Minor League Q&A

Do the minor leagues give you alot of stress and make it feel like a job or is it more laid back?

What are pitching gamedays like?

Do you feel in the clubhouse a sense of notarity like the Red Sox had/ve?

I will see you pitch in the Instructional League. I will be there on Sunday and will stay for two weeks.Texas is one of the clubs I cover and will look forward to seeing you pitch.

Shane,

I'd like to hear about "instructs" - how it's different from your summer assignment, what team you are playing for, what your weekly schedule is, how much longer the fall season will last. And anything else you would be willing to share about what you are doing - your past reports have all been very interesting!

Answer time,

AK-
I mean there is some stress, but really its not to cutthroat, you just play ball, and once you get used to the daily grind time goes fast, but it definately doesnt feel like a job except on pay days.

Pitching gamedays are great, generally you dont have to workout that day and you can show up just a few hours before gametime for home games, take your time and listen to music on the Ipod, then go out about 45 minutes before game time stretch and get loose. My favorite day of the week by far.

As for notoriety inside the clubhouse, i dont feel too much now, it'll probably be different during spring training with the big leaguers here though.

MNMOM- Instructs are kinda like a fall version of spring training. Its a lot different from the summer assignment, mainly because the games dont matter and are WAY more laid back. Also there are guys from every level from Rookie to AA. I've been hanging around the AA guys trying to learn as much as possible, Thomas Diamond has been a real help, giving me advice about the minor league life and so on. So the older players help. But as far as the Schedule, everyday we Stretch, work on fundamentals,throw bullpens and Shag/Take BP in the morning, then we have a game in the afternoon.We have 2 teams right now so we alternate days playing games, so on days i dont play or pitch i lift weights before the game.Otherwise i condition and lift afterwards. Thats the basic schedule right now, we generally have Sundays off and 10AM games on Saturdays, thats the only change to schedule really, otherwise its the same basic grind everyday.

BBscout- Hope i give you somethin fun to watch, thats my job, and bring a jacket, its getting cold out here, its dropped 20 degrees on average since the summer....its ONLY 105 everyday now! BRR lol.


Any more questions?

Shane,

Do you have to throw only fastballs and changeups? I watched Kevin pitch yesterday and that's what the A's are doing. No breaking balls. The giants pitcher were throwing everything though.

HI! My name is Zack (bbfam's son) and I am eleven years old and I was wondering what type of pitches you have and how many pitches you need to be successful.

Hey Zack, welcome to the HSBBW! Do you pitch? If you do pitch, do you play a position too? Remember a pitch qualifies as a pitch ONLY if you can throw it for strikes. Professional and College players will usually have 3 or 4 pitches. A fastball and two off speed pitches. The most common off speed pitches are the curve ball, the change up, and the slider. High school pitcher will normally have at least two good pitches, the fast ball and one (or two) off speed pitches with the change-up being the most effective and the curveball being the most used. At your age you need to work on throwing the fast ball for strikes and work on throwing and getting command of the change up, being able to keep it low in the strike zone. I know you have friends that can throw the curve ball and maybe you can too but the curve ball can damage your arm (at your age). Many players can “play” with different grips and get their two-seam or four-seam fastball to move. Don’t worry if yours doesn’t move just yet. It will begin to move as your velocity increases. Best of luck and thanks for posting. Hope this helps.
Fungo

Yeah man that is some of the best advice you will get. If you can throw a strike in HS, you will do pretty good. Don't worry to much about speed yet. Best of luck, bro.

Thanks Fungo! Yes I do pitch and I play most positions on the field other than catcher. I play on a 12U team. I have a fastball, a circle change up, and a pitch that you throw like a football, but no curve balls. Mom and Dad won't let me. I usually walk only 1-2 batters a game and throw a lot of strikes. I am usually able to control my locations. Last year in Little League I struck out 132 batters in 11 games. We don't play in a very good league and played the same team almost everytime. Thanks for the info. I want to be successful in baseball. Zack

Good deal Zack! That’s a great record on the strike outs. That means you are throwing strikes. When my son was your age he was a pitcher and played other positions too. He would work on all aspects of his game, not just pitching which allowed him to have more options in high school and in college too. You never know what part of your game will get better...so at this point I suggest you work on all of them... hitting, pitching and fielding. Every time you practice, try to focus on doing something better. The game of baseball is fun but as you get BETTER it gets “more fun”!!
Good luck,
Fungo

WVMTNER- No we dont have any rules like that, sometimes we throw bullpens like that, but as far as in games we call all our pitches. They just usually require we work on what we worked on in the bullpen.

