Ashton Izzi is a pitcher with the Everett AquaSox, the High A team of the Seattle Mariners
Baseball Club. “AJ” Izzi was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in 2022 in the 4th round of
the Major League Baseball Draft, pick number 126. Over five starts for Everett this season,
Ashton sports a 2.60 ERA and has 21 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings. Last year, he made 26 starts
for Single-A Modesto en route to a 2.85 ERA and 7.7 K/9.
The young man, number 23 of the Everett AquaSox has gone through the week of a lifetime,
some would say an epic week. Seattle Sports Union was granted the opportunity to sit down
with the pride and joy of Oswego East High School, out of Oswego, Illinois.
SSU: Thank you so much Ashton Izzi for taking the time to talk with us from the Seattle Sports
Union. As a baseball fan, I am a huge fan of you and your game. We are truly grateful to have this moment to get to know you, to pick your brain. We know you are starting on the mound tomorrow night. Hope you don’t mind taking a few minutes to chat with us.
AI: No worries. I am glad to meet you guys and share with you (and the fans) some
special moments of my young career.
SSU: You were born in Omaha, Nebraska and moved to Illinois where you grew up. How old
were you when this all happened and when did you start playing baseball?
AI: Old enough for me not to remember, haha. But seriously, I was really young. As for when I
started to play baseball, I would say around the age of 6 or 7 years old.
SSU: What position did you play, or have you always been a pitcher?
AI: Growing up I played the outfield. When I started playing high school baseball, I became a
pitcher. I threw hard, which is one thing that the coaches liked, so I gave it a shot. I learned a
whole lot from my coaches, which led to my loving the position of pitcher even more. It was
really fun to go out there and throw strikes to my opponents. My enthusiasm for pitching grew
more and more which led to me being a full-time pitcher.
SSU: What was it like playing in the city of Oswego? How big was it? Do you have a favorite
moment from playing there?
AI: It was ok. What I mean was that I had a pretty boring high school baseball career. Our
school and city were pretty big. I came from a graduating class of about 1000 students. There
were just too many down moments, I guess. My senior year we were supposed to go pretty far
(our baseball team) and that didn’t happen. We did have another top pitcher who I played with
though, Noah Schultz (was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the first round of the MLB 2022
draft).
SSU: Ok, I was going to ask you about that, so I will now. What are your thoughts of playing
with Noah? Personally, I think you are the better pitcher but what do I know?
AI: He’s a great pitcher and an amazing friend. It’s pretty hard to be a 6 foot 8 (or 6’9”)
left-handed pitcher and do badly. He throws hard, has got good off-speed pitches and so far, he
has been a success. It’s great to see that and I will always be rooting for him (except when he
is pitching against us, of course.)
SSU: Ok, fair points, but you are still better in my eyes. Where were you during the MLB draft of
2022.
AI: I was just getting back from a bullpen session with my coaches. Later on during the day, I
got a phone call from my agent who informed me of the great news. I celebrated the joyous
occasion with my family and friends.
SSU: Ok, so in 2023, you played in the Arizona league. In 2024, you played with Modesto in
low A baseball. IMO, you had one heck of a year. You threw 110 innings, was that the most
ever innings you have thrown in one season? Please share your Modesto experience.
AI: First of all, playing with Zach Vincej is the greatest experience to be a part of and we won the
Championship. Zach has great clubhouse energy, and he really keeps us all in check, besides
being a great human being. When he was promoted to Everett in the offseason and I found out
I would be playing for him again, I was ecstatic.
Throwing 110 innings was the most I have ever thrown and thanks for the nice words. It was a
special season that ended with us winning it all. It is a season that nobody will ever forget.
SSU: I can’t continue on with this interview until I ask you about the “Immaculate inning” that
you threw last year. (An “immaculate inning” in baseball is a rare feat where a pitcher
strikes out all three batters in an inning using only nine pitches. This means
that every batter is struck out on three pitches, with no balls thrown in the
inning. It highlights a pitcher’s ability to consistently throw strikes and
dominate an inning.) Tell us about that incredible achievement.
AI: I would love to talk about that moment. It was against Fresno during the summer of 2024. It
was so awesome, something that not many pitchers think they will ever achieve during their
careers. I didn’t realize until the third batter of the inning how close I was in accomplishing this
achievement. I just told myself “Don’t mess it up!” and I didn’t. Coming into the dugout after that miraculous moment I was so fired up. The entire bench got fired up with me, so cool.
SSU: How many pitches do you throw?
AI: I throw 5 pitches. We have the 4-seam fastball, 2–seam fastball, a sweeper, changeup and
the “Gyro” (the Gyro spins around a central axis, resulting in a minimal amount of
break or movement.) My out pitch (when the batter is behind in the count) is usually the
sweeper or the 4-seam fastball.
SSU: We don’t want to take up too much of your time, but a few more questions and we will
wrap it up. The podcasters in the Seattle area “love you” including of course the Seattle Sports
Union. One in particular, Jason Churchill of “Baseball Things” talks about the 2022 MLB draft
for the Seattle Mariners. There are a bunch of great names taken by Seattle that year including
Cole Young (former Frog) and Ashton Izzi. You were picked between the picks of Walter Ford
and Reid VanScoter, both friends of the Seattle Sports Union. Jason calls you the “value pick”
of the 2022 Seattle Mariners draft. What are your thoughts on hearing that? To me, that is great
praise from someone who knows what he is talking about.
AI: I would say I agree with what he said. Those are nice words to hear and what he said was
and is correct. Coming out of high school and being drafted by Seattle I was like “super, and if
that works out, that would be awesome man”. After I got on with Seattle and gained some
weight and went through what happened last season (2024) it was like “it’s all coming around”
and right then I knew and felt like a value pick.
SSU: Oh boy, we love hearing what you said and the excitement for your future continues to
grow. We have mad respect for you Ashton. In 20 years, when your career is winding down,
where do you see yourself and why?
AI: Hopefully living happily ever after on a farm somewhere because I love the country style and
I love the trucks that they drive on a farm.
SSU: Favorite sports movie of all time and why. We truly appreciate you AJ and so do the fans.
AI: Thank you, and thank you for talking to me this evening. I had fun. Remember the Titans is
my favorite because of how emotional and awesome it truly was. Thanks again.
Ashton Izzi went on to pitch the next night against the Spokane Indians, though it wasn’t his
strongest performance of the young season, he battled all night long and to me he came out an
even better major league pitcher because of the experience and the team came back to win 9-8
in extra innings. The future is bright for this 21-year-old young man.
Oh yeah, did I mention that he proposed to his girlfriend Charlotte after the game (on the field in front of their dugout with all the team around him). She said yes! Congratulations young man!
What a week it was and we can’t wait to see what the future holds. The Everett AquaSox family
is truly grateful and blessed to be a part of your ride. One day, Seattle Mariners, but for now, we
will enjoy the rest of our summer watching you dominate out on the mound.
Go Frogs!
Brian Solack
Seattle Sports Union
