After the first week of practice and bullpens it was nice to get the games rolling. Although this league is pretty laid back, there is no doubt that our team is very competitive. That became pretty evident when we were able to put up runs in 2 out situations or when we are trailing in a ball game. The tough part for me though is having to watch while everyone else is getting to perform. Unfortunately I had a bit of a stiff shoulder, however, I’ve been throwing more recently and I hope to get into the game by next week. There is certainly no rush as I want to avoid any type of serious injury. 

For those of you who left comments on my last blog, I want to get to your questions. First off I want to thank you for reading and keeping up with the lastest AFL action. This year, I started off in Low-A which was located in Quad Cities IA and ended up in AA Springfield IL. For most of the year I came out of the pen in different roles such as long relief, lefty vs lefty, and even some set up and closing roles. I throw a 2-seam and 4-seam fast ball, curveball, changup and I’ll also drop down and throw a fastball and slider at a side arm angle. Although I don’t throw exceptionally hard, I am able to get a lot of strikeouts by changing speeds and hitting my spots. I would say that in a tight situation I would go to my change up as my “out” pitch to get the strikeout when I really need it.

As for getting sent to the Joliet Jackhammers, I went undrafted after my 2007 senior season and I still wanted to continue playing. A player representative for a number of independent league teams gave me a call after I went undrafted. My pitching coach from college was able to put me in contact with the player rep at which time he set me up with the Joliet Jackhammers.

Well that is going to do it for this week. Once again if you have any questions or comments I’ll be sure to get those answered on the next entry. 

Thanks again for reading and for supporting the AFL.

Justin Fiske