Bill Mitchell's Minor League Ramblings

Minor League Ramblings For the week of :
March 17, 2003

Initial Minor League Spring Training Report
Interview with Joe Blanton
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Minor League Ramblings is produced by Bill Mitchell for Minor League Watch.

Blanton could be the "real deal" for the Athletics
March 22, 2003

The Oakland Athletics had an embarrassment of riches in the 2002 free agent draft, having accumulated seven picks before the second round due to multiple free agent defections. With the opportunity to replenish a farm system thinned out when a number of prospects were traded after the 2001 season, the A's went strictly for college players in the early rounds.

Joe Blanton

The second of their early selections, University of Kentucky right-handed pitcher Joe Blanton, already has the Oakland organization excited with his potential as a future member of the parent team's starting rotation.

"I think he's the real deal," remarked Keith Lieppman, Oakland's Director of Player Development, about Blanton. "He's right on track."

Lieppman continued, "All the equipment's there. He's got a great live fastball and an outstanding breaking ball, and he's learning what to do with his changeup and his two-seamer."

After selecting Blanton with the 24th overall choice, the A's sent the stocky 6'3", 225 pound pitcher to their Northwest League affiliate in Vancouver. He pitched four games for the short-season A squad, compiling a 3.14 ERA in 14 innings with an impressive 15-2 K/BB ratio, earning a promotion to Modesto, one of Oakland's two high Class A California League teams in 2002. Blanton pitched only six innings for Modesto.

Blanton returned for Instructional League at the A's complex in Phoenix in September to continue his transformation from raw college pitcher to more polished professional.

"I feel like I got pretty acclimated with the A's organization," Blanton answered when asked about his first year with the team. "I changed a few mechanics and became a little more fluid."

The 22-year-old Blanton found the professional game quite a bit different from pitching in college.

Joe Blanton

"It's a lot more technical than college," he stated, "more of knowing how to do everything, (making) less mistakes, and more of hitting the spots with your pitches."

Blanton did not feel any particular pressure coming to the organization as a number one draft choice.

"Coming in the first couple of days I guess was a little bit different," he remarked, "but after you get to know all of the guys, it's just baseball. Whether you're the first pick of the team or the last pick, we're all baseball players. Everybody's just trying to do the same thing."

Blanton's strength as a pitcher is his 92-95 MPH sinking fastball and an effective breaking ball. His biggest areas for improvement, according to Blanton, are "... getting a more consistent changeup, locating the fastball better, and being able to limit my pitches per inning."

Lieppman added, "He's a high fastball type of guy," stating that Blanton needs to learn to get the ball down in the zone more often.

Blanton is also working on learning the mental part of the game, although Lieppman believes the young right-hander has a jump on the competition in that respect.

"That's the main area that differentiates the players coming into our system," Lieppman said. "After the first half season he went through a few obstacles, and he handled them OK. He had some times in Instructional League where he was out of gas, and he persevered pretty well. He should be able to handle it."

Blanton will probably begin the 2003 season back at Modesto. His goals for the season are quite simple --- "Just try to go out and do my job."

--- Bill Mitchell