Tyler Naquin
Michael Wacha
Texas A&M Baseball
“I’m thrilled. It’s an unbelievable experience and the way I look at it, it’s a blessing. The good Lord gave me the talent and work ethic to keep on driving through. It’s something you dream about and you want to make come true. But the road doesn’t stop here. It’s one more stepping stone to get where I really want to be which is the Major Leagues. That’s the final showdown right there.”
On attending A&M instead of opting to go pro immediately after high school…
“Out of high school, I was the 33rd round pick to the [Baltimore] Orioles. I was seriously considering [moving to the major leagues] and I wasn’t really highly recruited. I had talked to Texas and Baylor and I hadn’t heard anything from A&M. My high school coach had contacted A&M, I got to talking with them a bit and Coach Childress came out to Arizona after the draft to watch me play a couple games. He told me ‘Hey man, I believe if you sign right now you’ll have a long road ahead of you. Come to A&M, let us develop you and you’ll have a better chance.’ I couldn’t thank him or the rest of the coaching staff enough for making that decision. They made the decision easy on me.”
On being in an organization that moves players quickly through the farm system…
“I got the call from Cleveland the other day for a couple interviews and they kind of asked me the same thing. Everybody says they move their players quick so that’s another blessing. Whether I start out in the affiliation is fine. Just to have the opportunity is a blessing.”
On getting paid to play baseball…
“It’s pretty much what [Michael] Wacha said. It’s a dream come true. You’re eight years old just playing paper ball, whiffle ball or whatever and you’re like I want to be like that guy right there. And sure enough we’re standing here today with the opportunity to be paid to play a game. We used to play video games about this stuff, now we’re actually part of a ball club like that and hopefully we move up and get to the major leagues as quickly as we can.”
On his knowledge of the Cleveland Indians…
“To be honest, I don’t really know anything about any major league team other than the Houston Astros. I’ve maybe been to five or six games my whole life. I just live in Spring right there so it’s the only team I’ve really gone to watch. I don’t know much about Cleveland or anything. I’m just really excited, as is my family, that I can be a part of their affiliation.”
On his next steps in the pros…
“They’re going to contact me either later today or tomorrow to get everything going, talk about paper work and all that good stuff.”
On the possibility of coming back home and playing in Houston…
“That would be an awesome experience. I have a lot of fans there, a lot of friends. It would be a dream come true. You dream about playing at big ball parks. In video games, you select whatever ball park you want to play in as a kid and you can right there on the game. To have the opportunity to make it in one of those big ball parks is a true blessing.”
On being an atypical right fielder and potentially playing center field…
“I never really talked to [the Indians] a whole bunch. They believe I can play center field, I played it all through high school. That’s where they plan to move me. The whole power talk that everybody talks about, hitting home runs and stuff, I believe that comes with experience. Getting bigger and stronger and moving through pro ball. Home runs are going to come. You hit for average. You find a spot for a guy that can hit for average, steal bases and score runs because at the end of the game, runs are what win the ballgame.”
On what he wants to improve…
“My physical appearance and just putting on more weight. [I need to] keep swinging the bat, keep working hard in the weight room strength-wise, get a few pro at bats under my belt. Being able to get the experience in order to help my career, move up and help the Indians succeed.”
On what former players have said about getting to the majors…
“They said it’s a struggle. It’s not a cakewalk. It’s definitely a grind every day but you’re getting paid. I believe if they give me the honor to be taken in the first round I can grin through a minor league system to make it all the way to the show to help them.”
On learning his throwing motion…
“My dad played high school ball and football and that’s all he played but he, still to this day, can throw a football and baseball really well. My older brother has a really great arm. He was even clocked at high school at 96 in the outfield. He could really throw and whenever he and I were little we were picking up oversized footballs, weighted baseballs and we were always throwing them. When you’re little, you don’t really think about hurting your arm so you’re just throwing everything that’s heavy or a rock at the ball park. I believe that could’ve built a lot of arm strength but I also believe it had to do with my dad and my brother.”
