Biggest hitting surprises in the Minors (so far)
By Sam Dykstra
David Rohm was coming off the bench in last year’s Carolina League playoffs but is now producing in bunches. (Ken Inness/MiLB.com)
We’ll be the first to admit it. We entered the year with some expectations for certain players based on their histories and other things you can read in a scouting report. But now that we’re about a month into the season, it’s fun to look through the stat sheets and see who is off to a better start than most of us could have imagined. So with the caveat that there is plenty of season left and that we’re only looking at these players through the lens of the first 30-plus games, here’s who we think has been the most surprising with the bats at this early juncture.
International League: Josh Thole, catcher, Buffalo – The 27-year-old didn’t do much damage with the Mets last season (.234/.294/.290, one homer, 21 RBIs in 104 games). After being sent to the Blue Jays organization in the R.A. Dickey deal and losing out on his new team’s backup catcher job this spring, he’s found a bit of a resurgence with the bat in the early going with Buffalo. His .420 OBP ranks third in the IL while his .940 OPS is ninth. His four homers in 27 games already represent his highest total since 2008 when he went deep five times for Class A Advanced St. Lucie. Even with the demotion, no one expected Thole to thrive quite like this with the bat.
Pacific Coast League: Dean Anna, second baseman, Tucson – A lot of 26th-round picks don’t even make it as far as Triple-A, but the Tucson second baseman is thriving in his debut at the Minors highest level. His 14 doubles in 37 games almost match his 129-game total of 16 from last season at Double-A San Antonio while his five home runs are half the 10 he blasted last year over a much smaller span. If he were to continue at his current rate, Anna’s .321 average and .537 slugging percentage would be 41 and 97 points higher respectively than his career highs entering the season. (more…)
Notable Quotables: Puello’s power is on the rise
By Ashley Marshall
Last week, New York Mets prospect Cesar Puello checked off another “first” in his young career by homering twice in the same game for Binghamton.
The 22-year-old Puello told me that his approach in the box is the same in every game and in every at-bat, regardless of the situation. He said he’s always sitting on the fastball and he indicated that he’s working harder on using the whole field.
I also spoke with B-Mets manager Pedro Lopez, who praised the young hitters abilities and work ethic. I asked him whether he thought he was ready for a bigger role higher up in the lineup (Puello had spent a lot of time batting sixth and seventh). Here’s what Lopez had to say.
On the progress Puello has made:
I will tell you what — watching him last night hit a home run and coming down and hitting two more tonight, I’m really pleased with the effort that he has put in up to this point. He has been working hard and shrinking the strike zone, and he got good pitches to hit and got his foot down.
On the type of hitter Puello is:
He is a gap-to-gap hitter with power, but we don’t know how much power yet because that is the last thing to show. I’m just glad that he hit the home runs that he has hit in this series so he knows the power is there. Young kids do not trust the process all the time, and they want the results right away.
On Puello’s power, which he graded a 70 (on the 20-80 scale):
Right now, he’s concentrating on getting good at-bats and getting good pitches to hit. When he does, he doesn’t miss them.
Seeing him take batting practice, he can hit the balls as far as anybody in the game right now. But that is not what we are looking for from him, we’re looking for him to get good pitches to hit. He’s still being aggressive in the strike zone, but when he does get good pitches, he’s able to not miss them.
On giving Puello a bigger role:
That has been in my thoughts, but I’m trying to get him to feel comfortable. I don’t want to put too much pressure on him. For a young kid, when you move them up [in the lineup], they feel like they have to do something. We’re trying to show them that they have to wait for the game to come to them. Eventually, if he keeps doing what he is doing, that will happen. Keep things the way they are right now and make him feel comfortable. [Moving up] will be the next step.
On Puello’s work ethic and overall tools:
The way he goes about his business is as good as anybody in the game right now. He is focusing on becoming a complete player. It shows in his defense and his power shagging. It shows in him taking good routes and hitting the cut-off man and his daily routine in the cage. He’s doing everything in his power to become a good player. For a 22-year-old to have that work ethic, it is good to see.
Notable Quotables: Braves’ Graham making adjustments
By Ashley Marshall
Braves top prospect J.R. Graham exited his start on Monday after feeling some discomfort in his shoulder between innings.
He was optimistic that tests the following day would provide a clean bill of health, but on Wednesday he was placed him on the disabled list.
