Bucs’ 1st-round pick Craig finished season strong after slow start
The Black Bears鈥� Will Craig races towards first base during West Virginia蘑菇视频 17-1 setback to Mahoning Valley on Monday at Monongalia County Ballpark in Morgantown. Craig was the Pirates鈥� first-round pick on June 9 in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Wake Forest product hopes to be Pittsburgh蘑菇视频 third baseman of the future. Craig batted .280 in his first professional season and is eager to put on more muscle to improve his power numbers during the 2017 season.
Darnell Graham
Darnell Graham West Virginia Black Bear蘑菇视频 Sandy Santos (27) slides into second base while Mahoning Valley Scrappers Jorma Rodriguez (34) leaps into the air to catch but misses during the game between Mahoning Valley Scrappers and West Virginia Black Bears at Monongalia County Ballpark.
MORGANTOWN 鈥� Will Craig finished his first professional season on Monday afternoon at Monongalia County Ballpark when the West Virginia Black Bears lost, 17-1, to Mahoning Valley in New York-Penn League action.
Craig was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates as the 22nd overall pick in the first round of the MLB Draft on June 9 in Secaucus, New Jersey.
The third baseman knows he is still years from making it to the majors, although he is confident that he can evolve into what the Bucs need at a position at which they have struggled to find consistency.
鈥淚 had some struggles defensively at points during the season, but I did get some time off and was able to use that to make some adjustments and I felt pretty good the last couple of weeks of the season,鈥� Craig said. 鈥淚 was working on my timing and footwork, and I am going to put in a lot of work in the offseason. I can鈥檛 wait for next year.鈥�
Craig was drafted out of Wake Forest, and the 21-year-old struggled in his first month of professional baseball, hitting just .187 with a .280 slugging percentage and a .361 on-base-percentage. Craig had one home run and seven RBIs during that stretch.
Craig moved his average up to .247 by Aug. 18 and hit .343, including one home run and five RBIs, in his final 10 games.
The Johnson City, Tennessee, product蘑菇视频 final batting average was .280 with two home runs and 23 RBIs. He had an on-base-percentage of .412 and a slugging percentage of .362.
鈥淚 think it was a good season for me overall,鈥� Craig said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 like the slow start, but once I got into the groove, I was able to raise my average and I felt good about that. The power didn鈥檛 show right off the bat, but I think that has to do with the offseason workout program. I am hoping to work on that this year.
鈥淚 think the whole adjustment to playing every day was a difficult transition for me. I didn鈥檛 use wood bats in college and had some time off after the college season before the draft, then I come here and start playing right away. It was just a combination of things. I didn鈥檛 really have any issues coming here and playing. It was nice because I am from Johnson City, Tennessee, and that is about a five- to six-hour drive and my family can come see me play.鈥�
Craig, and most of the first-year players in the Pirates鈥� organization, will be heading to Florida to work on their mechanics for the next month before returning home.
鈥淚 will be heading down to work out for about a month doing offensive and defensive work, plus base running,鈥� Craig said. 鈥淭hey put a little bit of everything into that, and after that, I am going to head home and hit the weights hard. I want to add some muscle and quicken my feet, so those are two things I am going to work on.鈥�
Craig plays at a position where clubs are looking for power numbers, although the first-year pro was instructed to get his average up this season and not worry about the power numbers.
鈥淭he organization wasn鈥檛 really looking on me hitting for power much this season,鈥� Craig said. 鈥淭he objective was to hit the ball hard, get on base and raise my average. If home runs happen, they are really by accident.鈥�
Manager Wyatt Toregas, who led the Black Bears to a New York-Penn League Championship last season, wasn鈥檛 concerned with Craig蘑菇视频 development, even after a sub-par first month.
鈥淚 really don鈥檛 think there was anything wrong with Will, and we didn鈥檛 have to do anything as a staff to help him get into the groove,鈥� Toregas said. 鈥淲e just told him to stop hitting the ball at people. He was still putting good swings on the ball and making good contact.
鈥淗e did have some early problems with strikeouts, as he was chasing some balls out of the zone, but once he was able to limit the strikeouts that was a result of chasing bad pitches, he really started to get good contact and was one of the leading hitters for us. We would feed him balls overhand when working on his swing, as opposed to underhand, so he could see the ball better but that was about it on our part as a staff. I think he just stepped up mentally for us. I don鈥檛 think he was used to struggling early on in the season. He really never had problems at other levels, and we were glad he was able to get over that mentally.鈥�
Toregas, like every manager, wants to see his team succeed, but he understands that his best players could be promoted at any time to the next level, and he is the one honored to congratulate them when they get the call. Toregas knows it could happen with Craig, and will be the first one to wish his third baseman well.
鈥淚t is not bittersweet when a guy gets called up, and I am extremely happy every time it happens,鈥� Toregas said. 鈥淚 am not going to sacrifice a player蘑菇视频 dreams for the West Virginia Black Bears, as much as I love it here. These guys have dreams and they want to play in the major leagues, and any chance that I have to say, 鈥榊eah, this guy can move up,鈥� is a good day for us. I love to give that guy a hug and congratulate him.鈥