On making the transition to wooden bats…
“It’s definitely a jump. It’s still an aluminum bat. It has more of a sweet spot like a wood bat. I was fortunate enough to go play with team U.S.A. with Wacha and he was throwing against the wood bats and I saw him break a couple of them. It’s a different mindset, you have a different approach. I believe a wood bat it’s a lot like a metal bat. You’re not going to get the same sweet spot on it and you can really backspin it with a wood bat. It’s definitely going to be a challenge but it shouldn’t be a problem.”
On waiting and finally hearing his name called…
“It was about 2 o clock, I had a few phone calls and it’s kind of surreal to be honest. You don’t think it could ever happen to you. Once you put in all the hard work you’re sitting on that day and we’d rather be at the ball park playing, of course, but we lost out on it. To be able to sit there and know I actually had another teammate waiting, just as anxious as I was, and we kind of stayed in touch through a text, wished each other good luck. We were both selected in the top-20 picks and it’s definitely a dream come true. I know Michael [Wacha] feels the same way.”
On his contact with Wacha…
“I got the call probably 20 seconds after I had talked to Michael.”
“It’s just an unbelievable feeling right now. I think I’m still on a high right now. I definitely wasn’t expecting that. I knew I would go between 15 and 25 picks and going to the St. Louis Cardinals, which has been an established program, I couldn’t be any more pleased getting drafted by them.”
On the team being more important than the pick number…
“In a way I guess you could say that. It’s really nice getting drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals. Couldn’t be more excited by doing that.”
On his familiarity with St. Louis…
“I have a lot of family in Iowa. We’ll drive up through St. Louis on the way up there. That’s the only time I’ve really been up there. I’m looking forward to it.”
On what scouts have told him…
“I hear a lot of stuff from scouts throughout the year. I talked to a Cardinal scout right after they drafted me. They said they’ve been watching me all year. They were very impressed with me and the season I had. They couldn’t be more excited having me on their team.”
On looking at where he might be headed with the St. Louis farm system…
“I’m supposed to talk to them later on today but we looked at where all their farm systems are. I think there’s one in Texas, there’s one in Memphis, one in Springfield and one in Iowa so pretty much up and down. It’s the heart of the United States.”
On his next steps…
“The Cardinals will contact me here probably later today or tomorrow. They’ll start talking about getting a deal worked out and we’ll go from there.”
On getting paid to play baseball…
“Whenever you can play a game and get paid for it, there’s no better feeling than that. Playing the game I love and getting paid for it now, it’s an unbelievable feeling. I couldn’t be more happy.”
On the new draft rules speeding up the draft process…
“It’ll be nice. I guess they moved it up a month or so. Once we get a deal worked out, they'll tell me where I’m heading off too. It’ll be a lot earlier than in the past with the new CBA agreements.”
On his reaction when Naquin was drafted…
“It was crazy. It was pick 14 and I was like, ‘Hey man, how you doing?’ and he says, ‘Doing good’. All of a sudden the next pick he gets picked and I was like ‘What the heck? You couldn’t tell me that you were about to get drafted or anything?’ I think he probably knew but I couldn’t be more excited for him. He’s worked hard his whole career and he’s got big things in his future for sure.”
On working to become a first-rounder…
“Coach Childress took a chance on me coming out of high school. I wasn’t highly recruited and didn’t get drafted out of high school. He spent a lot of time with me in bull pens and developed me into the pitcher I am today. I owe him so much for doing this and I couldn’t be more thankful.”
On his dreams to become a major leaguer…
“Just growing up, you always watched them on TV. That’s just always been my dream, just being able to play in the major leagues. Looks like I’m heading the right way now. Hopefully I can keep doing it.”
On former players’ comments about working through the minors…
“They said it’s a grind for sure. I’m looking forward to getting better every day and working to where I can help the club become more successful than it is right now. I’m just looking forward to it.”