When I spoke with Graham about his injury immediately after the game, he voiced his disappointment at having to come out. He said he was making progress in several different aspects of his game and felt like he had been able to fix a couple minor flaws in his mechanics.
Here are some quotes from Graham that did not make it into the original story.
On making adjustments:
“I felt like I was pitching well. These past couple of games, I’ve been working hard with different pitch grips and pitching from the other side of the rubber.
“I’ve been working on some stuff in my bullpens, so it was nice to get back out on the field. I’ve been locating my pitches well and I’ve been throwing my breaking ball.”
On changing his position on the mound:
“I talked about it with pitching coach Dennis Lewallyn and I talked to [pitching coordinator] Dave Wallace and I pulled out information from Don Sutton. We talked about it and decided to pitch from that [third base] side to give the hitters a different angle and make it more uncomfortable.
“But I wasn’t locating the fastball from that side of the rubber, so I made the change to go back to the other side which worked well last year and at the beginning of this season.”
On following in the footsteps of teammate Alex Wood, who recently added a spike curveball to his repertoire:
“My changeup felt really good this year and it’s coming along. I’ve worked on my breaking ball and I’ve got more depth off of it. When I get hitters 0-2 or 1-2, I’m trying to put them away with the breaking ball.
“I’ve been trying to find a grip that works for me on a more consistent basis in any count.
“I’ve been using a spike curveball from talking with [Tim] Hudson and [Craig] Kimbrel and [Jonny] Venters. Just picking their brains on some minor stuff in big league camp and they have had successes with it. If they can, why can’t I? It gives me the location and movement I want.
“Alex Wood told me he thought it would be a good pitch for me. I was hesitant, but I bought into it and called Don Sutton and he gave me some information. He said to spin it as fast as you can, not just throw it as hard as you can — as many rotations as possible before it gets to the plate.
“There’s not much a difference [in the grip]. I just lifted my pointer finger and put more pressure on my middle finger. If you don’t get on top of it, it will slip out or go over the catcher’s head.”
Notable Quotables: Juneau the way to the big leagues?
By Jake Seiner
Interviewing for game stories can be a fun process. The thousands of players and coaches spread across the Minor Leagues supply a never-ending chain of unique perspectives on the national pastime. The game story isn’t always the best place for block quotes and expanded thoughts, so once a week, I’m hoping to come here with a look back at some of the more interesting conversations I stumble upon with Minor League players and coaches. Here’s a look back at some quotes from the past week that I hope you’ll find of interest.
Lake County’s Dylan Baker on getting discovered coming from Juneau, Alaska (Baker pitches six one-hit innings):
“In Alaska, there weren’t a lot of scouts. I never talked to one or saw one my whole high school career. Then my parents, they helped me out by getting me to play summer ball in Seattle. They know I love baseball, so they wanted to help me. I played in Seattle, and that got me a couple of looks for college, like one or two colleges. I didn’t get recognized much. I went to Tacoma [Community College], and that wasn’t my favorite. It didn’t work out.
Dylan Baker has a 3.09 ERA for Lake County. (Lianna Holub/MiLB.com)
“I contacted my old summer ball coach [Don Moe], and he called up Western Nevada [College] and called me back and said I could go there. I went there and pitched there, and the head coach [D.J. Whittemore] took me in and worked with me every day. I started throwing harder and everything. That really helped me with everything — then scouts started coming. I had never seen a scout at a game before, and I just focused and played hard and did everything I could to get better.
“In high school, I probably threw maybe 83-86 [mph]. My freshman year of college, I think I topped out at 87. Then I went to Western Nevada and, with the workout program, I put on 15-20 pounds and worked with our pitching coach ever day to get my mechanics better and throw better. After winter break, I started throwing 95 and realized I could throw hard.
“I mean, I had wanted to get drafted after my freshman year of college, but, I mean, I was tall, skinny and lanky and nothing really clicked for me, I guess. Then I went to Western Nevada, and I gained some pounds and started long tossing. That was a big thing, I think. My arm was getting stronger, getting more whip on it, throwing harder and scouts started coming and people were talking.”
