Brandon Nimmo spent 2012 adapting to a full season of playing professional baseball.
Now, he says, he's ready.
"I feel more prepared for this season, physically and mentally," he said on his drive to Port St. Lucie, Florida, home of the Mets spring training complex. "Just with last year's experience, you're only going to get better. My body is more ready for it."
Nimmo, 19, played for the Short-Season Class-A Brooklyn Cyclones in 2012, hitting .248 with 40 RBI, 6 runs, and 46 walks. He admitted to fatigue, and at times it showed. But it was more good than bad, and a solid follow up to a 2011 debut pro-season, in which he played in just ten games. Last year, he played in 69 games. Not an easy jump.
Here's what else the outfielder had to say just hours before arriving at camp.
On getting stronger this off-season: "It turned out well. I trimmed fat, got rid of some body fat. I'm around the same weight as last year, around 185, but I'm a lot stronger. I was working on mobility. It was a really productive off-season."
On heading to Arkansas: "I went there and worked with a great group of guys in professional baseball. We pushed each other. It was all about getting more flexible and stronger. I can't have my back and legs getting tired...
On 'feeding the wolf': "I worked a lot on my legs. We did dead lifts and one leg split squats. I wanted to train this year with that mindset. And my legs are a lot stronger."
On the challenges of his first full professional season: "It's something everyone has to go through. You're feeling your way around to see what works for you and what doesn't."
Instructs/Spring Training: "The Mets told me after instructional league that they were happy with my progress. My focus this spring is to be healthy and to just make sure I'm ready. I trust the Mets. I feel good about everything. And I'm going to have fun and let it play out."
Brandon was selected by the Mets in the first round (13th overall) of the 2011 MLB Draft. You can follow him on Twitter @You_Found_Nimmo
When it's suggested to Casey Lawrence that this is an important season for him, he quickly and quietly chimes in.
"It is," he said, just two days before reporting to Blue Jays camp in Florida.
The pitcher, 25, came into the organization in 2010 as a non-drafted free agent. That might not mean much to anyone unfamiliar with the system of baseball, but that's not the easiest way to make it with a team. The guys that are drafted high are going to get the most attention and have the best shot. The guys drafted in the lower rounds have it tougher. And FA's that show up without being selected, need to be your scrappiest fighters. They have a lot to prove.
"I knew coming in I had to make an impression. I went from being a reliever to a starter... my whole life as a starting pitcher. I only pitched relief a few times in college. My first year I had a couple of promotions. But I was still more comfortable in a starting role."
He split time between Class-A Short Season New York Penn League and Class-A Midwest League in 2010, pitching seventy-seven innings and finishing with a 2.33 ERA. He followed that up with a similarly successful campaign, with a heavier workload. Through 151 innings he posted a 3.04 ERA with 111 strikeouts. He stayed away from the long ball, allowing just 12 home runs, repeating the number of innings in 2012. And lowering his home run total to 10.
The lessons he's taking in are not just about how to pitch, but how to deal with inevitable mind trickery.
"I'm starting to realize that some days, no matter how good you feel, you're just not going to have it. So I just have to work on that and learn from [those times.]"
This off-season he re-focused his energies, and it was about lifting, lifting, lifting.
"I hit the weight room harder than ever before. So I need to carry that throughout the season."
He's spent a lot of time developing his slider and breaking pitches. He also continues to fine-tune his sinking fastball.
"Pretty much my whole career I've been able to keep the sinker down in the strike zone. I have to keep the ball on the plate and as long as it has good tilt, it works. That's something I've worked on every single year."
Age isn't a non-factor for players. They battle against it sooner than you might imagine. But what else can they do but what they've always done? Lawrence has to face a lot of obstacles, but they serve to fuel him. Something he's accustomed to.
"All my life I was told I was too skinny, that I didn't throw hard enough...you just have to remember to use that as motivation. Because at a certain point that age becomes experience. People look at it like the higher the age, the harder it is. I don't believe in that."
