Jubal Troop and the Curious Case of Kanye West

[starfox64]

JACKSON, WYOMING- Almost 20 years ago, infamous rapper Kanye West holed up in a ranch in a small alcove of Wyoming, in a town located between Whatsthatplacecalled and Youactuallyexist. He mixed his beats, laid down his Trump-infused bars, took a few pictures of some mountains in Jackson and then called it a day.

Jubal Troop was just seven years old when Ye, West's eighth studio album, was released, but he said he remembers the day like it just happened.

"Man, we were lining the streets," Troop said. "Pretty much all 10,000 of us, peering for a look at Kanye. Hell I'd never even heard one of his songs then -- mama didn't let me -- but I knew this was a special moment. Even at seven years old."

The Jackson native said seeing West drive down the main thoroughfare of town, arm extended out of his black-tinted windows with people hooting and hollering in the roads, filled him with an itching, burning desire to be famous. He wanted everyone to feel about one of their own in the same vein they did about West.

And so Troop, who stands 6'9" and towers over much of his major league competition today, decided to get to work. He was a mammoth for his age, measuring in at 5'2" as of his eighth birthday, if the tick mark on the family wall is to be trusted, and he used his size and his tremendous work ethic to develop the sizzling fastball the 24-year-old can zip by hitters today.

In that summer of 2018, the southpaw began an intense, self-motivated training regiment. Every summer morning he would run six miles along the bank of Flat Creek, the river that runs through town, until he reached the mouth of the river. Then he'd grab the weathered ball he'd hidden behind a marked rock and hurl it at a tree that had been stripped of its leaves until he hit the trunk 100 times. It was an arduous process, but Troop was relentless and didn't give himself a free pass, no matter if he got out early before lunchtime or didn't finish until the sun had nearly set in the valley.

"When you grow up somewhere that small, you want more than anything to be the one who makes a name not only for yourself, but for your community," Troop said. "The difference between me and everyone else is I'm willing to stop at nothing to make it happen."

Boy, is the 2028 first round pick making it happen this season.

Two years removed from a BBL JL Steve Nebraska Golden Arm Award-winning season at the ripe age of 22, in which the starter posted league-leading marks with 18 wins, 237 Ks and a 1.08 WHIP, Troop remarkably looks even better this year. Through 12 games, he has a 167 ERA+ to go along with a 1.10 WHIP and 2.1 WAR. The Blazers are paying him just $500,000.

But Troop isn't so concerned with the money. He'll take the fame first, and hopefully a second award-winning season.

"Funny enough, there's an old Kanye line that I really love, that inspires me, and it goes like, 'I’m gonna follow my heart and if you follow the charts or the plaques or the stacks, you ain’t gotta guess who’s back,'" Troop said. "I'm back, baby."

[RonCo]

Jubal Troop...pitching as an art.

[agrudez]

He should've traded that 6 mile run for some work on his changeup. Pitching better than I thought he would this year, though.

[scottsdale_joe]

Great story

[Lane]

excellent debut article

[RonCo]

excellent debut article

Technically, Ryan debuted with his announcement of intent.