Palm Beach’s Stephen Piscotty on snapping out of his recent slump (Piscotty breaks out, homers twice):
“I went into B.P. and just started taking pitches, not swinging. I felt my timing was off, and I wasn’t getting ready soon enough. In B.P., I was really focusing on getting my foot down and getting in a good position to hit and not focusing so much on my mechanics. Once I got that base under me, I was able to get that swing path back and go from there. I was able to take that approach from B.P. into the game. I’m taking a few more pitches. Sometimes I can be way too aggressive and swing at too many pitches in a game. That patience paid off.”
Piscotty on learning to battle through slumps:
“I’ve done it my whole career. It’s not too different in pro ball versus college or summer ball. It’s baseball. The game stays the same. In pro ball, I got off to a bit of a slow start [last year], hitting below .300 in Low-A for a while, and I battled my way out of that. I’ve been through stuff and been frustrated before. I learn something new every time to help minimize the slumps. You want to minimize and get out of them as soon as you can. That’s one of the more important things in being a consistent ball player.”
Colorado Springs Sky Sox Matt McBride on transitioning back to catcher (McBride homers twice for Sky Sox):
“I’m training a lot. The Rockies have great catching coaches that have been able to help me and a lot of great catchers. I’m learning what I can from those guys. Each day, when I’m back there, I’m trying to get a little better each day. I’m trying to get to know the pitchers as well as I can. That’s all I can do. Leave it on the field and try to have fun, but at the same time, try to pick up something new that might help.
“We have a bunch of great players in our organization in the outfield and first base, so getting near the end of Spring Training, I was just sort of thinking hopefully I might be catching more just because there are so many good players on the roster, it’s hard to find a spot. When they told me at the end of Spring Training to focus on catching, they asked and I was really excited about it. It’s something I haven’t done full-time in a while, but I was excited about it. I think it’s a good opportunity.”
Catching up with Under-the-Radar prospects
By Robert Emrich
At the start of the season, the staff at MiLB put together their preseason picks for prospects in each Minor League full-season league who were considered under-the-radar. Any player not in a MLB organization’s top 10 prospects according to MLB.com was eligible. One month into the season, it’s time to see where those picks stand.
Alex Colome, Durham Bulls: Colome has been as good as advertised (or unadvertised depending on your view) for the Bulls. Though the 24-year-old right-hander was just 1-3 in April, he leads the club with a 2.28 ERA through the season’s first month and limited International League hitters to a .200 average. On April 11 he picked up his first Triple-A win with six scoreless innings and took the Triple-A lead with his double-digit strikeout performance Monday vs. Lehigh Valley.
Alex Colome won his first Triple-A game on April 12 for Durham. (Al Drago/Durham Herald-Sun)
Chase Anderson, Reno Aces: Anderson has struggled in his first trip through the Pacific Coast League. He allowed 24 runs — 19 earned — in five April starts, and though he fanned 23 batters, he’s also yielded 35 hits, including four homers, in 27 1/3 innings.
Nik Turley, Trenton Thunder: Turley’s first two Eastern League starts did not go well (he allowed nine earned runs combined), but the California native showed signs of turning it around. Over his last three starts in April, he allowed six earned runs while notching a pair of wins for the Thunder.
Stefen Romero, Tacoma Rainiers: Romero skipped right over Double-A after a five-game stint in Class A Advanced High Desert. He hit in eight of the nine games he’s played in the season’s first month with the Tacoma Rainiers and batted .324 with five extra-base hits through that time frame.
Domingo Santana, Corpus Christi Hooks: Though his average sat at .241 in April, Santana showed the power that put him on this list, going deep three times and smacking five doubles in 16 Texas League games. He also posted a healthy .343 on-base percentage and stole three bases.
Clayton Blackburn, San Jose Giants: Blackburn is another player that has been as good as advertised early on, going 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA in five California League starts through the end of April. He racked up 33 strikeouts in 28 innings while allowing just 25 baserunners.
Keury De La Cruz, Salem Red Sox: The 21-year-old outfielder had an uneven first month, batting .256 while posting a .706 OPS for the Red Sox. He did drive in 19 runs in 22 games and stole five bases.
Steven Moya, Lakeland Flying Tigers: Moya played five games before succumbing to an arm injury. He has not played a game since April 9 and was batting .238 at the time of the injury.
Dan Vogelbach, Kane County Cougars: Vogelbach began to heat up as the season’s first month came to a conclusion, going yard in each of the final three games of April. He finished the month batting .315 with five homers and 14 RBIs in 22 games for the Cougars.
