Obri
02-11-2003, 05:00 AM
Foppert's ascent nearly complete
By Chris Shuttlesworth / MLB.com
SAN FRANCISCO -- The most heated battle in Spring Training for the Giants will be the competition for the fifth starter spot, with the candidates expected to include incumbent Ryan Jensen, Kurt Ainsworth, Jerome Williams and Jesse Foppert.
Giants fans got a glimpse of former Olympian Ainsworth's potential in a couple of Major League stints the last two years. Williams, 21, has been a highly touted prospect, as he's steadily progressed up the organizational ladder since being drafted in 1999.
But Foppert, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound right-hander, may be the horse to watch in this race.
Named by Baseball America as the top prospect in the Pacific Coast League and by USA Today as the Giants' top pitching prospect, Foppert could potentially crack the Major League roster after only one full year in professional baseball.
"Every once in a while, you'll find a player that'll come along that will exceed the normal trip to the Major Leagues," said Jack Hiatt, director of player development for the Giants. "It's kind of a shock when a guy goes clear through the whole system in one year. It takes a special talent -- not only physical but mental tools, and he has those things."
Foppert ascended to Triple-A almost exactly one year after being picked in the second round of the 2001 First-Year Player Draft and struck out a remarkable 109 batters in 79 innings with Fresno despite tiring late in the season. His 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings led the minors and brought many of the accolades now being showered upon the low-key 22-year-old.
"It was nice to be recognized like that," said Foppert, from nearby San Rafael. "If they're saying good things, they can say all they want. I don't really pay much attention to it. I try not to think about it too much. I can't get caught up in that."
What makes his achievements even more astounding is that he didn't even become a pitcher until his final year at the University of San Francisco. Originally a third baseman but moved to first when Taggert Bozied (now a Padres prospect) took over the hot corner, Foppert always demonstrated a live arm.
"When he played third base, he would throw the ball across the diamond and it was something really special," said USF head coach Nino Giarratano. "We just thought, hey, the way that he's going to make it in professional baseball is going to be as a pitcher. I sat down with him and his father and we talked a little bit about that. They weren't completely go-go at all costs about this pitching thing. He wanted to be a position player in his heart pretty bad."
Fate intervened, however. Sent to play summer ball with the Harrisonburg (Va.) Turks of the Valley Baseball League, Foppert was pressed into pitching because several of his team's pitchers were still competing in the College World Series.
"I didn't like it," admitted Foppert. "It was more like I kind of got forced into it. As the summer went on, I got to like it more and more, and now I love it."
Foppert, who had pitched a little in fall scrimmages and during bullpen sessions, immediately showed talent, throwing 87 to 90 mph with command and later adding a breaking ball. His repertoire now includes a fastball in the mid-90s (reaching as high as 97 mph) with a solid slider and split-finger fastball and a change-up "every month or so."
"If you see him pitch, he does it so beautifully and effortlessly," said Hiatt. "It's an absolute effortless delivery; it's very smooth. You kind of see the delivery, the long, tall, loose-armed action, very smooth, and then all of sudden, the ball's by you.
"There are guys that are maxed-effort guys, that have to throw with their toenails. They have to use every part of their body to generate velocity. This guy looks like he's gonna yawn and throw the ball 97 mph."
Foppert joined the big-league squad for a few Cactus League games last year when he was called over from the minor league camp for split-squad contests. This year, he'll be a non-roster invitee to Major League camp.
"He needs to get in that clubhouse. He needs to walk around that clubhouse," said Hiatt. "He's got to see Robb Nen. He's got to see the way Kirk Rueter does his work. He gets to sit and have lunch next to Barry [Bonds]. He gets to go out and watch ballgames and watch these guys' professional, workmanlike approach to baseball. And that it as important as learning to throw a slider 3-and-2."
Foppert, who has been working out regularly at Pacific Bell Park this offseason, is looking forward to Spring Training at big-league camp.
"Just spending time with guys that have the experience ... and learning from [pitching coach Dave] Righetti and all those coaches [will be great]," said Foppert, whose family and friends are all Giants fans. "I think it'll be a good experience."
Hiatt said Foppert would benefit from both making the Majors out of Spring Training or beginning the season at Triple-A, as long as he's pitching regularly. With the Giants, he could possibly start out in the bullpen, but his future is likely as a starter.
"He's going to come into Spring Training and ... he'll impress people," said Hiatt, who mentions Foppert's maturity and confidence as often as his arm. "He'll make it awful tough for them to send him back [to Triple-A]."
Said Giarratano: "I think it would mean a tremendous amount to not only me but all the people around Jesse, his family and all the friends in the Bay Area and everybody in the program [if he makes it to the Majors]. It would just mean the world to us to have a local boy gone good in the Bay Area here and go from Benedetti Diamond to Pac Bell Park."
