Baseball Beginnings

By John Klima
June 17, 2010

It is a sad day in the life of the young minor league ballplayer when his last good bat breaks – on the road, no less. What he’s left with is the stock wood the parent club gives the kids. For those unfamiliar with how this feels for a young player, it’s a little bit like trying to cut a tin can with a plastic knife. As if the life on the road isn’t lonely enough, it is a little rougher to do it without a bat that feels right and helps create solid contact.

Solid contact has always been what Ryan Wheeler is about. Drafted in the 5^th round of the 2009 draft from Loyola Marymount, Wheeler is in his first full pro season at Class A Visalia in the California League, where Baseball Beginnings had a fresh look at Wheeler playing at Lancaster.

Baseball Beginnings: How would you compare professional instruction to college instruction?
Wheeler: Comparing amateur baseball to professional baseball, I think my coaching has been good throughout. Scott Walter at LMU always talked a lot about some of the stuff I needed help with – things like trying to stay back and not let my hips slide forward, hand path, and the fundamentals. All the way through college and into here, that’s been the main thing I’ve worked on.

The main pro thing is the mental approach. In college you play three days a week and you can remove yourself from the game for a day or even two whole days. You can kind of forget it if you are struggling. Now the pro coaches do a good job of pounding it home and saying, ‘OK, it (wasn’t good) tonight, but you got the next game in 20 hours. So you better figure out a way to forget what you did tonight, no matter if it was good or bad, and realize that there’s going to be guys trying to get you out tomorrow.’ That’s the biggest change I’ve had to make.

I mean, we’ve already played about 60 games. I’ve been as high as .330 and as low as .260. That’s the biggest difference, to not really be able to remove myself from the game, and to always being on the road. I mean, Visalia’s not home. You always feel like you’re on the road 24/7 even when you’re at home during the season. That’s the biggest difference.

Baseball Beginnings: How difficult or important is it to maintain your approach regardless of the environment around you, because I think historically, this is a league where guys fall out of approaches and sometimes think they are more than they are.
Wheeler: You mean home runs?

Baseball Beginnings: What I’m saying is I’ve seen guys who aren’t power guys come to this league, get balls in the thin air and wind, and think they have power. When you play a corner, and people expect power, how do you balance who you are with who you are trying to be while not trying to fall into the bad habits that befall players in this league?
Wheeler:  One thing that helps is that the Northern fields aren’t like the Southern fields. Every Southern field I’ve played in has ridiculous wind. It’s a little tougher to hit home runs, but it’s still not like the Northwest League or the Midwest League where it’s always tougher to hit home runs. The ball flies all over California. My whole life, pretty much, I’ve been a gap hitter and I haven’t changed that. I’ve hit three home runs this year and I’ve probably had eight balls hit on the warning track in right center or center field. I’ve had a few days where I’ve caught up in it and said to myself, ‘If I could just pull it, 20 feet further to right field, I’d have eight or nine home runs.’ You do that in BP and you can work on yanking it a little bit further down the line, but you get in the game and it’d roll over, roll over, roll over.

But you know what? I’m going to get stronger. The moment I start changing things, I start failing. It’s not worth it. I’d rather just stick with getting the singles and doubles. The home runs will come. I’ll get strong enough to the point where I can hit those balls out to center field.  I think it’s about accepting the swing you have and having the confidence that you’ll learn how to lift the ball, you’ll learn how to stay back.

Every day now, I’m learning how to stay back. When I do it correctly, I hit home runs easily. That’s off BP and that’s where you have to start. In game, its obviously not as easy, which is why the power numbers aren’t there. I have confidence that I’ll get it down. It’s just about not getting too frustrated when you’re in a home run hitting league. I don’t want to get caught up in it every day. I want to come out and work on what I need to work on.

Baseball Beginnings: Where are you strength wise?
Wheeler: I’m similar to where I was in college. This season I got up to about 240-242, spring training came and I was down to 230. Playing every day I’m about 228. You obviously can’t lift heavy in the season, but you can maintain it and gradually get stronger. It’s easier to lose weight in the season than it is to gain weight, but I feel like I’m doing a good job so far of maintaining it.

Baseball Beginnings: How has third base been for you?
Wheeler: Third base has been OK. I played first base a few days ago and that felt weird now, which was sort of funny. At third I think I’ve definitely gotten a lot better since college. Third base is a tough position and you accept that some of the balls will be tough. I played third for about half a season in college for about 25 games. I was playing first base for most of spring training and then they moved me over to third base for the last week. For about the first two weeks, my arm was sore. The throw is pretty much automatic now but I wouldn’t say I have that Adrian Beltre arm.

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Read Ryan Wheeler Scouting Report
Watch Ryan Wheeler Scouting Video
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Catching up with Ryan Wheeler

Categories: 2009 Draft
Tags: Arizona Diamondbacks, LMU, Ryan Wheeler