C.J. Edwards, Hickory Crawdads: Edwards has been just about lights out early on, holding South Atlantic League hitters to a .176 average in April and not allowing a homer this season. He was also 1-1 while compiling a 1.93 ERA for the Crawdads.
Minoring in Twitter: Surviving rainouts
Marlins top offensive prospect Christian Yelich became instant friends with Jake Marisnick this winter following a trade between Toronto and Miami. Fast-forward to May and the duo is having dinner dates:
Family dinner with @jtrealmuto and @jsmarisnick. Jake claims to be a good cook, I’m not buying it
— Christian Yelich (@ChristianYelich) May 7, 2013
Jeremy Barfield caught our attention last week with his bizarre Tweet about having to use the bathroom while on the field, and he didn’t disappoint this time around. Barfield, who was promoted from Double-A Midland to Triple-A Sacramento, provides a look into how professional ballplayers (this one being D’Arby Myers) catch up on sleep during road trips:
So @homerundarby just tried to sleep in the overhead compartment. #DarbyBeingDarby twitter.com/Baseclogger/st…
— Jeremy Barfield (@Baseclogger) May 4, 2013
Yankees reliever Pat Venditte spent last season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, a town/region now well-known as the setting for NBC’s The Office. While the RailRiders recently hosted a farewell party with the show’s cast, Venditte is still having trouble letting go:
Not looking forward to next Thursday. Gonna be tough to say goodbye to Dwight. #theoffice
— Pat Venditte (@PatVenditte) May 10, 2013
Harrisburg’s Paul Demny dominated for eight innings and Ian Krol tossed a perfect ninth as Double-A Harrisburg no-hit Binghamton, 6-1, on Thursday. The Senators’ Jimmy VanOstrand came through with clubhouse celebration:
That…was….awesome!!!! Demny and @iankroltkb with the No-No #gotheem twitter.com/Dr_VanOstrand/…
— Jimmy VanOstrand (@Dr_VanOstrand) May 10, 2013
Pawtucket’s Jackie Bradley Jr. is back in the Minors after some time at Fenway Park in April. He’s seems more worried about the end of the world than the end of his career though:
Watching “Forecasting the End” on the Weather Channel and it has me hooked. I’m very intrigued in the natural disaster stuff.
— Jackie Bradley Jr. (@JackieBradleyJr) May 10, 2013
Cody Decker is back with his own end of the world — or end-of-Cody-Decker — scenario. It’s more along the lines of the Discovery Channel than the Weather Channel, though:
Bucket List Addition #4264:Arm wrestle a grizzly bear…..(SIDE NOTE: Might have to be the last thing on this list that I do)
— Cody Decker (@Decker6) May 9, 2013
Speaking of the weather, Jupiter’s Justin Nicolino is learning about the storms that seem to hit Florida at least once a day:
Haven’t seen this in a while. It’s sunny out but it’s raining and we have a rain delay! #floridastateleague #weird twitter.com/J_Nicolino22/s…
— Justin Nicolino (@J_Nicolino22) May 9, 2013
Decker, assuming he goes shopping instead of fighting a bear, also had a complaint:
Bed, Bath, and Beyond does NOT sell beyonds……#falseadvertisement
— Cody Decker (@Decker6) May 9, 2013
Brandon Workman may be one of the Red Sox’s top prospects, but when it rains, he’s just like you and me: stuck watching reality TV and playing on his phone:
Rainout is making for a boring night in a hotel room
— Brandon Workman (@b_workman12) May 9, 2013
James Beresford had a better idea to waste time after a rainout: cheesecake.
Cheesecake Factory/ Ironman 3 date with the boys. @danrohlfing @bjhermsen12 @ldarnell15 @brucepugh55 #rainout #dishhhhhh
— James Beresford (@JamesBeresford2) May 9, 2013
Noticing a trend here, Adam Pettersen shows how the Rock Cats keep busy during stormy weather:
The rain couldn’t stop @bjhermsen12, @ldarnell15 and @meyer17a from getting better today. twitter.com/apettersen1/st…
— AJ Pettersen (@apettersen1) May 9, 2013
And finally, West Virginia’s Ryan Hafner cheers us back up with some sunny skies and green grass:
Couldn’t ask for a better place of work #milblife #fortheloveofthegame instagram.com/p/ZGkg7ZGUNt/
— Ryan Hafner (@RHafner8610) May 9, 2013
Chipotle Tweet of the Week
Akron’s Tyler Holt took a bus trip to Reading last week and, evidently, there’s a lack of Chipotle in the home of the Fightins:
Welcome to moes…. Obviously there isnt a chipotle close to the hotel in reading or id be there. #justsaying
— Tyler Holt (@ItsTHoltBaby) May 9, 2013
Faith-based analysis: Why to restore the faith in Zack Wheeler
Zack Wheeler ranks second in the PCL with 40 strikeouts. (Steve Spatafore/51s)
By Sam Dykstra/MiLB.com
Long-suffering Mets fans far and wide have been waiting for their chance to see Zack Wheeler make his Major League debut, ever since the 6-foot-4 right-hander came to the organization from San Francisco in the 2011 trade deadline deal that sent Carlos Beltran the other way.