Naquin, Wacha thrilled to embark on pro careers
Tyler Naquin
On the excitement after hearing his name called in the draft…“I’m thrilled. It’s an unbelievable experience and the way I look at it, it’s a blessing. The good Lord gave me the talent and work ethic to keep on driving through. It’s something you dream about and you want to make come true. But the road doesn’t stop here. It’s one more stepping stone to get where I really want to be which is the Major Leagues. That’s the final showdown right there.”
On attending A&M instead of opting to go pro immediately after high school…
“Out of high school, I was the 33rd round pick to the [Baltimore] Orioles. I was seriously considering [moving to the major leagues] and I wasn’t really highly recruited. I had talked to Texas and Baylor and I hadn’t heard anything from A&M. My high school coach had contacted A&M, I got to talking with them a bit and Coach Childress came out to Arizona after the draft to watch me play a couple games. He told me ‘Hey man, I believe if you sign right now you’ll have a long road ahead of you. Come to A&M, let us develop you and you’ll have a better chance.’ I couldn’t thank him or the rest of the coaching staff enough for making that decision. They made the decision easy on me.”
On being in an organization that moves players quickly through the farm system…
“I got the call from Cleveland the other day for a couple interviews and they kind of asked me the same thing. Everybody says they move their players quick so that’s another blessing. Whether I start out in the affiliation is fine. Just to have the opportunity is a blessing.”
On getting paid to play baseball…
“It’s pretty much what [Michael] Wacha said. It’s a dream come true. You’re eight years old just playing paper ball, whiffle ball or whatever and you’re like I want to be like that guy right there. And sure enough we’re standing here today with the opportunity to be paid to play a game. We used to play video games about this stuff, now we’re actually part of a ball club like that and hopefully we move up and get to the major leagues as quickly as we can.”
On his knowledge of the Cleveland Indians…
“To be honest, I don’t really know anything about any major league team other than the Houston Astros. I’ve maybe been to five or six games my whole life. I just live in Spring right there so it’s the only team I’ve really gone to watch. I don’t know much about Cleveland or anything. I’m just really excited, as is my family, that I can be a part of their affiliation.”
On his next steps in the pros…
“They’re going to contact me either later today or tomorrow to get everything going, talk about paper work and all that good stuff.”
On the possibility of coming back home and playing in Houston…
“That would be an awesome experience. I have a lot of fans there, a lot of friends. It would be a dream come true. You dream about playing at big ball parks. In video games, you select whatever ball park you want to play in as a kid and you can right there on the game. To have the opportunity to make it in one of those big ball parks is a true blessing.”
On being an atypical right fielder and potentially playing center field…
“I never really talked to [the Indians] a whole bunch. They believe I can play center field, I played it all through high school. That’s where they plan to move me. The whole power talk that everybody talks about, hitting home runs and stuff, I believe that comes with experience. Getting bigger and stronger and moving through pro ball. Home runs are going to come. You hit for average. You find a spot for a guy that can hit for average, steal bases and score runs because at the end of the game, runs are what win the ballgame.”
On what he wants to improve…
“My physical appearance and just putting on more weight. [I need to] keep swinging the bat, keep working hard in the weight room strength-wise, get a few pro at bats under my belt. Being able to get the experience in order to help my career, move up and help the Indians succeed.”
On what former players have said about getting to the majors…
“They said it’s a struggle. It’s not a cakewalk. It’s definitely a grind every day but you’re getting paid. I believe if they give me the honor to be taken in the first round I can grin through a minor league system to make it all the way to the show to help them.”
On learning his throwing motion…
“My dad played high school ball and football and that’s all he played but he, still to this day, can throw a football and baseball really well. My older brother has a really great arm. He was even clocked at high school at 96 in the outfield. He could really throw and whenever he and I were little we were picking up oversized footballs, weighted baseballs and we were always throwing them. When you’re little, you don’t really think about hurting your arm so you’re just throwing everything that’s heavy or a rock at the ball park. I believe that could’ve built a lot of arm strength but I also believe it had to do with my dad and my brother.”
