Bill Mitchell's Minor League Ramblings

Minor League Ramblings For the week of :
July 5, 2004

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Minor League Ramblings is produced by Bill Mitchell for Minor League Watch.

Kroeger preparing himself to be the next "Baby Back"
July 9, 2004

The Arizona Diamondbacks, due to a rash of injuries at the big league level the past two seasons, have liberally promoted players from within the organization. These young players, like Matt Kata, Brandon Webb and Robby Hammock last season and Scott Hairston, Chad Tracy and Tim Olson this year, have been affectionately termed by fans and media the "Baby Backs."

Josh Kroeger

The man that may become the next young prospect to contribute at the big league level is outfielder Josh Kroeger.

Now in his fifth minor league season, the 21-year-old left-handed hitter is only one step away from The Show, having been promoted to AAA Tucson just three weeks ago.

Kroeger is eager for his opportunity with the Diamondbacks.

"Every day we sit down in the clubhouse and watch the Diamondbacks play," Kroeger remarked, "and I see guys I've played with the last few years. It's pleasing to see they're giving us young guys a chance. As long as we keep doing well, we're going to get a shot at it."

Many within the Arizona organization are equally enthused about Kroeger's potential.

"The potential is there," commented Lorenzo Bundy, until recently Kroeger's hitting coach at Tucson and now the bench coach for the Diamondbacks. "He's one of our prospects ... he's knocking at the door of the big leagues."

The 6'2", 200 pound Kroeger joined the Arizona organization at the age of 17 after being picked in the fourth round of the 2000 draft. After one year in Rookie League, the San Diego native was pushed to Low A and then to High A at the age of 19.

Kroeger struggled in his first taste of High A, but returned to the Diamondbacks' Lancaster affiliate last season and tore the league apart in the first half of the season. He batted .341/.409/.528 in 78 games, earning a selection to the league all-star team. Kroeger was then promoted to AA El Paso, where he hit .274/.315/.380.

The Diamondbacks thought highly enough of Kroeger to send him to the Arizona Fall League at the conclusion of the regular season. The seven weeks of AFL ball turned out to be a very good learning experience.

"It was just good to see major league caliber pitching," said Kroeger about his time in the AFL. "A lot of those guys ... are in the big leagues now."

Kroeger added that it was helpful that the batters in the AFL saw so many different pitchers during the Fall season. "I didn't see the same pitcher more than once or twice."

Playing an additional 40 games in the AFL after the regular 140 game season helped Kroeger improve his conditioning.

Josh Kroeger

"I was a little tired after playing last season," he said. "But going to play in the Fall showed me what I need to do to keep myself in shape so I don't wear down at the end of the season."

Kroeger put up solid numbers at AA this year before his promotion to Tucson. In 65 games with El Paso, he batted .331/.393/.588 with nine homeruns and 46 RBIs.

"I knew what to expect going back to AA," Kroeger remarked. "I fee like I did pretty well. I started off kind of slow, but picked it up towards the second or third month."

Kroeger is still adjusting to AAA, hitting .277/.333/.383 after his first 47 at bats. It's important to remember that he's still only 21, making him one of the younger players in AAA.

"Offensively, he can always get better," said Bundy. "This is going to be another challenge for him here at the AAA level until we see what changes he needs to make here. Sometimes his strikeout totals are a little high, but he can also hit the ball out of the ballpark."

Kroeger also believes he needs to improve his glove work.

"My defense is something I've been working on a lot," said Kroeger. "Just knowing some of the situations that come up that I haven't been faced with before, (such as) throwing to the right base ... things like that."

But overall, Kroeger is pleased with the progress he's made since passing up a chance to play college football in order to sign with the Diamondbacks.

"I set some goals for myself," he said, "this being one of them ... moving two levels in a couple of years. I'm just trying to stick with what I've been doing and do the best I can."

Kroeger concluded by discussing his best attributes as a ballplayer and as a person.

"I'm a hard worker," he stated. "I go about my business every day. I prepare myself for the games and just play the game hard."

--- Bill Mitchell