Zack- I have 3 pitches right now, if you include a 2-seam fastball and variations of my curve, its more like 6 pitches, but to keep it simple i have a Fastball,Curveball and Changeup. For you i would suggest working on a Fastball and Changeup for right now, those are the two most effective pitches in baseball hands down. If you have both of those, you will be successful at most places you play. When your 13-14 maybe then you can work in a curveball, it all depends on how mature you are. Some guys dont start throwing curves until 16-17. Best Wishes! and my best advice to you is, Love the game and it will love you back!

Anymore questions?

Hi Shane,

This is Shaun Garceau's mom...I have been reading your posts with a smile on my face...all that you have been describing is pretty much just what Shaun has experienced so far...he played with the Appy League and is now in instructs in Jupiter at Roger Dean Stadium..Shaun has the best of both worlds right now ..he gets to stay home and hang out with his buddies when he's done working(I get a kick out of this...playing baseball)Roger Dean is only 30 minutes from home...where is your instruct league?

Seriously, keep working hard..you are living a dream and only your hard work will keep that dream going...Best of Luck to you!!!!

Pinchmetwice,
How are you, how is your ml player? I followed him through the season.

AHSpitcher17,

My son Chris is in instructs, one of the ss for the Royals, I'm sure you will play each other one of these days

Pinch- ya i bet that is nice, i on the other hand am 2400 miles from home in Surprise,Arizona just outside Phoenix ha, but its all good, im still enjoying it. How did Shaun do this year?

NJBB- Whats his last name? i pitched against them on saturday, i just threw one inning in the 7th. Im not sure if he was playin or not, but we play them a bunch more so i'll look for him next time.

McConnell, Sat. he was in Kansas City.

hey AK

What do you find most common for player's lack of skills in reaching the majors, I mean they're still in the minors is because they lack a tool or two, or just haven't developed them yet. So what tools do you find most often that they lack? For a pitcher, do most already throw hard with a nasty curve, but have no control? Do position players lack glovework in the field? And what do you think you needd to improve most and what drills or things are you doing to improve this? Thanks a million.

Mr3000,

Lack of skills or tools for a minor league player is seldom the reason for not making it to the Big Leagues.

Most minor leaguers have tools or they wouldn't be there. Refining those tools and skills are important. Most important is mastering the mental aspect of professional baseball.

However the main reason many fail to reach the Big Leagues is simply because of numbers. There are only 25 Big League jobs at any one time. Most clubs will have well established veterans who take up several of the 25 spots. Each MLB club has over 200 players in their system.

The best way to describe it is all professional baseball players (for the most part) have the skills or talent, they are among the top players in the World. But the Major Leagues is for the BEST of the BEST. (for the most part)

That is why it always bothers me when I hear fans (who may have never played) talk about how bad some Major Leaguer is.

quote:

Most minor leaguers have tools or they wouldn't be there. Refining those tools and skills are important.

That's the way I ment to put it. I'm asking what tools and skills are the most common amongst minor leaguers that need to be refined? Thanks.

For a position player, all of the tools need to be refined. For a pitcher.......same thing. Most young hitters and pitchers need about 3-5 years in the minor leagues to get them ready to be an everyday performer in the big leagues. For a hitter, that is about 2000 AB's and for a starting pitcher it is about 450-600 innings.

The position player needs to learn how to make the routine plays and the pitcher needs to learn how to command both sides of the plate. When they get to this point, they are getting to the point where they can play in the big leagues. Making a routine play may sound easy, but you need to be able to do it every day for six months. If you look at the stats of some of our great stars, they made an awful lot of errors at some of their stops in the minor leagues and an error is a ball judged to be routine that was messed up.

BBscout,

Can an experienced scout look at a player and see that:

He has the offensive skills to compete at a professional level (Not necessarily MLB) and at the same time - recognize that he hasnt had the quantity of at bats needed to get where he needs to be.

If so - what is it in the offensive part of the players game that the scout will be impressed with?

So, when someone gets drafted do they have the contact ability to play in the majors (ie 5 on the 2-8 scale) but need to refine little things such as plate coverage, patience and discipline (working the count), turning on an inside fastball etc.? Do pitchers already have nasty breaking balls but need to refine both sides of the plate (as mentioned), and consistency in their pitches and delivery?

BBScout,
Nice post!

From what I can see, the minor leagues is a series of adjustments throughout the season and then from level to level. As you move up, breaking balls are better and pitchers get better command. Hitters at the lower levels can find 92 on the hands gets them out. They need to adjust so those outs are line drives. It is truly fascinating to watch but even more amazing to observe how hard players work to assess the weakeness and then go to work on the adjustment. Pitchers are often either developing a new pitch which they can command or trying to command the pitches they have. Hitters know breaking balls at high A are better than and in better locations than low A, and thrown in any count. They study the scouting reports and make adjustments based on the count and situation. From what we have heard, as a senior sign, 1200 plus at bats is not unusual for ours. Not sure he can make it but he is 600 plus and seeming to improve/adjust adequately. If you ever have a chance, go to Spring training for a week and watch as many levels of play as you can. Will see the differences in the game that bbscout is talking about. It is amazing!!!

