Ex-Rattler in M's Farm Report

Edmonds native meets challenge of being a starter

West Tenn's Joe Woerman wasn't expecting the switch.

His professional baseball career was blossoming after a slow start, and now the right-handed pitcher was asked to take on a new challenge with the Class AA Diamond Jaxx.

"Just out of the blue in spring training, they told me they wanted me to be a starter," said Woerman, a native of Edmonds, who had been almost solely a reliever since 2003. "I feel like I've met the challenge and I really like starting. It allows me to use a third pitch, a changeup."
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"I realized I needed to improve if I didn't want to lose my job. I saw a sports psychologist, and I just worked hard."

The effort paid off for Woerman.

He started last year at full-season Class A Wisconsin, where he was 2-2 with a 2.12 ERA, with 54 strikeouts and 14 walks in 34 innings.

"I started to get a lot of confidence, and that helped," Woerman said.

Woerman's work at Wisconsin earned him a midseason promotion last year to high-level Class A Inland Empire (Calif.), where he was 2-0 with a 2.67 ERA, with 31 strikeouts and 15 walks in 30-1/3 innings.