The consensus in Trenton appears to be that Bowie Baysox catcher Matt Wieters is the best player that’s played in Waterfront Park all season long.
Having seen him play all three games of the series, it’s hard to argue with that.
The fifth overall pick in the 2007 draft by the Baltimore Orioles, Wieters entered the season as the organization’s number one prospect, as ranked by Baseball America.
Before the last game of the series, I had the opportunity to sit down with the former Georgia Tech standout and ask him about being drafted, his experience with the Baysox and his big league future.
Mike Ashmore: The Orioles picked you fifth overall in the draft last season. Take me back to draft day, what was that like for you?
Matt Wieters: “It was an exciting feeling at about this time last year. I was curious to see where I’d be going and I was looking forward to getting out there and playing again.”
Ashmore: You signed too late to play during the regular season last year, but you did play in the Hawaii Winter League. Do you feel like that league served as a good building block of sorts for playing in the upper levels of the minors?
Wieters: “Definitely. Any time you get a chance to play, it’s going to be good. The best way you can learn is playing through games. It was good to get out there and get my first pro experience out there.”
Ashmore: What’s it like out there?
Wieters: “It’s nice. You get Monday’s off, so it’s got to not have to play every day of the week. And at the same time, it’s good quality baseball. And you can’t beat being in Hawaii to play.”
Ashmore: Are you where you thought you would be at this point of the year?
Wieters: “Yeah, I’d say this is where I thought I could be. I’m pretty happy with the way the year has gone so far, but we’ve still got a good playoff run we’re trying to make right now.”
Ashmore: What’s been the biggest adjustment for you as you climb through the levels of the minors?
Wieters: “The biggest jump is just that everybody gets deeper, and you get deeper pitching staffs and they can throw different pitches in different counts. The hitters, one through eight, one through nine are all good hitters that you’ve got to focus on to get out.”
Ashmore: There have been a lot of prospects that have come through here with a lot of hype that have been disappointing, but having see you play the past two games, it’s pretty clear you’re not one of those guys. Was there a point growing up where you realized that baseball could be a pretty fruitful career for you?
Wieters: “It’s always been a dream. It was a dream that I could achieve for an occupation, and you’ve just got to keep working hard and hopefully it works out.”
Ashmore: You’ve got a lot of people talking about you possibly being in Baltimore as early as September. How do you feel about that?
Wieters: “It’s good they talk, but right now I’m just trying to focus on the second half of the Eastern League and get into the playoffs and put some games together there.”
Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com
August 25, 2008 at 11:39 am |
If you could talk to him again this coming series, ask him what his feelings are with the Olympics.
January 29, 2009 at 6:26 am |
[...] Yes, that would be Bowie’s own Matt Wieters. You can read my August chat with Wieters here… [...]