After the team’s No. 2 prospect posted a 3.27 ERA in six starts at the Triple-A level in 2012, it was assumed he’d move up to the Majors at some point this season, perhaps sooner than later. But it would all come down to his performance in Las Vegas, the Mets reiterated, as the team was not about to call up their top pitching prospect only to see him wallow and lose precious development time.
Unfortunately for both sides, Wheeler stumbled in his first few outings in the Pacific Coast League. But given his recent performance, it might be time to start thinking once again about Wheeler making the trek to Flushing.
We’ll start with the struggles. Through April 25, the right-hander was 0-1 with 5.79 ERA over his first five starts with the 51s. The biggest troubles stemmed from a relative lack of control. He had walked 15 through 23 1/3 innings over that span, including a six-walk start on April 19, all the while giving up 15 earned runs on 26 hits.
Then came the reasoning behind the struggles. Reports emerged that the 22-year-old had developed — and played through — a blister on the middle finger of his throwing hand. The malady had kept him from throwing his slider and had affected other parts of his game as well. It was believed by the hurler and others that the injury came as a result of throwing in the arid climes of Southern Nevada.
Whatever the case may be, the Pacific Coast League had not been kind to Wheeler in his first weeks in the circuit.
In his last two starts, however, it looks like things have begun to change for the better.
Wheeler — MLB.com’s No. 8 prospect — allowed just one run on five hits and struck out eight in a season-high 6 2/3 innings against Sacramento to earn his first win this season on April 30. He followed that up with his first scoreless outing of the year — six innings of three-hit ball to go with four strikeouts. Most importantly, the hard-throwing right-hander walked just one apiece in each of those gems.
Those two starts allowed Wheeler’s stats to better reflect his potential on the mound. His ERA dropped from 5.79 to an even 4.00 while his walk rate plummeted from 5.8 walks per nine innings to 4.2. (He walked batters at a rate of 3.6 between Buffalo and Double-A Binghamton last season.) His 40 strikeouts ranked tied for second in the PCL, as of late Tuesday.
This isn’t the first time he’s bounced back after a rough introduction to the Triple-A level. As my colleague Jonathan Raymond pointed out, Wheeler did not perform well in his first four starts last year in the International League, going 0-2 with a 4.71 ERA before finishing 2-2 with a 3.27 mark following two stellar starts to close out the year.
“It usually happens every year. There’s a little bit of a slow start, you start making tweaks and adjustments and find it,” Wheeler told Raymond. “I just want to carry it from here. It’s baseball, you know. You gotta make those adjustments and just pitch.”
Among those adjustments were some mechanical shifts that seem to have worked out the kinks from those early performances.
“I was lifting my leg and rotating my shoulders and when we looked at the video, we realized I was rotating too much instead of keeping my shoulders square to the plate,” Wheeler told MiLB.com’s Danny Wild.
Let’s not forget either that, no matter how fast some expected Wheeler to make the biggest jump in baseball, there is plenty of precedent for top prospects going down the same road he is on now. Shelby Miller, 4-2 with a 1.96 ERA for the St. Louis Cardinals this season, began last season 4-8 with a 6.17 ERA for Triple-A Memphis. He was 7-2 with a 2.88 ERA from July 14 to the end of the season.
Wheeler’s former and future teammate, Matt Harvey, the Mets’ ace who has wowed the nation with a 1.28 ERA and 58 strikeouts through seven starts this year, didn’t jump out to a great start in his Triple-A debut. His ERA didn’t fall below 4.00 — Wheeler’s current mark — until May 29, despite posting a 5-1 record for Buffalo over that time. He would eventually finish 7-5 with a 3.68 ERA before being called up in late July.
