Sports THE PRESS
JULY 1, 2013
B-1
Thomas seeking stint with fifth major league team By Mark Griffin Press Contributing Writer sports@presspublications.com Who knows if Justin Thomas’ pitching line in the Sacramento River Cats’ 11-7 loss to the Salt Lake Bees last Wednesday will help push him back into the major leagues this season. Thomas, a 2002 Clay grad, is a 6-foot3, 220-pound left-hander who is pitching for his ninth minor league team. If he gets called up to the pitch this season for the Oakland Athletics, the River Cats’ major league affiliate, he will have pitched for five major league teams. That list includes Pittsburgh, Seattle, Boston and the New York Yankees. On this particular Wednesday night, Thomas throws five innings and gives up three runs (all earned) on six hits, with three walks and three strikeouts. He also allows a home run as Sacramento falls to 4033 but still leads the Pacific Coast League’s Southern Division. Four days earlier, Thomas went seven innings against Salt Lake and allowed just one run. “I go out every time and try to throw 67 innings and try to give my team a chance to win,” Thomas said prior to his last start against Salt Lake. “I try to give up three or less runs. I haven’t had a lot of run support in my last few starts, but that comes and goes. I hope we score some runs my next few starts and I can keep the other team at bay and I can get a couple wins under my belt.” In 15 starts with Sacramento, Thomas had a 3-5 record with a 4.23 ERA in 78.2 innings. He had allowed 87 hits and 31 walks, and struck out 60. Opponents were hitting .276 against him. Thomas was a starting pitcher when his professional career began, but he was moved to the bullpen in 2008 by the Seattle Mariners. Last season he made the openingday roster with the Red Sox but was sent to Boston’s Triple-A club, Pawtucket, and became a free agent after a 72-hour waiver
Southpaw Justin Thomas. (Photo by Sara Molina/Sacramento River Cats) period. He was claimed off waivers by the Yankees and spent the rest of the 2012 season with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre as a spotstarter there before being called up to the Yankees in September. Thomas spent the last month of the season in the Yankees’ bullpen and then pitched
in Venezuela for about a month as a reliever, to get an early start on spring training. He was acquired by the Athletics over the winter and built himself up to be a starter, which turned out to be in Sacramento this spring. Thomas said he doesn’t mind being called on as a starter or as a reliever.
“I enjoy it the same, so it doesn’t really matter,” he said. “I haven’t (started) in a while and it took a while to get my routine down. The last four weeks, I’ve been able to get into a groove and stick with the same routine, so that’s good. I’ve done them both now and I have a grasp on how to do both. I don’t have preference.” At this point in his career, the 29-yearold Thomas said it is more beneficial to be a starter if he wants to pitch again at the major league level. “You can always be called up to the majors and put in the bullpen,” he said. “When you’re a starter, you can sometimes get called up to start or be put in the bullpen. It gives you more opportunity to get called up into any role. You can be a starter, a short (relief) guy and a long guy. It just opens up some more opportunities.” Now that he is starting, Thomas said he has mixed in throwing more curveballs to accompany his fastball, slider and changeup. Every team he’s played for, of course, has wanted Thomas to be able to do different things in different situations. Moving from team to team, city to city, is just part of the deal, he said. “That’s kind of the way it goes,” Thomas said. “You take your chances where you can get them. I picked to sign here because they were going to give me an opportunity to be a starter. I wasn’t going to sign back with the Yankees. The Rockies, Padres, Athletics, Orioles and Marlins were teams I was going to sign with this offseason, but I decided to sign with the A’s so I could be in the rotation.” Thomas added that he doesn’t have a time frame for when he’d like to get called up to the River Cats’ parent club. “I just kind of play it by ear,” he said. “I’ll wait and see. You have to see which teams suffer some injuries, or I could always be traded or hook on with another team. You just have to go out there when it’s your time to pitch, because other teams might be watching. You have to go out and perform, no matter who you’re pitching for.”
A.J. Achter on way up, one step away from Triple A By Mark Griffin Press Contributing Writer sports@presspublications.com Clay product A.J. Achter is at the point in his baseball career where he could get a call to the major leagues at any moment. Achter, who turns 25 in August, is a right-handed relief pitcher for the DoubleA New Britain Rock Cats of the Eastern League. New Britain is located in central Connecticut, about a half hour southwest of Hartford. “There isn’t too much to do around here,” Achter said. “A lot of time is spent with teammates. We play a lot of video games and watch a lot of movies. Netflix has saved a lot of boring days for us.” The Rock Cats are the Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, which is the team Achter hopes to play for some day. Last year he split his season between the Twins’ “low A-ball” team in Beloit, Wisc., and with their “high A-ball” team in Fort Myers, Fla. “There isn’t too much difference in talent,” Achter said. “There are still a lot of young guys still trying to learn the game in A-ball. When you make the jump to Double-A, there are more seasoned veterans. “I’ve played against some guys who are 30 years old and a couple guys who have played in the big leagues. A lot of guys get called from this league right to the
A.J. Achter pitching in Class A ball. (Press file photo courtesy of Beloit Scrappers)
big leagues. It’s definitely just a call away now.” The 6-foot-5, 205-pound Achter, who was selected by the Twins in the 46th round of the 2010 draft out of Michigan State, pitched in 22 games through June 26 and had a 1-0 record with a 2.18 ERA. In 33 innings he gave up 25 hits, three home runs and 18 walks and struck out 32. Opponents were batting .208 against him. “My season’s going pretty good,” Achter said. “They say it’s the biggest transition in the minor leagues, to go from high A to Double-A. I was fortunate to make this team in spring training. I have a high number of walks, which is a little discouraging, but I’ve been able to make pitches to keep guys from scoring.” Achter said he’s concentrating on his four best pitches — a two- and four-seam fastball, slider and change-up. He does not throw many curveballs. “I threw curves in high school and college, and it was always a pitch that was always tough for me to get a grasp on,” Achter said. “The slider has just been an easier pitch for me to control and get used to. I’m much more consistent with it than I have been in the last couple years.” Achter was back in Ohio last week, when the River Cats played the Akron Aeros. On June 21, in a 13-4 loss, Achter pitched the sixth inning and gave up one hit with two strikeouts. He pitched one perfect inning on June 22 in a 12-7 win as the
Cats improved to 35-38. “That was pretty cool,” Achter said. “I had a lot of friends and family there, close to 30, and it’s pretty awesome. We had a three-game series in Erie (Pa.) before we went to Akron, and I didn’t pitch in any of the games. I had a good feeling I would throw one of the first two games in Akron, and I threw the first two days. I had family there both days.” Achter was was moved to the bullpen full time last season. “I’ve been coming in out of the pen since a spot-start last year,” he said. “I love it. I come to the field every day with an opportunity to pitch. With each start, you’re only going to be in there every fifth day. This rejuvenates you as a ballplayer, knowing you could play every day. The bus rides in minor league baseball are long. When you come to the field knowing you can pitch every day, if that doesn’t get you amped to go, you’re in the wrong business.” The next step up from New Britain in the Twins’ minor league chain is Triple-A Rochester, of the International League. To get there, Achter said, will take more consistency in everything he does. “I have to throw strikes more consistently and throw my off-speed pitches more for strikes,” Achter said. “My downfall has been a pitch that I’ve struggled with the most, and I’m finally starting to get consistent with it.”