Patrick Ryan

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<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=393419#post393419 target=_blank>Brewers sign 11 from First-Year Player Draft</a>

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<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=393618#post393618 target=_blank>Several players assigned to Helena</a>

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<b><font size=4>Clothes don't make the Class A pitcher</font>
Central grad Patrick Ryan's comfort zone is on the mound, chasing a spot in the majors, not slaving away in a retail store.</b>

Patrick Ryan had a real job once.

At Aeropostale this past offseason.

Problem is, Aeropostale is a clothing store, not a baseball diamond.

The hours are earlier. The workplace isn't outside. And unless you've got a thing for folding pants, the competitive juices are rarely flowing.

"It was brutal," said Ryan, a former Central standout who is now a pitcher in the Milwaukee Brewers organization. "I never want a real job."

He just might be able to pull it off.

So far this season, Ryan has been one of the biggest surprises on the West Virginia Power, a Class A affiliate of the Brewers. He is the team's go-to middle reliever, and through Tuesday was 5-1 with a 1.60 ERA in 25 appearances.

Though there is no telling when - or if - he will get his next minor league promotion (the Brewers high-Class A team plays in Brevard), Ryan certainly hasn't hurt his cause this year.

"He's demonstrated here that he can pitch in this league and with a few more refinements he can easily make it to Brevard," Power pitching coach John Curtis said.

That's pretty impressive, considering Ryan originally wasn't even supposed to be playing Class A ball this season.

Selected in the 19th round of last June's draft, he played 17 games in 2005 with the Brewers' rookie league team in Helena, Mon. His numbers were respectable - 0-0 with a 3.15 ERA - but when spring training broke this year, he was slated to spend another season in Helena.

At the last minute, though, Power manager Mike Guerrero decided he needed another pitcher, and Ryan was the choice.

"It was kind of a 13th-hour decision," Curtis said.

And it has worked out for both parties.

Ryan, who said he arrived in Helena last year wearing shorts and flip-flops only to find it was 40 degrees and raining, is enjoying life in Charleston, W.V., where the Power plays its home games. He's engaged to his college sweetheart, and he's taking advantage of every opportunity he gets.

For those who knew Ryan in high school, none of it comes as a surprise. Mike Ellison, who was an assistant coach at Central during Ryan's career there, remembers the list of goals the pitcher used to keep in his wallet during college.

"Of all the kids I have ever coached, he is probably the most motivated," Ellison said.

Former Central coach Gary Buel remembers the first time the "portly little smart-a--" named Patrick Ryan walked onto his baseball field as a freshman. He had awful mechanics, Buel said, and was in horrible shape.

But he had determination.

One day, Ellison and a few pitchers were working in the bullpen when Ryan announced he was going to play professional baseball.

"We all got a little chuckle out of it," Ellison said. "But he was serious."

After his senior year at Central, Ryan attended junior college because "nobody wanted me." He eventually landed at Embry-Riddle, where he underwent a physical transformation, dropping from 228 to 195 pounds and revamping both his diet and workout routine.

As a senior he helped Embry-Riddle reach the NAIA World Series, and in June was drafted by the Brewers.

Now, he is waiting to see where the next step will take him.

Ryan said he has no idea what lies in his future. Though the velocity of his fastball is below average, Curtis said Ryan has movement on the pitch that is reminiscent of Yankees closer Mariano Rivera's famed cutter.

Still, the development of prospects is a finicky business, one that no player will ever completely figure out. So many factors, from a team's strengths and weaknesses to its depth to its health, are involved in the decision-making process that it is best to ignore it completely.

"If you start worrying about that stuff, your mind isn't in the right place," Ryan said.

Besides, as long as he isn't folding clothes, life can't be too bad.

[645]

Player: Patrick Ryan
Date: 05/23/2007
Action: Transferred
From Team: West Virginia Power
To Team: Brevard County Manatees

[645]

Player: Patrick Ryan
Date: 09/12/2007
Action: Transferred
From Team: Brevard County Manatees
To Team: Huntsville Stars