Continuing with more college coverage here at HHOTF, and to bring more attention to players that are draft eligible, here's Charleston Southern University's Drew Woodall on being an everyday backstop, the 'ultimate goal', and 'the little things.'
As a freshman in 2010, Woodall was put in a challenging situation, but one that gave him an opportunity to further develop his skills. By the end of the season, the former high school team MVP had played in 33 games, starting 21, and finished up hitting .224.
"I'd been catching since I was seven. But freshman year the everyday catcher got injured in the first game, in the seventh inning. The coach wasn't used to playing freshman that often, but they needed me. I ended up splitting time."
"I think [splitting time] helped a lot. I might not have had that much experience. I was able to get a better grasp of the game that I wouldn't have."
"That definitely helped me at the plate as well. Sophomore and junior year I also split time, but this year I've played everyday so far."
Junior year he played 38 games, started 26, and hit .211 with 10 RBI. This year, he's already making an impact with good contact hitting. In 17 at-bats, he's hitting .294, with 5 hits, 4 RBI, and 5 runs scored. The team has won three of their first five games.
"I'm trying to work on my hitting. Not to hit for high average, but to hit a with a guy on and score the run, or to get guys over. I want to be successful at the little things."
"Bunts are huge here. Hitting balls in gaps as well. We don't have a bunch of guys that are going to hit fifteen or sixteen home runs. But we have guys that are going to get the runs in by doing other things."
"I was told my whole life I wasn't good enough to be a Division 1 player. I came to Charleston Southern and fell in love with the place, and the fact that it was a small school. I was able to do a lot here, that I might not have been able to do at another school."
For the past few years, Woodall has played for the summer league Morehead City Marlins. In 2012, he finished his college season and went to play 31 more for the Marlins and hit .213 with 9 walks.
"That's definitely helped me a lot. Obviously, hitting with metal is much different from wood. I've been able to square the ball up better. And the competition is great. You're facing and meeting guys you would never get to in any other situation. I was able to play against guys from Stanford. So that's pretty cool."
Future aspirations....
"The ultimate is to go to the next level. That's the dream. But, I'm not the biggest guy [Ed. Note: He's 5-10, 185 lbs. according to USC and MHC information]. I've never had a really strong arm. If it doesn't happen, I would love to stay in baseball and be a coach. I want to help people the way that coaches helped me."
Outfielder and redshirting senior Billy Ferriter has done well to kick off the season, but the team as a whole has struggled.
The Huskies are 1-2, taking both losses against rival Purdue. They defeated Indiana State 4-3 in a barn-burning fifteen-inning contest that gave them a much-needed sense of themselves.
"We didn't have much energy toward the middle of the game. But then we really got it, and I think that's because we do have such good camaraderie."
Ferriter is known as a natural leader and is becoming comfortable as a more vocal kind. Something he might need to call on in himself, and isn't afraid to.
"[I haven't had to] yet. It's starting to get to that point, though. The coaches have really handled it and want us to play with more fire."
LJ Mazzilli leads the way in batting average (.400), OBP (.438) and total bases (9). Ferriter is hitting .260 in 16 at-bats, with a double and 2 runs scored.
There are a few key areas that need to be cleaned up, but Ferriter's also quick to take responsibility.
"Our starting pitching struggled a bit. We just didn't come out with enough energy. I mean, we can say we were tired after a long game, but that's our fault."
In the off-season, he focused on being more efficient at handling the inside pitch. Pitchers were working him on the inner part of the plate, and he knew that area needed work.
"I did a lot of repetitions, so that I was used to seeing it over and over again."
As for the team, the fundamental truths are simple.
"Our younger guys need to get more experience. The starting pitching needs to improve. And we have to get those big hits. We have to be more clutch."
When Jesus Montero was traded to the Mariners, a question seemed to be answered.
The Yankees catching depth was a running storyline, and leading the narrative was Montero and Austin Romine's development. And the competition between the two for the future backstop position.
There were questions wrapped in the overall 'Who's the future Yankees backstop?' question. Montero's abilities to catch long-term have long been doubted. Romine's offense couldn't compare to the middle-of-the-order dream bat that Montero carried. What to do?
