PORT ANGELES — In a testament to his utility, Port Angeles junior Colton McGuffey seemed to float around the lineup card for first-year manager Karl Myers.
McGuffey started at five positions in the field for the state-bound Roughriders (15-8) in 2017. He saw time at first base, shortstop, third base and center field and also was handed the ball as a starting pitcher, with some relief appearances on the mound also thrown in for good measure.
“The most impressive thing is just his poise and his versatility,” Myers said. “Whether it’s pitching in a big game as a starter or a reliever, hitting in the three hole, or whether he’s playing first base outfield or shortstop, he brings the right mindset and just has ice water in his veins.”
That poise and versatility help to define McGuffey as a player: talented across any number of metrics.
“He could play anywhere really,” Myers said. “His athleticism is so great, it’s not just geared toward one specific position.”
Witness his 2017 stats: as a pitcher McGuffey rolled up a 5-0 record and posted a stingy 1.60 ERA in 39.1 innings pitched. His walks and hits allowed per innings pitched (WHIP) was a low 1.3 and he struck out 41 batters.
At the plate, McGuffey hit .323 with a .417 on-base percentage, a .435 slugging percentage and a .853 on-base plus slugging percentage, a measure of the ability to get on base and hit for power. He had seven doubles, scored nine runs and drove in nine more.
He was a second-team All-Olympic League pick at two spots, pitcher and first base, in voting by league coaches.
McGuffey also has been picked as the All-Peninsula Baseball MVP by area coaches and the Peninsula Daily News sports staff.
McGuffey knows when he will start games on the mound, but wasn’t always sure where he’d find himself in the field from game to game.
“I come prepared with a mindset that doesn’t have so much to do with position but more on going out and working hard,” he said.
“The mindset is just showing up and working hard and focusing from there. If I’m told center field or first base, then that’s my focus.
“It’s not super hard, its mainly focusing and making sure you know the position and then going out and working from there.”
McGuffey didn’t see time behind the plate this year but was the starting catcher for 2016 All-Peninsula MVP Travis Paynter and All-Peninsula team members Curan Bradley and Janson Pederson last season.
“Catching, you are in control of the game,” McGuffey said. “I was calling pitches. As catcher you can get a good view of a hitters’ swing and timing, you can see some of their mechanics and you can use that knowledge to set up the next pitch.
“You learn strategy, how to outsmart the batter and how to develop a craftiness. I consider myself a crafty pitcher.”
So does his manager.
“He’s a true four-pitch pitcher. He throws fastball, slider, curveball and changeup and his breaking balls are true curves and sliders,” Myers said.
“He splits his fastball into a two-seam and a four-seam, so he’s got a true arsenal against both lefties and righties. He can get guys out in multiple ways and can truly attack with a number of different pitches and sequences. He’s not always a fastball first pitcher. He can go after a batter with his fastball and force them to be an aggressor, or he can pitch backwards and set guys up with a slider, a curve or even throw a change to keep them off-balance.”
Setting the tone
A right-hander, McGuffey said his pitches are all fairly close in skill level.
“I use each pitch to set up the other,” he said. “But fastball, sets the tone. The location of your fastball sets up your other pitches. The two-seamer has been very valuable. To a lefty I would throw it to the outside half of the plate so it tails away. For a righty, it jams them in their hands because the ball tails inside, so I get a lot of foul balls off the handle.”
McGuffey used his four-seamer to put batters away this year and collect strikeouts.
“I elevated a lot with two strikes to get guys to chase pitches up high,” he said. “It was valuable.”
And he also throws a 12-6 curve and a slider that McGuffey calls a slurve.
At the plate, McGuffey is a weapon hitting third.
“That three hole spot is someone who can do it all,” Myers said. “He’s one of our better bunters. If the time comes, even though he’s a three hitter he can drop one down. He can hit with two strikes, can put the ball in play, he has power to the gaps and when he gets ahold of a pitch he can do some damage. He can just plain hit.”
Myers pointed to two complete-game playoff outings as his favorite McGuffey-related moments of the season: a three-hit shutout in a 1-0 district win over White River and a six-hitter with nine strikeouts and one walk in a 4-1 win over Steilacoom.
McGuffey kept his eyes on the Rainshadow Rumble rivalry with Sequim for his favorite moment.
Port Angeles swept two games from the Wolves this year, the first a 10-7 thriller at Sequim.
In his lone rough outing of the season, McGuffey allowed four runs in the early going and was pulled from the mound.
But he shook it off and helped the Riders rally from a 5-1 deficit.
“I started that game and it didn’t go so well,” McGuffey said. “But I had a double down the left-field line to start our rally in the fifth inning. And we just kept getting the hits we needed and came back won it. And that was the win that really helped us believe in each other and gave us the kick-start we needed.”
And he’ll be back for another season in green and white, a thought that leaves his coach smiling.
“He’s got a high baseball IQ and he’s an extremely smart young man.
“From a disposition standout he always works hard and he remains humble. He the type of kid you are always pulling for and he’s fun and rewarding to coach.”
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