Like Harvey before him, Wheeler has had time to work out his flaws in the Minor Leagues and should be allowed some more time before he takes his talents to Citi Field. Indeed, the early-season blip makes it easier for the Mets to keep him in Vegas and delay the beginning of his arbitration clock. Even so, his last two starts indicate that Wheeler’s prospects for a Major League debut appear closer on the horizon than they did in mid April.
Notable Quotables: Sinnery’s Independent path to Minor League Baseball
By Jake Seiner
Interviewing for game stories can be a fun process. The thousands of players and coaches spread across the Minor Leagues supply a never-ending chain of unique perspectives on the national pastime. The game story isn’t always the best place for block quotes and expanded thoughts, so once a week, I’m hoping to come here with a look back at some of the more interesting conversations I stumble upon with Minor League players and coaches. Here’s a look back at some quotes from the past week that I hope you’ll find of interest.
Blogger’s note: Since I was out of the office last week and didn’t get a chance to post, you get a bonus two weeks’ worth of quotes this week.
South Bend’s Brandon Sinnery on his path to the Minor Leagues through Independent Ball (Hawks’ Sinnery dominates again):
Brandon Sinnery went undrafted after graduating from Michigan (University of Michigan).
“I graduated from Michigan, and I thought I’d go late in the draft. I knew I was a senior who has some nice numbers in college. I didn’t talk to that many teams coming out of of college, but the people I did talk to said they thought they’d take me late. That didn’t happen. I waited around for about two weeks, a week and a half, to see if a free agent opportunity would come up, but it didn’t so I went to play Independent ball.
“I went to an independent league tryout run by Nick Belmonte. He runs a lot of indy tryouts across the country, gets a lot of guys jobs out of college who weren’t drafted and guys who get released from affiliated ball — he gets them placed on Indy teams. I went to the tryout with him in Detroit, and he put me on a Frontier League team [the London Rippers in Ontario, Canada].
“At first, I was a little hesitant to go up there. I wasn’t sure going to Canada was going to help me. Scouts don’t really go there to watch people play. It turns out, it was a blessing in disguise because that team folded, and I got traded. Belmonte called me and got me hooked up with [the Lincoln Saltdogs]. That was a way better setup. The American Association is a great league with great competition.
“I was already signed with an indy team, back with Lincoln for this season. Belmonte called me about a camp he was running in Florida, a showcase tryout camp for players who didn’t have jobs or had indy jobs and wanted to go to affiliated ball. He called me and told me it was a great opportunity with lots of scouts there, and that I should come ready to go. I went to that, and that’s where the D-backs saw me. After I threw, they invited me to D-backs tryouts at their Spring Training complex. I flew there for a tryout, and after that, they signed me.”
Seattle’s South African pitching prospect Dylan Unsworth on his unique background (LumberKings’ Unsworth strong again):
“I was invited to an academy in Italy with the 50 best players from around Europe. I was fortunate to get selected to go there. I pitched there and did pretty good. The scouts there, they can offer you up a contract. That didn’t happen straight away. There was one scout that spoke to me there, and then I went to Barcelona with the South African team at 16, made my debut for the national team. He flew from Italy to watch me, and I had no idea. When I got back from the World Cup, he was waiting for me at the airport to talk to me. It’s a pretty amazing story. That’s when the contract was signed, and I came over and pitched in the Arizona League. It’s always been my dream to play pro baseball. I just have to keep at it and work my way up to the top.
“Coming from home, we played maybe every Saturday and had training twice a week. Here, I was training every day, playing every day and throwing every five days. Staying in a routine and staying healthy every day has been the key point for me. I came over here, and it was just a matter of taking everything in that the coaches gave me every day and doing what I feel will work for me.”
Lexington pitching coach Jerry Nyman on Bryan Brickhouse (Brickhouse discovers breaker, Ks nine):
“He always wanted to bury his curveball. He always wanted to strike out people with his first pitch curve. We talked to him about just throwing it for a strike, then throwing the hammer behind it. He did that tonight and it was really good. With his changeup, we altered his grip a little bit. He has a lot of bottom to it now, and he’s not throwing it quite as hard. The rudimentary elements of being a good pitcher, we’re working on that, and again, most of that stuff he’s figured out himself.”
