NWL notes: Ems' Strumpf staying tough

Cubs second-rounder Chase Strumpf is adjusting to life in the Minors pretty well, and he has summer ball and a sports psychologist to thank for that.
Through 15 games with the Eugene Emeralds, Strumpf is hitting .315/.429/.537 with two home runs and 10 walks, and the former UCLA standout said his 2017 summer in Minnesota was tremendously helpful in preparing him for the rigors of pro ball and a short-season schedule.

"It's a grind," Strumpf said. "You're playing every day, and the travel is about the same."
A second baseman, Strumpf played for the Duluth Huskies in the Northwoods League in 2017, which was his last summer playing amateur ball due to injury in 2018, but he still feels like the experience has helped propel him to early success at the professional level.
He hit for a .974 OPS in 44 games, and then helped the Bruins earn the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament in 2019, so of course it worked.
"It's great for position players," he said. "You get a ton of at-bats since you're playing every day, and it's the closest thing you can get to short season, I'd say."
Performance on the field is one thing, and an oft-overlooked aspect of baseball is what happens off the field -- whether it's mechanical or mental preparation. Strumpf said late sports psychologist Ken Ravizza was a critical influence on how he approaches the game.
Ravizza wrote Heads-Up Baseball: Playing the Game One Pitch at a Time and worked with high-profile college athletic departments and Major League clubs like the Cubs. What some young ballplayers could see as hokey, Strumpf thought the opposite and absorbed as much information as he could from Ravizza, who passed away in July.
"I took that stuff seriously," Strumpf said. "It's all about the mental game -- how consistent can you stay, how tough you can stay when everything just goes terrible."

Strumpf said he's constantly trying to build the mental side of his game, and a good test of his will came in his first professional assignment in the Rookie-level Arizona League. While not a large sample, Strumpf hit .182 in 22 at-bats. He was, however, able to bounce back once assigned to the Emeralds.
"There were days where it was like, 'Dude, I just want to be back in California and I don't know why I even got into this,'" he said. "Those are little tests, though. Those are tests where you see if you can set yourself apart from other guys. If you can overcome that feeling and embrace the situation, that's what pro ball is all about."
Another incredible mind game that college players have to play, especially ones as high-profile as Strumpf, is thinking about fulfilling their life's dream of being drafted and playing for their college team at the same time.
The MLB Draft fell on a day UCLA played Loyola Marymount in the regionals -- a unique issue college baseball players have to deal with. Strumpf said his coach, John Savage, called it out before the season began, and then reminded his eligible players on the first day of the Draft, June 3.
"Everyone's mind was in the right spot," Strumpf said. "He told us if we wanted to go where we wanted to go, it had to be the last thing on our minds."

Whatever Savage said worked for Strumpf. With the Bruins up 3-2 in the fourth inning, Strumpf blasted a towering three-run homer over the left field wall to lift his squad to an eventual 6-3 win and clinch a spot in the super regionals.
What he didn't know was that just before his at-bat, the Cubs selected him with the No. 64 overall pick.
As Strumpf headed back to the dugout to celebrate, he heard a familiar voice going bonkers in the stands. It was his dad, overwhelmed by everything, yelling to him that the Cubs drafted him.
"It was a surreal moment," Strumpf said. "I'll never forget it."

In brief

Clinching season: The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, the Giants' NWL affiliate, slugged their way to a South Division title with a 26-12 record. They led the league in multiple offensive categories and clubbed 40 home runs to go with 74 doubles and hit .273 as a team. Spokane, a Rangers affiliate, was second in the league with a 3.31 ERA and 401 strikeouts to help them win the North Division with a 22-16 mark.
Packing the stands: People love baseball up north. The Vancouver Canadians and their beautiful Nat Bailey Stadium led the way in attendance for the first half. The Nat averaged 6,062 fans a night, followed by Spokane at 4,930. Eugene had the fewest home games in the first half with 15 and had an average of 4,050 fans per night go through the turnstiles.