Thursday, March 28, 2013

Vettleson eager to show arm to higher league

There were times when coaches were waving their stop sign before Bowling Green's Drew Vettleson was even near the ball.

Word spread quickly in the Midwest League last year: Don't test Vettleson's arm.

How else can you describe a first-month total of 10 assists that, in the two months that followed, increased by just six? By the end of the year, Vettleson had 20 assists.

"It started getting funny," Vettleson said. "The first half of the season, teams pushed the envelope. I was able to string together a lot of assists in a row.

"And then it just stopped."

Vettleson, who will start this year at high-Class A Charlotte, wasn't too shabby with a bat, either. He hit .275 with 15 home runs and 20 steals for the Hot Rods.

But his arm was his biggest story.

He admits trying to bait some runners into trying it. On one soft single, he acted like he'd lost the ball. The runner almost fell for it but scrambled back to first.

"It was kind of fun to play around with it and see what you can do to get extra outs," Vettleson said.

The 21-year-old changed his offseason habits in hopes of "a breakout" 2013. Spring training for him, he said, wasn't a stereotypical spring training.

"I feel that I didn't use spring training at all to get ready for the season," Vettleson said. "I've used it to get into midseason form."

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