Great information shared here! Thanks especially to Shane, infielddad, and bbscout

quote:

Originally posted by itsinthegame:
BBscout,

Can an experienced scout look at a player and see that:

He has the offensive skills to compete at a professional level (Not necessarily MLB) and at the same time - recognize that he hasnt had the quantity of at bats needed to get where he needs to be.

If so - what is it in the offensive part of the players game that the scout will be impressed with?

Paul, A scout can be impressed by different parts of the offensive game. One guy might have great speed and I start dreaming about how he might cover CF and steal a ton of bases. Another might have plus power and I start dreaming about the home runs he might hit. Another might have the sweet swing that produces line drives to all fields and I start dreaming that maybe I have found a .300 hitter.

As far as looking at a player and deciding if he has the offensive skills to play pro ball. My answer is yes, as that is my job. 99.999% of the amateur players need a lot of at bats to get ready for the Major Leagues.

Hey Shane, thanks for taking time to answer questions. I was wondering whether ther is more team spirit or players competing to get to the next level.
Good luck.

Catch, there are elements of both. Make no doubt that the players and managers at the minor league level want to win. Make no doubt that the organization wants to develop players based on internal projections. That means you are not necessarily always playing your "best" 9 in the minors. That is what makes you a professional, in part. You recognize a person is playing based on draft status and money invested and they are playing even when they struggle as almost always happens. Your have to do your job and perform and do the things to win games and cannot worry that someone is playing/pitching and struggling mightily because the organization wants to see certain things. I can also assure you there are very good friendships which are made even though everyone knows their chances are slim. This past summer, mine earned a spot with a great month of May that happened to be associated with his taking the position of a player who struggled mightily at the same time. The teammate who supported him most after becoming a starter was the person who struggled and lost that position.

I met Shane today at the ballpark in Surprise Az. and he is a real nice young man. He is also big enough to go bear hunting with a stick. I think I will just call him sir from now on

bbscout, good thing you didn't mention "moose" hunting. Could have ruined a HSBBW game.

i dont know about bear hunting with a stick....but im kinda big i guess lol, but i did enjoy talkin with ya while i was stuck on my charts!

Shane,
You could probably go bear hunting with a toothpick. Been off the boards for a while, but it's great to get back on and follow your journey.
We're proud of you and we're rooting for you in the Midwest!!! And the West Coast!!!
Take care and we'll be looking for you on the bump in Arlington!!!

ha, thanks, btw how is Tom doin? he went to Stanford didnt he?

Tom's doing well. He's been working out and taking classes. He's basically just gone back home 'cause we lived in Sonoma Co. for 14 years. It's a great campus and everyone is very nice. He's having a blast!
It's great to read your posts, as we are big fans of yours!!! Say hi to your family.

As a side note one of the must haves for Tom's dorm room was a remote controlled flatulence machine. (kind of like the one he and Cutch would hide while they stayed at your place )
Tom still laughs about that.

haha, ya that was a great summer, it was loads of fun, and yes that was one of the highlights, we got EVERYONE with that thing ha

Tom had fun that summer, too, he say, "hey".
Other highlights was the water ballon launcher!

BBScout,

I know you are lurking near this thread so I thought i would shoot an congrats on your pick Kory Casto, I see he was just picked up by the Nationals, does that mean he was added to the 40 man?
Can you give us your dreams of this kid as you convinced brass to go with him?

catchersdad

catchersdad, Thanks for the message on Kory. He was just added to our 40 man roster and was named our minor league player of the year about two weeks ago.Scouting him was fun for me, as he was a real good looking hitter who had hitting actions similar to Raffy Palmeiro. He has a great work ethic and has one of the top 3-4 make ups of players that I have scouted.

He pitched and played infield in HS and then switched to RF in College. We moved him to 3B and next year he will be moved to 2B. It does not bother him at all. A lot of guys would be upset, especially after he was named the top fielding 3B in the Carolina League this year. Not Kory, he will just move accross the diamond and become a real good 2B.

To answer your question, my dreams for him came the first time I saw him swing a bat. I saw a real good looking hitter, and I only find that about every 3-4 years.I also have a smart boss who took him in the draft for me.

BBScout,

Thank you for posting here and giving us a real feel for the scouting side of the game, we are lucky to have you. I am always looking for your posts.Wishing you continued success!

catchersdad