Chris Shuttlesworth is an editorial producer for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
By Chris Shuttlesworth / MLB.com
SAN FRANCISCO -- The most heated battle in Spring Training for the Giants will be the competition for the fifth starter spot, with the candidates expected to include incumbent Ryan Jensen, Kurt Ainsworth, Jerome Williams and Jesse Foppert.
Giants fans got a glimpse of former Olympian Ainsworth's potential in a couple of Major League stints the last two years. Williams, 21, has been a highly touted prospect, as he's steadily progressed up the organizational ladder since being drafted in 1999.
But Foppert, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound right-hander, may be the horse to watch in this race.
Named by Baseball America as the top prospect in the Pacific Coast League and by USA Today as the Giants' top pitching prospect, Foppert could potentially crack the Major League roster after only one full year in professional baseball.
"Every once in a while, you'll find a player that'll come along that will exceed the normal trip to the Major Leagues," said Jack Hiatt, director of player development for the Giants. "It's kind of a shock when a guy goes clear through the whole system in one year. It takes a special talent -- not only physical but mental tools, and he has those things."
Foppert ascended to Triple-A almost exactly one year after being picked in the second round of the 2001 First-Year Player Draft and struck out a remarkable 109 batters in 79 innings with Fresno despite tiring late in the season. His 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings led the minors and brought many of the accolades now being showered upon the low-key 22-year-old.
"It was nice to be recognized like that," said Foppert, from nearby San Rafael. "If they're saying good things, they can say all they want. I don't really pay much attention to it. I try not to think about it too much. I can't get caught up in that."
What makes his achievements even more astounding is that he didn't even become a pitcher until his final year at the University of San Francisco. Originally a third baseman but moved to first when Taggert Bozied (now a Padres prospect) took over the hot corner, Foppert always demonstrated a live arm.
"When he played third base, he would throw the ball across the diamond and it was something really special," said USF head coach Nino Giarratano. "We just thought, hey, the way that he's going to make it in professional baseball is going to be as a pitcher. I sat down with him and his father and we talked a little bit about that. They weren't completely go-go at all costs about this pitching thing. He wanted to be a position player in his heart pretty bad."
Fate intervened, however. Sent to play summer ball with the Harrisonburg (Va.) Turks of the Valley Baseball League, Foppert was pressed into pitching because several of his team's pitchers were still competing in the College World Series.
"I didn't like it," admitted Foppert. "It was more like I kind of got forced into it. As the summer went on, I got to like it more and more, and now I love it."
Foppert, who had pitched a little in fall scrimmages and during bullpen sessions, immediately showed talent, throwing 87 to 90 mph with command and later adding a breaking ball. His repertoire now includes a fastball in the mid-90s (reaching as high as 97 mph) with a solid slider and split-finger fastball and a change-up "every month or so."
"If you see him pitch, he does it so beautifully and effortlessly," said Hiatt. "It's an absolute effortless delivery; it's very smooth. You kind of see the delivery, the long, tall, loose-armed action, very smooth, and then all of sudden, the ball's by you.
"There are guys that are maxed-effort guys, that have to throw with their toenails. They have to use every part of their body to generate velocity. This guy looks like he's gonna yawn and throw the ball 97 mph."
Foppert joined the big-league squad for a few Cactus League games last year when he was called over from the minor league camp for split-squad contests. This year, he'll be a non-roster invitee to Major League camp.
"He needs to get in that clubhouse. He needs to walk around that clubhouse," said Hiatt. "He's got to see Robb Nen. He's got to see the way Kirk Rueter does his work. He gets to sit and have lunch next to Barry [Bonds]. He gets to go out and watch ballgames and watch these guys' professional, workmanlike approach to baseball. And that it as important as learning to throw a slider 3-and-2."
Foppert, who has been working out regularly at Pacific Bell Park this offseason, is looking forward to Spring Training at big-league camp.
"Just spending time with guys that have the experience ... and learning from [pitching coach Dave] Righetti and all those coaches [will be great]," said Foppert, whose family and friends are all Giants fans. "I think it'll be a good experience."
Hiatt said Foppert would benefit from both making the Majors out of Spring Training or beginning the season at Triple-A, as long as he's pitching regularly. With the Giants, he could possibly start out in the bullpen, but his future is likely as a starter.
"He's going to come into Spring Training and ... he'll impress people," said Hiatt, who mentions Foppert's maturity and confidence as often as his arm. "He'll make it awful tough for them to send him back [to Triple-A]."
Said Giarratano: "I think it would mean a tremendous amount to not only me but all the people around Jesse, his family and all the friends in the Bay Area and everybody in the program [if he makes it to the Majors]. It would just mean the world to us to have a local boy gone good in the Bay Area here and go from Benedetti Diamond to Pac Bell Park."
Chris Shuttlesworth is an editorial producer for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.