Brickhouse on his improved fastball and mentality:
“My four-seam command is a big thing. I have a lot better feel with my fastball, and that’s something I worked hard on in the offseason trying to really get that fastball command. The biggest thing is in my mentality. Last year, I was worried about giving up hits early in the counts, nibbling early in the count. I fell behind 2-0 a lot. This year, I’ve attacked hitters early and I’m trying to get contact early in the count then work my way out as I get ahead. I can control the game a lot better that way. I can pitch deeper into games and have more success.”
Brickhouse on his relationship with high school teammate and Pirates prospect Jameson Taillon:
“I work out with Jamo in the offseason, and two offseasons ago, I worked out with [Kyle] Drabek, too, but he was rehabbing this year. I probably talk to Jamo about once a week. We’ll talk about our outings and discuss what’s working for us and not working for us.
“We’ll talk about setting up hitters and I guess we’re kind of each other’s mentors sometimes. It’s good. We’ve been close friends since we were 10 or 11, so he’s always a guy who I can look to for advice or talk to about good outings or bad.”
Phillies prospect Jesse Biddle on correcting his history as a notoriously slow starter (Biddle brilliant yet again for Reading):
“I think it’s a combination of a lot of things. The biggest one is being a year older, having another year of Spring Training and having another offseason to figure out where I need to be to not come out of the gate slow like I have in the last few years. My coaches, I think, are a little more aware that I’ve had bad Aprils in the past, and they’ve really been on top of me, making sure that I’m changing it up a little bit.
“I’m pitching a little differently, a little more aggressively, but it’s also a matter of me finding my mechanics earlier in the season. Part of it is just luck. Sometimes you don’t do anything different but you just feel a little better. It’s all about preparation, and I think I prepared better this year than in the past. Hopefully, next year I can continue to do that. It’s all about how you treat the offseason.”
Kane County pitching coach Ron Villone on Cubs prospect Pierce Johnson (Cougars’ Johnson warming to the task):
“It’s a learning process, but he has a good fastball. The confidence I’m seeing is there. At some point, his changeup has to improve. You can be a two-pitch pitcher for a while, but as you move up the ladder, better hitters are going to see a whole lot more of what a guy offers. Having three pitches in your arsenal is an improvement.
“You can see the improvement in his changeup. His arm speed is more consistent. He’s a smart, young man, and he’s ready to learn. He’s going out there and trying a few new things, but he’s also not getting away from his strengths.
“He’s smart, but he’s also applying himself to become a student of the game and learn more. When people listen and apply, it’s a nice thing to see. He’s a student and he’s becoming a better student of the game, listening and all the hard work he puts into the game. Pitching once every five games or so, it can be difficult to get on a roll and find the right way to get it done and go out and execute. Being a student makes that transition easier.”
Oakland prospect Daniel Robertson on ups and downs of his first pro experience (Robertson shines in Class A debut):
“It was awesome. I got out and signed early and went to Arizona, and definitely it was something new and a bit different, but I thought I was prepared for it. I was just trying to learn as much as I can. I had some success there and got promoted to Vermont in Short Season league and I think I learned a lot about myself there. It made me a better player today. I didn’t have as much success as I would’ve liked to, but it gave me an idea of what kind of player I was and what I needed to work on to be a better player in the end.
“Sometimes, I felt like I was putting too much pressure on myself up there, trying to do too much. I figured out that I need to stay within what I know how to do and go from there. It was a good learning experience.”
Winston-Salem’s Chris Bassitt on wanting to be a relief pitcher long term (Bassitt starts to build future as reliever):
“It’s not about rising faster or anything. It’s something I’m more comfortable doing. I’ve done it my whole life. My mentality is as a relief pitcher. I’ve been able to change my mentality of going out there and blowing it out in one inning. Now I’m pacing through hopefully six, seven, eight innings. My mentality the whole year is just to try to get early outs. Once I get two strikes on a hitter, I do still kick it into relief mode, though.
“I’ve had numerous meetings with coaches, and they’ve all said that, no matter what, starting right now will help in the future. I’m able to develop my pitches faster, and throw more innings, obviously. The more innings you throw, the more pitches you get to throw. Plus, starting now I’ve developed my slider and curve and change and improved my fastball command. I’m getting better so far, so it’s working out. Whatever they want me to do, I’ll do it. If they want me to start, I will. If they want me to relieve, I will.”
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