On making the transition to wooden bats…
“It’s definitely a jump. It’s still an aluminum bat. It has more of a sweet spot like a wood bat. I was fortunate enough to go play with team U.S.A. with Wacha and he was throwing against the wood bats and I saw him break a couple of them. It’s a different mindset, you have a different approach. I believe a wood bat it’s a lot like a metal bat. You’re not going to get the same sweet spot on it and you can really backspin it with a wood bat. It’s definitely going to be a challenge but it shouldn’t be a problem.”
On waiting and finally hearing his name called…
“It was about 2 o clock, I had a few phone calls and it’s kind of surreal to be honest. You don’t think it could ever happen to you. Once you put in all the hard work you’re sitting on that day and we’d rather be at the ball park playing, of course, but we lost out on it. To be able to sit there and know I actually had another teammate waiting, just as anxious as I was, and we kind of stayed in touch through a text, wished each other good luck. We were both selected in the top-20 picks and it’s definitely a dream come true. I know Michael [Wacha] feels the same way.”
On his contact with Wacha…
“I got the call probably 20 seconds after I had talked to Michael.”
Michael Wacha
On being a top-20 pick…“It’s just an unbelievable feeling right now. I think I’m still on a high right now. I definitely wasn’t expecting that. I knew I would go between 15 and 25 picks and going to the St. Louis Cardinals, which has been an established program, I couldn’t be any more pleased getting drafted by them.”
On the team being more important than the pick number…
“In a way I guess you could say that. It’s really nice getting drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals. Couldn’t be more excited by doing that.”
On his familiarity with St. Louis…
“I have a lot of family in Iowa. We’ll drive up through St. Louis on the way up there. That’s the only time I’ve really been up there. I’m looking forward to it.”
On what scouts have told him…
“I hear a lot of stuff from scouts throughout the year. I talked to a Cardinal scout right after they drafted me. They said they’ve been watching me all year. They were very impressed with me and the season I had. They couldn’t be more excited having me on their team.”
On looking at where he might be headed with the St. Louis farm system…
“I’m supposed to talk to them later on today but we looked at where all their farm systems are. I think there’s one in Texas, there’s one in Memphis, one in Springfield and one in Iowa so pretty much up and down. It’s the heart of the United States.”
On his next steps…
“The Cardinals will contact me here probably later today or tomorrow. They’ll start talking about getting a deal worked out and we’ll go from there.”
On getting paid to play baseball…
“Whenever you can play a game and get paid for it, there’s no better feeling than that. Playing the game I love and getting paid for it now, it’s an unbelievable feeling. I couldn’t be more happy.”
On the new draft rules speeding up the draft process…
“It’ll be nice. I guess they moved it up a month or so. Once we get a deal worked out, they'll tell me where I’m heading off too. It’ll be a lot earlier than in the past with the new CBA agreements.”
On his reaction when Naquin was drafted…
“It was crazy. It was pick 14 and I was like, ‘Hey man, how you doing?’ and he says, ‘Doing good’. All of a sudden the next pick he gets picked and I was like ‘What the heck? You couldn’t tell me that you were about to get drafted or anything?’ I think he probably knew but I couldn’t be more excited for him. He’s worked hard his whole career and he’s got big things in his future for sure.”
On working to become a first-rounder…
“Coach Childress took a chance on me coming out of high school. I wasn’t highly recruited and didn’t get drafted out of high school. He spent a lot of time with me in bull pens and developed me into the pitcher I am today. I owe him so much for doing this and I couldn’t be more thankful.”
On his dreams to become a major leaguer…
“Just growing up, you always watched them on TV. That’s just always been my dream, just being able to play in the major leagues. Looks like I’m heading the right way now. Hopefully I can keep doing it.”
On former players’ comments about working through the minors…
“They said it’s a grind for sure. I’m looking forward to getting better every day and working to where I can help the club become more successful than it is right now. I’m just looking forward to it.”
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