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Rays' Niemann shows potential in dominant performance

Tribune photo by JASON BEHNKEN

Jeff Niemann looked like anything but a fifth starter Wednesday, shutting out the Royals at Tropicana Field.

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By MARC LANCASTER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 3, 2009

Updated: 06/04/2009 07:22 am

ST. PETERSBURG - Just about five years ago to the day, on June 7, 2004, Tampa Bay drafted Jeff Niemann out of Rice University with the fourth overall pick in the draft and the expectation he would one day be a frontline starting pitcher for them.

The big right-hander isn't there yet, but the performance he turned in Wednesday night, limiting the Royals to two hits in a complete-game 9-0 victory, was the best indication the Rays have seen of his still-dazzling potential.

Niemann needed only 100 pitches to carve up a slumping Kansas City lineup, retiring the first 14 men he faced before Mark Teahen lined a single into center field with two out in the fifth. David DeJesus followed with a walk, but Niemann took a deep breath and ended up facing only three batters over the minimum for the game.

"He was drafted at that moment for a reason," said Rays manager Joe Maddon. "A lot of injuries between then and now, and a lot of adversity to be faced, and a lot of uncertainty, I'm sure. Under those circumstances, he's probably seen a lot of guys pass him along the way that had been picked after him.

"Just getting to know him, he's a quiet man but he's very competitive, so he's probably held a lot of this stuff within, and now he's getting a chance to show what he's able to do. It's got to be self-fulfilling and gratifying to him to be able to do that after this period of time."

There was no doubt about Niemann's gratitude following the game. All those fits and starts he suffered in the minors, most notably shoulder problems that cost him chunks of two seasons, dropped him off the radar for a while. Not only were his draft classmates in other organizations passing him by, but the Rays' constant accumulation of young pitching talent left him hurting for attention even amongst his teammates.

His work Wednesday didn't establish anything, necessarily, but it did reinforce both internally and externally that Niemann still has the ability to take over a game.

"I've always felt that I can do that, and to come out here and do it, it was awesome," Niemann said. "Just to get that confidence boost and know that you really can do it and can hopefully go out there and bring that out every five days."

Even he knows he won't be close to this good every time out, but it certainly qualified as a benchmark outing for the 26-year-old rookie. He struck out nine, nearly doubling his previous career high of five, and threw between nine and 14 pitches each inning – a model of consistency.

"He was just phenomenal," said Ben Zobrist. "It makes it easy to hit when you're going out there and you know he's just shutting the door time after time."

It definitely looked easy on the offensive end for the Rays. Zobrist's opposite field grand slam in the fourth inning was the fourth of his career – the most in Rays history. B.J. Upton also chipped in with an early two-run double as he extended his hitting streak to seven games and continued to inch away from the .200 mark.

But they were just supporting players in Niemann's big show, all the while pleased to see him continue building momentum.

"You could see early in the season he kind of put a little pressure on himself," said Upton, "but the last couple starts he's just kind of come out and done his own thing and it's worked out for him."

Niemann has a 2.03 ERA in his last five starts and the Rays have come away victorious seven of the last nine times he has taken the mound. Perhaps the primary reason for his recent run of success is that his command has come on-line, particularly his ability to locate his curveball. He dropped in some nasty 12-to-6 breakers Wednesday to complement a fastball that consistently topped out at 93 MPH.

This was the package the Rays saw when they scouted Niemann during his days at Rice and they can only hope he'll be able to keep building. Wednesday's game marked only the 13th start of his big-league career, but he chalked up his first shutout.

"Everybody has known since he got drafted that he had that in him. Sometimes it just takes a little bit to come out," said Zobrist. "You wait patiently, and the Rays have done a great job with him, helping him through the injury. To see him do what he did tonight is, I think, something he's definitely capable of and I know he's going to look at that and it'll give him a lot more confidence the next time he steps on the mound."

That'll be Monday night at Yankee Stadium against Andy Pettitte, and it might be worth checking out to see how Niemann manages to follow this one.

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