Ultimately, Montero was shipped out, and, it seemed, the Yankees were making a firm statement about their faith in Romine. Undoubtedly, his defensive value was higher than Montero's. And his bat was developing. He increased walks, took less free swings and made more solid contact in his second year at the Double-A level.
Romine's confidence was a strength from his first day in Double-A, arriving more than ready to play for the Trenton Thunder.
By the end of 2011, Romine, now 25, was a proven leader with Trenton, when he got an end of season promotion to Triple-A. The Thunder was his team to that point. If there was a 'Captain', he was it. He'd also made strides in the areas he needed to improve and had overcome a concussion at a healthy pace. He never seemed affected by the bumps in the road. And no challenge appeared to difficult to him.
In the time since that fateful trade, Romine's development has been challenged even further. He sat out most of 2012 due to a back injury, playing in just 31 games.
That injury disrupted what had been excellent progress in 2011, when he'd hit .279 with 48 RBI, and 32 walks, and made his MLB debut, getting in nine games. He made needed adjustments in 2011, proving he was a willing student of the game, even with that healthy dose of confidence. Thunder manager Tony Franklin also made perfectly clear the kind of player Romine was expected to be, and that the Yankees, and Romine, were on the same page.
And as for being an everyday player, he's never had any doubts about that.
With Montero no longer in the picture, the question, still, is where Romine fits into the long term picture.
As Spring Training gets underway, the decision hangs in the air, though there looks to be little doubt about how they'll handle the situation. According to Yankees GM Brian Cashman in an interview with the New York Daily News, Romine will begin 2013 in Triple-A. Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart will start the season for the club.
Before he left for Triple-A at the tail end of 2011, he'd expressed a sense of how far he'd come. In retrospect, he essentially acknowledged that he did have more to learn about catching. And he'd developed relationships with pitchers based on communication. Offense was also something he admitted the Yankees wanted him to improve even more.
I looked out my window in Storrs, Connecticut and looked at the snow, the brittle earth, and saw some of the people beginning a perilous journey to class. They looked like they were almost swimming in the cold air struggling through each step. I was just happy to be inside feeling the cold draft of air sneak in through the cracks of the poorly put together apartment window.
It isn’t easy living in New England during the winter. It gives athletes new challenges and if you ask any of them, they’ll tell you it makes them tougher and better able to cope with anything. It took me about 20 throws before I was able to feel the baseball come out of my hand the other day. Some say dangerous, others say it’s just part of the daily struggle. It’s part of the pride we carry being from the Northeast. This season there probably won’t be a single day where we play in weather under 60 degrees, but this off-season living in Connecticut, I think I didn’t see a day over 50 but, again that is part of the life that comes with being a New Englander and I wouldn’t trade that for anything in the entire world.
We all have certain traits and qualities based off of the places we live, the places we go and the people we are associated with. I have always been a big believer in that, and I must say baseball people, the small towns of minor league baseball, and the places I have lived are things I would never trade. My first “off-season” I felt like a fish out of water. It felt like I lost the identity I had 6 months earlier. I went from performing in front of 5,000 people a night, being around a great group of guys in a locker room, to not stepping in one. Last year that off-season taught me how to build a routine, create a different identity. This off-season has been interesting to say the least.
I graduated from the University of Connecticut with a degree in English and Political Science, and I realize day by day that you can allow these things to become part of your identity. I have always loved writing and creating stories, and telling my story. Writing keeps me sane. When you play 140 games during the year you need something to lean on. The keyboard on my laptop kind of becomes my therapist. I use it to trap my thoughts and write down my experiences. In 20 days or so I’ll begin that voyage down to Jupiter, Florida for spring training and I couldn’t be more excited. Taking the drive from Connecticut and arriving in Florida feels almost like going from the North Pole to the Equator. The further I travel, the warmer it gets, and the more excited I get. I left last year and it was 28 degrees outside and when I arrived it was 75 in sunny Florida.
