Offseason? Not for hopeful prospects
When the season ends for 22 of the 30 major league teams, baseball doesn’t.
Eight teams move on to the postseason – and virtually every team uses the down time to take longer looks at special prospects and turn fall and winter baseball into hard-core training.
The Seattle Mariners, for instance, have more than 60 of their prized players spread across leagues in Arizona, Venezuela and Hawaii. And they’re not playing just to pick up a little extra cash.
Some, such as catcher Jeff Clement, need extra at-bats. Some, such as left-hander Ryan Rowland-Smith, are beginning the transition from reliever to starting pitcher.
Others have more detailed goals.
Greg Hunter, the Mariners’ director of minor league operations, has about 45 of his young players on fields in one place or another. It began in late September with what used to be called instructional league.
Last season, for instance, left-handed pitcher Edward Paredes, 20, went 7-6 with a 3.99 ERA at Single-A Everett. The Mariners believe if he learns to command his fastball, he could jump Double-A by midseason.
So Paredes started a game in Arizona on Thursday and threw 65 pitches – 61 of them fastballs, three curves and one change-up.
...
Seattle had an 18-year-old shortstop at Single-A Wisconsin last season, Juan Diaz. Wonderful hands, aggressive hitter – perhaps too aggressive. His mission in instructional league?
“Playing in Wisconsin can be a a difficult cultural transition for a young Latin player,” Hunter said. “Diaz is from the Dominican Republic. This fall we have him in English classes two, three times a week. And to help him learn the strike zone and worry less about hitting with two strikes, we have a plan ...”
At least once each game, in an at-bat of their choosing, Mariners coaches send Diaz to the plate with orders to “take” all pitches until he gets to two strikes. In theory, taking the pitches he might normally swing at helps him learn whether they’re balls or strikes.
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