TRENTON- With the plethora of roster moves the Trenton Thunder made Saturday, the player that will take the ball Sunday is Matt Wotherspoon. Wotherspoon has been a reliever this season, for both the Thunder and Triple A Scranton Wilkes-Barre, but he will go back to the role that he excelled at i the Yankees organization for the past few...
TRENTON- With the plethora of roster moves the Trenton Thunder made Saturday, the player that will take the ball Sunday is Matt Wotherspoon.
Wotherspoon has been a reliever this season, for both the Thunder and Triple A Scranton Wilkes-Barre, but he will go back to the role that he excelled at i the Yankees organization for the past few years.
"I am excited," Wotherspoon said. "It is another opportunity to get out there, and help the team win baseball games. They want me to get some more reps with my changeup. It has kind of been off and on lately."
"I don't have as many opportunities to throw it when I am pitching in roles that are two or maybe three innings at a clip, where I can get by with just my fastball and slider," Wotherspoon said. "Those are my two best pitches, so they really want me to hammer this changeup. And with the opportunities I am going to get starting, it is going to get me more opportunities to throw the changeup."
Thunder manager Bobby Mitchell will give Wotherspoon the ball Sunday, and for the foreseeable future the big righty will work from the rotation.
"He has been outstanding, and he is scheduled to start, and become a starter here, so that he can get innings," Mitchell said. "I talked to him about it, and it is definitely a good thing for him."
"Even though he liked the role he was in, and he was very comfortable with it, he can always go back to it," Mitchell said. "But he needed innings, like we talked about, and needed to work on some pitches. We are happy to have him, even though we wanted him to stay where he was too."
"I started last year in Charleston for 90 percent of the year, so I think they know I can handle the workload," Wotherspoon said. "But I think it is more about getting the reps with my changeup, and getting my other pitches more consistent."
Wotherspoon will now have the chance to throw more pitches, and innings, but will his approach change towards the Double A batters now that he may have to face them multiple times a game?
"I am going to stay aggressive, with the same mindset," Wotherspoon said. "Just like I am throwing out of the bullpen. My mindset is not going to change just because I am starting."
"Now, when there are opportunities to throw my changeup, I will mix them in and see what happens," Wotherpoon said. "Up here, maybe you are not going to get the same guy out with the same pitch. By the second or third time through the lineup, they are going to see everything you have, most likely. You are going to have to get them out, some guys, in different ways, as you work through the lineup."
Wotherspoon is 1-0, with one save, and a 0.78 ERA on the year at the two stops. He has allowed two earned runs all year in 23 innings, and has opened some eyes. He appeared in three games for the RailRiders, and did not allow a run in six innings.
"Every level you go up, the strike zone is a little tighter," Wotherspoon said. "The batters are a little better. They are a little more selective. They know what they are doing, and they all have an approach. But that doesn't affect what I am doing. I am trying to stay aggressive, be aggressive in the strike zone, and pitch to my strengths."
WADE WILL PLAY SHORT, SECOND FOR THUNDER
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The Thunder made four roster moves Saturday. Eric Ruth and Dietrich Enns, the reigning Eastern League Player of the Month, went up to Triple A Scranton Wilkes-Barre.
Caleb Smith was activated from the DL, while the Yankees acquired J.R. Graham from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for cash considerations.
Contact Sean Miller at seanmillertrentontimes@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheProdigalSean