This morning side bullpen sessions were thrown by Cristian Hernandez, Tristan Garnett, Jordi Martinez, Tommy McCollum, Wesley Moore, Andrew Walling, Mick Abel, Andrew Baker, Tyler McKay and Samuel Aldegheri. Nine square target sessions were thrown by Jonathan Petit, Estibenzon Jimenez, Mavis Graves, Luke Russo and Enrique Segura.
Catchers, infielders and outfielders drilled on the half field and adjacent to it. Pitchers who didn’t throw bullpens today continued their throwing programs with toss and catch work on the stadium field. Hitters were in the cages throughout the day divided into separate groups for skill preparation.
In addition Nick Nelson threw off the mound to catcher Aramis Garcia - about fifteen pitches or so. They are both here on their own preparing for upcoming spring training. JT Realmuto is also here, he hit in the hitting lab yesterday with Johan Rojas.
Left-handed pitcher Tristan Garnett is my spotlight player of the day. Today was his first bullpen session of the camp, threw fastball, change up and cutters at about seventy percent effort. Tristan has an over the top delivery, his change up is one of the best in the organization. He has a consistent delivery and can locate the ball seemingly at will, throws strikes in good spots, saw a bit of that this morning. Here are my notes on him from last season.
LHP Tristan Garnett - 25 years old - signed as un-drafted free agent 7/20/21 - Cal State Dominguez Hills, CA
2023 Stats : stellar season - 1.94 overall ERA in 46 appearances between Jersey Shore and Reading - 51 IP, 56 strikeouts, 19 walks, 1.04 WHIP, .189 BAA, 64 % strike ratio, averaged 15.73 pitches per innings pitched. Posted a 2.39 ERA in 37.2 innings at Jersey Shore (34 games) with a 1.06 WHIP and a .191 BAA and a 0.68 ERA in 12 games (13.1 IP) at Reading with a 0.98 WHIP and .184 BAA
2023 Notes : Tristan hails from the Portland, Oregon area and was a starter in both high school and college however has easily adapted to being a reliever with multi inning capabilities, went more than an inning in fourteen of his forty-six appearances for Jersey Shore and Reading. He was promoted to Reading on August 4th after two outstanding months at High A in June/July where he recorded a sparking 0.47 ERA in 16 appearances (19 IP). His release point comes on a downhill plane, he’s 6’6” - put away pitch is his changeup, excellent deception from the same arm slot as the heater and no slowing of his arm motion. We’ve seen the fastball up to 94 mph, generally in the 91 to 93 mph range, with a differential of over 10 mph on the change it’s more than enough to be successful at the upper levels. Tristan will also throw a cutter and slider to keep batters honest, has the look, moxy and stuff of a big leaguer. One of the nicest young men we’ve met and is highly respected by teammates in the organization. We’ve had the privilege of meeting his father also, fun folks to chat with.
Tristan’s reflections : “Once you’ve figured out what makes you your best self, keep doing it. Don’t feel the need to change until hitters show you that is the case. Even if you do something over and over again, until it’s proven otherwise rinse and repeat. And going into 2024, I’m gonna be training in Clearwater mostly all off season to try and get some more power output out of my body, I’m gonna focus on honing in the cutter/slider at a higher velo.”
Pitching Coordinator Travis Hergert : “TG is a byproduct of a guy making the commitment to work hard on his craft and commit to our off-season HP programs. He showed a slight jump in average velocity this season and stayed healthy from start to finish. He has a unique release angle, similar to another lefty Jakob Hernandez. His change-up is his go to weapon and his slider made significant improvements.”
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
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