Three Lessons Have Fueled Rays’ Gillaspie
ST. PETERSBURG—First baseman Casey Gillaspie learned three different lessons in 2015.
First for the 2014 first-round pick from Wichita State was the reward for his hot start at low Class A Bowling Green. He hit 16 homers and drove in 44 runs in 64 games to earn a promotion to high Class A Charlotte.
Next came the frustration of the July 2 broken left hand that forced him to miss seven weeks and derailed the rest of his season.
And then the reality check of competing with the best prospects in the Arizona Fall League. He hit .191 in 89 at-bats.
“It was tough for me missing the second half of the season, pretty much knowing that you’re falling behind other guys, losing at-bats. It was tough,” said Gillaspie, 23, a switch-hitter who batted .253/.334/.480 in 79 regular-season games last season.
“But I knew I had a good first half, and I tried to just kind of keep that in mind.”
That helped some when Gillaspie got to Arizona, but it still was somewhat of an eye-opening experience.
“I learned some things about myself I needed to improve on,” he said, “(such as) having a better mindset every day, knowing that I’m good enough to be where I am.”
“The Fall League kind of knocked me down a little bit, but at the same time, I took it as a learning experience to better myself on the mental side of the game, to keep working hard and focus on the task at hand.”
Gillaspie made a concerted effort to improve his body during the offseason—”I lost some bad weight,” he said—and continues to work extensively on his defense at first base, which has been an area of criticism in the past. Having a big league brother, Giants third baseman Conor, gives him a sounding board when he needs advice.
Gillaspie took advantage of the chance to play in a handful of big league games this spring to continue his ongoing education, and when he started 2016 at Double-A Montgomery he had a relatively simple goal: Play a full season.
“I just want to continue to get better, get at-bats and help the team however I can,” he said.
COOL RAYS
• The Rays named Charlotte righthander Brent Honeywell their top minor league pitcher for April after he went 2-0, 0.89 in five starts with 31 strikeouts in 30 innings.
• Bowling Green shortstop Jake Cronenworth, a seventh-round pick in 2015 from Michigan, earned the Rays’ top player award, hitting .400 with a 1.007 OPS in 19 games.
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