8A — Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Adcock reflects on current minor league career
Brett Adcock may no longer
don the maize and blue, but he’s
still a Wolverine.
Following
an
impressive
three-year career at Michigan,
the Houston Astros selected the
6-foot left-hander in the fourth
round of the 2016 MLB Draft.
He was the 127th overall pick
out of 1,215 draftees, and now
plays for the Houston’s Single-A
farm
team
–
the
Tri-City
ValleyCats.
Adcock
finished
his college tenure with a 24-13
record – making him the sixth
most
winningest
pitcher
in
Wolverine history. In addition
to his impressive win total,
Adcock ranks fifth in career
strikeouts with 256.
Adcock established himself
as a legitimate major league
prospect in his junior season,
when
he
struck
out
100
batters in 14 starts and 15 total
appearances.
His
ability
to
strike out batters as a lefty –
Adcock ranked fifth amongst
left-handed
pitchers
in
the
NCAA with 11.49 strikeouts
per nine innings – appealed to
many major league scouts. The
interest from the big leagues
left Adcock with the humbling
decision of whether to finish out
his career as a Wolverine, or live
out the boyish dream of playing
professional baseball.
“It was my time to take my
play to the next step,” Adcock
said. “I just felt like I was ready
to go onto the next level.”
There is a learning curve
for any player going from the
collegiate level to professional
baseball.
Adcock
recognizes
this difficulty, but credits the
Michigan coaching staff for
preparing him for the next level.
“I feel like the (Michigan)
coaches got me ready,” Adcock
said. “The coaches definitely
know what they’re talking about.
They’re Division I coaches, they
were
hired
in part to get
college
guys
prepared for the
minor
leagues
and the pros.
They definitely
did that for me.
Honestly, I can’t
thank
them
enough.”
In
fact,
he
even
says
the
training
regimen was more intense in
college than the minors.
Nevertheless,
Adcock
is
quick to point out that the level
of play is still much higher
in
professional
baseball
than
in college; day-
in
and
day-
out
one
plays
against
a
team
of
exclusively
the
very
best
collegiate players.
But
unlike
in
college
ball,
where
there
is
a team element,
he is constantly
competing
with
his
minor
league teammates to get a call up
to the next level and ultimately a
chance at the big leagues.
“When you get to minor
league ball you
don’t really have
a team aspect
anymore,”
Adcock
said.
“Everyone
is
trying
to
get
to the top and
everyone
is
trying
to
get
your
job.
In
college,
it’s
a
team
aspect
more than an
individual one. You’re with
those guys 12 hours a day, five
to six days a week. We were all
together doing the same thing,
pushing each other. I definitely
miss it, (my advice
to
my
former
teammates) is to
enjoy it.”
The
competitive
nature of minor
league
baseball
is simply a part
of
the
process
of
becoming
a
professional.
Luckily
for
Adcock, he has
a former Wolverine in first
baseman
Carmen
Benedetti
going through the process with
him.
The
two
are
not
only
teammates on the ValleyCats,
but friends who – after three
years playing together – will
rely on one another both on and
off the field in 2017, during their
first full year in the minors.
Adcock saw limited action in
Single-A summer ball in 2016,
appearing in just three games
before tearing his meniscus
fielding a bunt. In the summer
between
his
freshman
and
sophomore years at Michigan,
Adcock
suffered
a
similar
injury. Having gone through the
injury and rehabilitation before
gives him confidence moving
forward.
“I had meniscus surgery, I
had the same kind of injury in
college,” he said. “So I knew
what was going to happen and
how I was going to get through
it.”
In order for Adcock to rise
up through the minor league
ranks, he will have to come back
strong from the injury and also
improve his game, as about just
17 percent of MLB Draft picks
see any time in the majors,
according to BaseballAmerica.
com. Adcock knows that to
succeed at the next level he must
stay consistent, throw more
strikes and continue to improve.
Despite
going
from
an
amateur
to
a
professional,
which includes earning a salary,
Adcock notes that his mindset
hasn’t
changed.
While
it’s
an added benefit to get paid,
turning pro was never about
making money.
“The potential to get paid
didn’t play a role (in my decision
to go pro) because it’s not just
the money,” he said. “You have
to love (baseball) and appreciate
that you’re not sitting at a desk
nine hours a day. You’re playing
and having fun doing something
you love.”
BY THE NUMBERS
Brett Adcock’s Michigan career
256
Career strikeouts — good for fifth in
program history.
11.49
Strikeouts per nine innings — good
for fifth in the NCAA in 2016.
24
Career wins, a total that made him
the sixth most winningest pitcher in
program history.
100
Strikeouts in 15 appearances on the
mound as a junior.
EVAN AARON/Daily
Former Wolverine Brett Adcock left Michigan as the sixth most winningest pitcher in program history, and is now playing for the Astros’ Single-A farm team.
“All of my college
teammates
helped prepare
me”
“You’re playing
and having fun
doing something
you love”
HUNTER SHARF
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan’s former left-hander is playing for the Tri-City ValleyCats, working his way toward the majors