My off-season this year has me more exciting than ever. I have gotten a lot of great work done and after my first spring training, when I felt like a chicken with my head cut off, I feel like I know what to expect. I have always been one to learn from my mistakes and intend to carry it over to this year. One, stay out of the big league warm-up lines (idiot). Two, don’t trip over first base when you’re doing your 3-1 cover plays (dufus). Three, don’t take the protein shakes from the big league shelf in the weight room (moron). All of these valuable lessons are things I will take with me to this spring training. I have been working out 5-6 days a week and starting to get into the flow of throwing every day again.
My throwing program has always been a love-hate relationship. Throwing a baseball is the most unnatural motion someone can do. Because of that, pain is inevitable. It’s hard to think that pain is something you miss; I would think that it’s something that I would be relieved you don’t have. Honestly, I miss the process of the pain. I miss working out daily with my trainers and strength coach. I miss icing my arm and I miss that first throw the day after an outing. It’s like my body is screaming at me to stop, begging me to give it up. It’s an addiction as much as smoking or drinking is. I’m addicted to the nature of the game; it becomes something you crave.
I have a weird feeling that the pain that I crave will be there for me in a month or so.
Greg Nappo pitched for the Class-A Greensboro Grasshoppers in 2012. He went 4-4 with a 2.77 ERA. The Marlins drafted the lefty in 2011 in the 18th round out of the University of Connecticut. You can follow him on Twitter @Nappo41
When RHP Jason Van Skike arrived in Bristol in 2011, he was ready for anything.
After being a starter for three years with the Indiana State Sycamores, he was asked to pitch out of the bullpen. He'd done it before, but getting back to that was a process.
"I took on that role, because that's what they needed," he said Thursday. "I honestly just showed up and that's what they asked. The scout that signed me said the White Sox were in needed of bullpen help. My body took to it pretty fast, which was surprising. Now it's like I'm conditioned to throw two to three innings."
After the White Sox signed him as a non-drafted free agent, he spent his first professional season mostly with Bristol, of the Appalachian League, going 3-1 with a 2.03 ERA for the season. He kept the walks way down, giving up just seven free passes, and striking out 45.
The 2012 season was spent entirely with the South Atlantic League Kannapolis Intimidators. He pitched more innings (41), but also surrendered more walks (22).
"My walks were way to high. You have to throw strikes out of the bullpen."
The White Sox have their book. They want their pitchers to throw first pitch strikes and they preach that approach. Van Skike, 23, said he lost his focus.
"I got away from that mentality. I nibbled at the corners, instead of going after guys. I just wasn't aggressive enough."
There were some negatives, but there was also a lot to like. He had 36 punch outs and gave up just 2 home runs overall. He also notched 3 saves. He maintained a 0.00 ERA through almost the entire month of August.
Van Skike has gotten this far with a unique style of pitching. He throws a cut fastball, but that pitch has it's own personality.
"I'm not your typical pitcher. I'm not often throwing the fastball at 90-plus. I'm often in the 86-89 range. But I have movement. And then I throw off that cut fastball. I throw it around 86-89, with six to eight inches of fastball movement. I can throw it at different speeds. The slider and changeup I throw less, coming out of the pen, but they're still good to have to keep hitters off balance."
The Washington native has clear ideas about the kind of pitcher he wants to be and has put maximum effort into figuring out how to improve. He realized, after viewing some tape, that he'd been putting himself in a weaker position when facing hitters. So he fixed it by tweaking his mechanics.
"My foot's now landing nearer to homeplate, so that I'm not cutting myself off. I've also added a sinker. I'd never thrown one before. But if I'm landing on my target, I can sink the ball more. A guy like Roy Halladay can cut and sink a fastball, and that's the 'X-Factor'."
Putting those elements together as he heads into spring training, the end result could be quite simple.
"If I can do all those things, it'll be a nightmare for hitters."
Jason is on Twitter @Jason_Nation25, a name that has some backstory. Along with White Sox teammates, 'Nation' has become a kind of code word and is often hashtagged to make a declaration. "It started as a joke. The 'Nation' trend was hot and still kind of is." He's considering changing it, but that was off the record. Stay tuned....
