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Positive Experience Can Go A Long Way

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By MARC LANCASTER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 17, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - You pitch your whole life hoping to get a shot at the major leagues, shutting down opponents from Little League through high school and into the minor leagues.

You know you can pitch successfully at the highest level, even though only a minuscule percentage of players who started where you did accomplish that feat. But you don't really know you belong until you can do what Andy Sonnanstine did last summer.

In a four-start span in August, the 24-year-old who had never pitched above the Double-A level entering last season and had dropped eight consecutive decisions for the Rays beat Boston at Fenway Park and New York at Yankee Stadium.

Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey called those games "huge" for Sonnanstine's development.

"Instead of somebody telling you, 'You can do this, you're capable of pitching here, your stuff's good enough,' now, here it is: You're facing the New York Yankees, you're facing the Boston Red Sox and not only holding your own but basically shutting them down," Hickey said. "That's a hell of a lot bigger statement than anybody else can make to you."

Sonnanstine had a few of those building blocks last season, and so did Jason Hammel, another midseason addition to the Rays' rotation last year who is vying this spring for a spot on the 2008 staff.

Both were beneficiaries of a general organizational philosophy that places a premium on young players getting a good taste of life in the majors the season before they might be expected to hold down a job with the Rays from the beginning. James Shields is the poster boy for that method, parlaying a four-month stint in the rotation in 2006 that saw him have some success into a breakout year in 2007 - not to mention a hefty multiyear contract.

"He set the bar really high," Hammel said. "It's the pure example of, sometimes some things just click and from there on you know exactly what you have to do and you run with it. Shieldsy's done that, and I'm looking to follow."

Not that anyone necessarily expects Hammel or Sonnanstine to match Shields' remarkable production from last season, but Hammel's career minor-league numbers are comparable to Shields', and Sonnanstine's are better. That suggests the raw materials are there, but it takes more than that to succeed in the majors.

Which is where firsthand experience comes in. As lessons in self-belief go, it's difficult to beat Sonnanstine's Aug. 31 start in the Bronx, which saw him allow just two hits and an unearned run in eight innings while striking out five and not walking a batter.

"I kind of dragged my feet a little bit out of the gate, had a little bad luck," Sonnanstine said. "But as far as confidence goes, whenever you can beat the Yankees and the Red Sox - I mean, that's a $190 million franchise with the Yankees, so that game alone last year did wonders for my confidence."

Hammel didn't have an outing quite that eye-popping, but his four-game September run against the Yankees, Blue Jays, Mariners and Angels - all teams in the playoff hunt at the time - served as his statement. The 25-year-old allowed six runs in 23 innings during that span (a 2.35 ERA), while walking four and striking out 17.

As camp opened this year, Hammel said he now believes "without a doubt" he belongs in the majors, and Sonnanstine is "pretty confident" he does, too - though he emphasized he'll compete as hard as he can for a roster spot.

Will 2008 be the season they settle in and truly become major-league pitchers? Rays manager Joe Maddon thinks they have a chance.

"Any time you can bring somebody up here in the season to gain experience," Maddon said, "a lot of times the next year you're going to really see what they're capable of doing."

Reporter Marc Lancaster can be reached at (813) 259-7227 or mlancaster@tampatrib.com.

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