VERO BEACH, Fla. -- When roommates at the Hank Aaron Invitational, Mason Sims and Jace Duckett were asked about their favorite memories together, and their responses summarized the friendship they have built together.
For Sims, it was one that came on a day that represented how much their baseball futures were beginning to take shape.
“My favorite was probably Area Codes last year … especially because it was August 1. All the [colleges] were reaching out,” Sims said. “We went out, did our thing and we both probably [received a] combined 50 calls each. It was really a blessing for us.”
One of Duckett’s favorites had nothing to do with baseball.
“We were playing [a] game and they asked me to try to take my left leg … and touch it with my hand,” Duckett said. “I kicked really hard and then I just fell. It was a funny moment, [Sims and I] were laughing about it all night.”
The 2027 class members have been roommates in MLB Develops events since first sharing a room at last year’s Breakthrough Series. Now, at their last Hank Aaron Invitational, Duckett and Sims’ friendship has become one of the many things that has made their time together at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex special.
Duckett, a Huntsville, Ala., native, is committed to play for the University of Alabama, while Sims, who is from Lake Elsinore, Calif., is committed to the University of Texas.
“So we’ll be seeing each other … next year,” Duckett said.
Their friendship started simple enough. For Duckett, sitting quietly in a hotel room with someone he barely knew would have been awkward, so the two started talking. They quickly found a commonality: Both are left-handed pitchers.
That shared identity has given them a natural way to help each other.
“[Sims] has a funky arm slot,” Duckett said. “Has a two-seam [that] he likes to throw a lot, like 90-92 [mph]. He has a good, good curveball [that] sometimes [will] have slider movement. He doesn’t throw changeups as much.”
When one of them struggles with a particular pitch, they can bring it up when they get back to their room and talk through the grips they use. If they have a bad outing, they also go over what is going on mentally or physically.
“Something I’ve shared with Mason is probably like a changeup grip,” Duckett said. “He just does kick-changes, which is just like a little bend in your middle finger on the two-seam part [of the ball]. But I told him to try just a regular changeup grip.”
Sims has returned the favor, encouraging Duckett to try a spike grip on his slider. It’s a grip Duckett still uses.
“[Duckett has a] projectable frame,” Sims said. “It gets up to 90-92 [mph] with a good change, curveball and a lot of control.”
Their relationship also comes with a competitive edge. Neither needs much motivation to push the other, but the competition remains positive and productive.
“We both know we’re good pitchers,” Sims said. “Both have a chance to be drafted next year and we make each other better.”
That dynamic has been encouraged by the environment around them at the Jackie Robinson Training Complex, where Sims said the coaching staff has helped create a culture that feels more like family than a traditional baseball setting.
“The coaches have fun with us,” Sims said. “They don’t make it too strict. … It almost feels like they’re sort of [an] uncle. It feels like they’re family [first, too].”
That bond showed again after Sunday’s game with Team Mays, when pitching coach and former MLB player Darren Oliver asked Duckett about Sims, later emphasizing the significance of having someone to go through these development experiences with.
“I know [Duckett] has helped him, I know he helped him try to get up this morning,” Oliver said jokingly. “It’s [just] important to have someone help you out when you are both young.”
Duckett describes his relationship with Sims as “goofy.” After two years as roommates, the two rarely take themselves too seriously, and their personalities have started to rub off on one another.
“Jace, he’s definitely interesting,” Sims said. “He got that little Bama to him, so I kind of started to pick up some stuff he says. Even though I’m from Cali, he’ll pick up some of my stuff. So it's just kind of the perfect friendship.
“We’ll walk to dinner at the same time. There’s never a time we’re not together,” Sims added.