Earlier this week the catcher was named USA Player of the Year. McGuire, 17, received the Dick Case Award for his performance on the 18-and-under team. They won the gold medal by beating Canada in September.
The Washington native hit .400 with 11 RBI in 35 at bats, leading the team in batting average, slugging percentage, home runs, walks and runs batted in. He'll graduate this year, and will be eighteen by the time of the MLB June draft.
As the draft gets closer, anticipation is building and he admits that the big day is crossing his mind a lot.
"For sure. My goal and my dream is to be in the majors," he said Wednesday. "I hope to have a good spring and be high on the draft board."
McGuire, whose committed to the University of San Diego, hit .388 with 34 RBI, 19 walks, and struck out just 10 times last year for Kentwood High School. As impressive as his bat has been, it's his ability behind the plate that has garnered the most praise.
"I think what separates me is my natural ability and my baseball IQ. I feel like I see a lot behind the plate, that others don't."
Most draft experts expect McGuire to go first round, and with the USA Showcase performance, he's certainly adding to his value. He should be part of a draft class that is predicted to be rich in high school catching.
Despite his strength at that position, his versatility is also of note. He's able to play the outfield, as well as first and third base. But there's no question where he belongs.
"[Catching] is my favorite. It really stuck with me. I feel a lot of natural ability when I'm behind the dish. I've played a lot of positions, but have grown to have a passion and love for catching. I hope that's where my future is."
His quieter nature has also been noted and while he's tried to be more of a leader-by- example' type, he knows that communication is key.
"I'm comfortable with the leadership role. I try to motivate the team by playing hard. My leadership really comes into play with the pitchers. That trust is important, so that when we get out there, everything just flows."
The showcases are always helpful to any high school player in getting noticed. Their function is in their name. But he's humble and smart enough to know what they aren't for.
"You don't want to be too vocal at showcases, because guys will think you're just trying to be the center of attention."
His strengths have gotten stronger, and as he approaches his senior year, he knows how far he's come. The mechanical aspect is, of course, only part of the equation.
"I'm maturing and evolving as a player, especially mentally. I'm a better teammate. And you have to have the makeup at every level. That can make or break a career. I've had to learn to just stay within. To not try and prove anything. My parents have stressed that. I just need to play my game, and by doing that I can bring my teammates up to that level."
For all the increased attention, and his ambitious, sharp focus, underneath it all, there's a simple truth that motivates him.
"I have a love and desire for the game. I have passion for it. You have to have a good work ethic and love doing this."
You can follow Reese McGuire on Twitter @Reese_McGuire21
LHP James Reeves is entering his sophomore year at the Citadel after a freshman season that brought mixed results. In 22 appearances for the Bulldogs, he went 6-4 with a 4.44 ERA. He struck out 34, allowed 23 walks over 52 innings and went 5-3 in games started.
He spoke Monday about his off-season focus and lessons learned.
"We were really young and struggled sometimes. We grew up a bit."
Individual Struggles: I walked a few more guys than I should have. I was getting used to the college level, as we all were. But I felt I made a lot of strides and so did the team, by the end of the season. [The team, coached by 21-year veteran Fred Jordan, finished with a 25-33 record]
Coaching Staff: They were a really calming influence, especially in those big game situations. We played South Carolina and that's a really crazy environment to go into for a freshman. They helped make sure that I didn't get hyped up. They preached fundamentals over and over, so that it was second nature when we got into those big moments.
[In Junior year of high school Reeves became a starter. He throws a four-seam fastball, 2-seam fastball, changeup and slider]
"I definitely feel good as a starter. But I'm comfortable with both. You always want to start."
Command/Change: I didn't really struggle with command. I really felt comfortable. In the off-season, I worked on improving it. I've been working to develop my changeup. My slider is my out-pitch. I've also been working on getting bigger and better, and have more stamina so I can take us into the sixth and seventh innings.
You can follow James Reeves on Twitter @James_Reeves28
After nearly four years of writing professionally, I took a leap of faith and began this blog. The idea was to cover baseball in a fun way, but with a mix of access that gave it legitamacy, and a clear focus on accuracy and good storytelling.
