Sunday, May 11, 2014

Eitel Off To A Good Start In AAA Baseball

REN0511 SPT Eitel action
My nephew, Derek Eitel, has been elevated to AAA baseball this year playing for the Reno Aces and is off to a great start. In previous seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks' farm teams, he primarily played as a starting pitcher but is more comfortable in his current role as a relief pitcher. He's played in 11 games so far this season in which he has secured a 3-0 record, 0.47 ERA and 28 strikeouts. The Reno Gazette-Journal has an encouraging story on his future prospects, which made a nice Mother's Day gift for my sister:

Aces pitching coach Mike Parrott said Eitel's strong start has gotten the attention of the Diamondbacks officials.
"He's pitching with a lot more confidence than I've seen in the past," Parrott said. "And, on top of that, he's got good stuff. He's got the stuff to pitch in the big leagues."
Parrott said managers are looking for consistency, which Eitel has shown so far this season.
"If you're doing well here, and the big league club thinks you can help them, they'll make a spot for you," Parrott said. "(Eitel) needs to take what he already does well, and just continue to be more and more consistent with it. It comes down to being able to throw strikes with what you have to work with."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is tough to make it to the majors.

I have a cousin whose daughter-in-law's brother has been in the minors, but other years injured, since 2008, who is also a pitcher. He was highly thought of at his PAC-12 college.

Good luck.

Paul K. Ogden said...

Good form.

Bryan Bullington a Ball State grad who was from my hometown of Madison, Indiana was drafted #1 in the first round in about 2000. He's only had a few cups of coffee in the majors. The major league pitching coaches insisted he needed to throw in a different arm slot and when he did the batters teed off on him. He's now in Japan playing and from what I understand doing well. I don't know what it is about pitching coaches insisting on a one size fits all approach to pitching. If a pitcher gets people out, I don't care if he underhands the ball to the plate.