FROM EVERYDAY SHORTSTOP TO NEWLEY MINTED RELIEVER: JOSH ERD’S JOURNEY THROUGH SILVER SPRING-TAKOMA
The Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts have a very good reputation in the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League, specifically at retaining players.
Josh Erd is a huge part of that effort.
Josh hails from Rockville, Maryland, and played his high school ball at Wootton. Former T-Bolts player turned pitching coach Ryan Mariani overlapped with Erd starting in sixth grade. When Mariani was a senior, he noticed Josh hanging around the high school club in eighth grade since Erd was the next man up for the Wootton Patriots.
After high school, Erd spent two years at Frederick Community College in the JUCO ranks.
He put together a great career, playing in 77 total games and posting a .346/.500/.510 slash line with three home runs, 38 RBIs, and 72 hits
“JUCO ball is the best,” Josh said when reflecting on his time with the Cougars. “I still talk to all of my JUCO teammates literally everyday, every single one of them. They’re brothers for life. It’s a true family and it’s really special.”
During that stretch of his career, Josh started his time with the T-Bolts in 2024 as a rising sophomore. “My buddy played for this team the year before and I didn’t have anywhere to go play summer ball after my freshman year. He hooked me up with [Head Coach] Brock [Hunter] and [Brock] welcomed me onto the team.”
His first summer in Silver Spring-Takoma, Erd played in 33 games and hit .250 with a .409 on base percentage and drove in 15 runs. He saw action at both middle infield spots, but 32 of his starts came at shortstop; one was at second.
The 2025 season rolled around, and Josh came back to the Bolts. His playing time was cut as he only appeared in 19 games, but he was still consistently doing what the team needed. He also saw a more even split of defensive reps with six games at third base and ten at shortstop.
Once he finished year two, Erd wrote the next chapter in his baseball story by leaving Frederick Community College. He made the jump to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) with East Stroudsburg University. In limited action, Josh hit .333 as he continued to stick on the dirt.
“They’re a really good baseball school and at that point Division Two was looking like my best option. My JUCO coach knew their head coach so he hooked me up with the East Stroudsburg coach. It looked like a good spot and I went there,” Josh said on his decision to go be a Warrior.
All of a sudden, a switch flipped for Erd in an effort to see the field more. He wanted to become a pitcher.
“I threw a bullpen and we went from there,” Josh said. “Then, I talked to Brock and Skip (T-Bolts Assistant Coach Max Eckert) on the phone and Mariani since he’s a pitching coach here. I sent them some video and they were like yeah, let’s do it. We’ve got a lot to work on.”
When Head Coach Brock Hunter was approached with the idea, it was unexpected but in a good way. “I was surprised when he told me, but when you think about it it makes sense. He’s always probably had the best arm on the left side of the infield in the League.”
As Erd is currently learning how to pitch in game situations, those coaches have been with him every step of the way. “They’ve been helping me so much and it’s a blessing that they’re here being able to do what they’re doing with us”.
So far this season, Josh has thrown six innings out of the bullpen with eight strikeouts. His best outing was on June 18 at home against the D.C. Grays where he fired two hitless innings with six punchouts.
Pitching Coach Dean Wandell called it a “huge step forward for him.” “He looked a lot better, a lot less robotic, a lot more synced up with everything.
“It can be tough sometimes,” he said about Erd’s transition process. “Moving from being an infielder to a pitcher, you automatically want to become more robotic when the reality is you have to maintain being an athlete. He’s a strong kid, [both mentally and physically], so I think he’s going to power through and figure it out.”
Ryan Mariani, who works alongside Wandell in the pitching department, said the experience is “awesome.” “[I’ve known] Erd for the last couple of years as a shortstop and since sixth grade and he’s never been on the mound. When he texted me this spring of him getting on the mound at school I was like ‘no way dude, let’s get it,’” he said when he found out Josh was going to pitch.
“He’s just one of those guys that wants the ball all the time whether he’s able to throw or not the next day he’s telling me ‘Hey I’m fresh,’ even though the pitch count rule is not letting us throw him. He’s a pleasure [to work with], he just gets after it everyday.”
When Josh isn’t on the field, he’s the director of vibes. It comes from his buzzed head, the smile on his face everyday, and the passion he has for the game and his teammates.
“He’s probably one of the best guys to have in the dugout,” Bolts second baseman Aydin Prell said. “He’s always cheering for the boys, getting out [to the field] early even when he doesn’t have to. He’s got that dog in him, he’s awesome.”
Utility man Nolan Kutney echoed many of the same sentiments as Prell. “He’s a huge energy guy, he loves to be out here. He’s probably the first one out here every single day. We usually show up for early work around three o’clock [in the afternoon], he’s here at two o’clock doing whatever he wants to do. I wish him the best through the season and also through his life because he’s just an absolutely great guy.”
Now that they share even more time together than before, reliever Michael Preske can attest to the player and person Josh is. “He works hard and he gets the job done any way and any how. He finds a way, I love him.”
Max Eckert, who has also spent a prolonged period of time with Erd, knows him well. Eckert said he brings “vibes and personality” to the team and “he’s just a good dude to be around. I’d love to spend seven to eight hours with him out on the baseball field anytime.”
Even coaches see the type of player and person Josh is. “He’s a great teammate,” Eckart said. “Someone that keeps things positive, willing to put in work for himself and his peers.”
In terms of the growth Erd has made on and off the field, Eckert said he’s “more or less the same person.” “He went from being a plus bat and glove to a guy trying to figure it out [on the mound]. Now he’s got a rocket arm, just trying to learn the mechanics and nuances of being a pitcher but he works hard so I have no doubt he’ll be there.”
Second baseman Matthew Kim, who spent the 2025 season at Frederick Community College with Josh, and is also in year three with the T-Bolts, knows him better than most. “As a baseball player, he’s the epitome of grit. His best strength is knowing how to simplify things mentally,” Kim said.
“As a person, you’ll never meet anyone who is more about service and others first than Josh Erd. He’s just the best guy out there, always looking out for others above himself.”
Since Erd keeps coming back to the Bolts to play summer baseball, what makes him so eager to return every year? The answer is mostly the “coaching staff, on and off the field,” Josh said.
“These guys are truly there for you. They know ball really well, they’ll help you with the mental side of the game, which is huge for a lot of people, and that’s an overlooked aspect. They do a lot of mental preparation with us and work with us really well on the mechanical and fundamental side of the game, too. And the brotherhood that we have here, it’s always so fun and special,” he said.
Now that he’s in his last year of eligibility to play in the Ripken League as a rising senior, he’s soaking it all in. “I’ll miss playing ball in this area and this staff, playing for these guys has been awesome. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had playing ball for sure.”
It’s safe to say Josh Erd has maximized his time as a T-Bolt. He’s created memories that will last forever, made a lasting impression on everyone involved with the team, and been the perfect embodiment of what it means to play for the Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts.