept of being able to make an impact on any given game as a reliever, and the idea of having a routine that comes with starting is something that intrigues him.
All he knows is that whenever his name is called, he will be locked in.
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