After two years, I made the blog exclusively about the minor leagues. I'd spent most of my career there and it had also become my passion and my area of expertise. I also saw an opportunity to create something uniquely my own in an interesting area of baseball.
While I wouldn't receive access from teams, I used the access I had covering the games for professional or accredited outlets, and did things for the blog as an aside.
When I began, I was covering the Can-Am League as a daily beat writer, while also doing freelance work for Junior Baseball Magazine, covering the major leagues. The blog focused on the indy league work I was doing, and that would become a theme. Whatever league I was covering would sort of take precedence, even as I branched out throughout the season. I'm glad I did that. I feel like I give a full picture of a league and all the nuts, bolts, ups, downs, heartaches and success of an entire season. And focusing on the same players, coaches, and managers gives the storytelling a continuity and depth- you see them through the entire journey of the season.
In years past I've focused on the Eastern League and New York Penn League as well. Recently, I've expanded high school and college coverage with the MLB Draft in mind.
The tone began more personal, but after the first year, I felt myself growing and had a clearer direction. I wanted to be more traditional, something I'd always felt more comfortable with. Writing more casually and injecting myself into the story never felt quite right.
I'd originally been totally resistant to both blogging (what's THAT?!) and social media overall. Well, that all changed. And I'm glad for that. I embraced Twitter, building the blog's reputation and my own, gaining readers and their trust and respect. I also connected professionally by creating HHOTF and joining Twitter.
I accomplished what I set out to do- mix the traditional with the modern, cover the minor leagues through stories, game coverage, analysis, and while keeping the tone professional, also keeping the fun of it in there.
What I realize is that my writing grew by having this blog. It gave me a place to find my voice, polish my skills, and figure out how to do the job of covering baseball to the best of my ability. My confidence grew, just as my experience did.
At times, I've shared personal experiences, and allowed myself to put the minor leagues, and covering baseball as a woman, into a different context. Hopefully, readers took something valuable from that as well.
This isn't an easy job, but it's a fun job. It's not easy to walk into a clubhouse with young players, some unaccustomed to women in that space, but it's gotten easier. It doesn't faze me because that too has changed with confidence. I've also learned how to do the job, how to talk to them, what to ask, how to manage with time constraints, yelling, loud music, taunting and teasing. This blog grew up as I did. It got stronger, because I did.
As writers, we find our way by experience. No matter what we're taught or told, in baseball, or any sport, you get better by doing it over and over. You get your reps in, as players say. That makes you better and teaches you to believe in yourself.
Now, for the name.
The truth is, 'High Heels On The Field' has nothing to do with shoes (I actually love purses more than shoes). "Heels" was a symbol. It was a tip of the cap to the women before me and the women that would come after me. The statement was, 'We're here, and we're not leaving.' I wanted the name to be fearless, powerful, feminine, smart, and, again, with a good dose of fun and cheeky humor thrown in.
I had no idea that 'Heels On The Field' would become my identity and I have almost no complaint about that. The only problem there's ever been is perception. And that's not really my problem. It's unfortunate that the name has been taken as something sexual or provocative, or in anyway non-serious. That's unfair. But, again, that's not for me to be concerned with.
I built this blog and the brand (a weird concept to embrace), and I'm truly proud of all that I've done in these five years. I don't have a team of writers, or access - this is still not accredited and only works through my credentialed jobs and building contacts; I don't post links to other stories or write daily 100 word posts on a story. I create original material on a weekly basis, sometimes several times a week. But I have no problem going a week with nothing. I'm not going to put up others work or write a blip. If that means waiting a few days to write a feature I'm researching, or for a player I'm waiting to interview, that's fine by me. I want to uphold a standard.
I'm expanding the blog this season with guest writers and merchandise, but outside of that, 'Heels On The Field' will remain a place for minor league stories told accurately, with passion, a nod to the past, and an eye on the future.
I thank you for reading. It's been my joy to write for you, for myself, and to cover the minor leagues.
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