NYPL notes: O's Breazeale finds early success
It's been a long, productive year of baseball for Aberdeen's Ben Breazeale.Undrafted after his junior season at Wake Forest, he hit .333 as a senior, was selected in the seventh round by the Baltimore Orioles in June and has been one of the New York-Penn League's most productive hitters since
It's been a long, productive year of baseball for Aberdeen's
Undrafted after his junior season at Wake Forest, he hit .333 as a senior, was selected in the seventh round by the Baltimore Orioles in June and has been one of the New York-Penn League's most productive hitters since landing with the IronBirds.
"It's just kind of crazy," Breazeale said of 2017. "It's definitely been a long season. We had a good season in college, and that was really fun to go out my senior year like that. I couldn't have asked for more from that, and the Draft. Quick turnaround, come to Aberdeen and play in these 70 games here and go from there. It's been a lot of baseball. It's been a lot of fun."
In his debut, Breazeale went 3-for-4 for Aberdeen and hit safely in 20 of his first 21 games at the pro level. He sits second in the New York-Penn League with a .341 batting average and is tied for the lead in RBIs with 30, to go along with a league-best .453 on-base percentage.
The 22-year-old, who has split time between catcher and DH, credits his early successes in Aberdeen to the approach that gave him success at Wake this season.
"I like to get to the field a little bit early, get some swings off the tee, not try to tire myself out," he said of his routine. "I tried to find something that's repeatable that I can do in the cage that will transition to BP, then BP to the game. I feel like, having that down pat at this point in the season is something that gets you ready for each game. It gets to be a little bit of a grind. If you can find something that makes you comfortable as a player, it makes it that much easier."
A recent participant in the New York-Penn League All-Star Game, Breazeale has found that the pitchers he faces on a nightly basis are always as strong as the weekend arms he would see in college.
He's also learning about living life as a pro and adjusting to the notion that he does this every day now, and things like coursework and classes have gone by the wayside.
"It's a lifestyle," said Breazeale. "You play a game at 7 o'clock at night, you don't get done until around 11, get home and then eat, sleep and get up and do it again. Getting a routine is one of the most important things, especially when you're at home. On the road, you're kind of more set. I feel like getting your feet wet at this level and finding something that works for you as a player will give you the best chance of having some success."
Comfortable in the routine he's found at the next level, Breazeale is enjoying his first taste of pro life as he looks to carry his momentum through the end of the season and into instructs, before he can finally take a breath and look back on a long baseball year.
"It feels like just yesterday it was December and I was going back to school to start the season," he said. "It's awesome. Playing in Aberdeen, an area I'm familiar with, has been really nice. The people, the coaches, the players, it's just been first class."
In brief
Double trouble: With 18 doubles,
Hit and run: Hudson Valley's
Lefty stars: The Aberdeen southpaw combo of
Craig Forde is a contributor to MiLB.com.