On the injury that caused him to miss time in spring training: “I had a little issue with my hips being out of alignment and my quads pulling on my pelvic bone. Because of that, I ended up with a slight pull in my hamstring. It’s kind of hard to explain, but it was kind of a mis-rotation of my pelvic bone. I had a similar problem in high school, and even though it was frustrating, it’s good to have this happen early in my career so we can take care of it. They have me doing some one-sided exercises, working on the physioball, stretching my quads and hip flexors. It’s nothing major.”
On his expectations coming into spring training: “I didn’t really know what to expect, to be honest. I had heard it was great, and for the most part it was. My only real goal was to do the best I can. Beyond that, all you can do is hope that management has a plan for you.”
On learning he had earned a promotion to Lowell: “Two nights ago, I was sleeping when I got a call from Dave Tomlin, the manager down in Extended. He told me I was going up, and in the morning I was on the plane. Once I got here, they put me right in the line-up, so there wasn’t really even time to think about it. It all happened so fast. Today is more of a learning-experience, because I woke up here and have been going through the daily routine.”
On working out this past off-season: “The whole year I wondered what I’d do once the season ended, because Colorado isn’t exactly a hotbed for baseball during the winter. But then I got hooked up with Brian Specht, who spent several years in the minor leagues with the Angels. I met him through a Bible study we were both attending, and he helped me a lot. I had my ups and downs last season, but I worked hard and came into this year with a good plan of attack.”
On looking back on his first professional season: “It was a great learning experience, that’s for sure. One thing I did was give too much credit to the guys I was playing against. I looked at myself too much as a young guy from Colorado, just out of high school -- not someone who could fully compete at their level. But now that that first season is over, the fascination and happiness has changed to more of a goal mentality. From the get-go I’ve considered it a huge blessing that I’m here, but now I feel ready to take it to another level.”