José Mesa hoping to follow father's footsteps to Baltimore
By Roch Kubatko
SARASOTA, Fla. -Sixteen pitchers threw in the bullpen today, including José Mesa, who is vying for a spot on the 25-man roster as a Rule 5 pick and perhaps in a rotation that has plenty of room.
Also throwing today were Josh Edgin, Asher Wojciechowski, Darren O'Day, Brad Brach, Mike Wright, Mychal Givens, Chris Lee, Gabriel Ynoa, Perci Garner, Andrew Faulkner, Tim Melville, Alec Asher, Tanner Scott, Michael Kelly and Yefri RamÃrez.
Jesus Liranzo had a bullpen session early yesterday and should have been included on that list, if you're tracking at home.
Mesa bears a striking resemblance to his father, the former Orioles pitcher of the same name, except perhaps in his arm angle on his release. The elder Mesa was more of a short-armer.
"Honestly, I think it's just God given," he said. "I used to look at him. I used to imitate it, but when it comes to me actually doing it, there's stuff you can't plan. When you're on the mound, and you get your arm up here and you put pictures side-by-side, that's just, you can't plan that."
Said manager Buck Showalter: "Oh, my gosh. The high legs. His legs are up around his neck. Like his daddy, same set with the glove. Arm acts a little different.
"His son may be a little more over the top. Looks a lot better with the shave. Looks a lot younger. He's intriguing if you look at the background and the whole scheme of things."
The Orioles chose Mesa from the Yankees organization in the Rule 5 draft after he went 4-0 with an 0.79 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in eight games (five starts) upon is promotion to Double-A Trenton. He struck out 39 batters in 34 1/3 innings.
Mesa allowed only one run and struck out 27 batters in 25 1/3 innings in his five starts with Trenton. He surrendered one earned run in 35 innings over his eight starts at Single-A Tampa and Trenton in 2017.
His father spent parts of 19 seasons in the majors, the first four with the Orioles after they acquired him from the Blue Jays as the player to be named in the Mike Flanagan deal. Now the son gets a chance to pitch in the organization. There could be a Disney movie in the works.
"It's been great," he said. "It's been a big blessing. It's great to see if from a different scenery. I've been here watching my dad do all this stuff and going through minor league camp and now being able to be here in this position is a big blessing and I'm really grateful for it."
The Rule 5 draft also was a family affair.
"It was my mother's birthday that day and we were praying for it," he said. "I hadn't been protected on the 40-man, so we were praying for it. And when the news came on, me and my dad were both listening and we both got excited. We were like, 'Man, it's the Orioles. That's where you came up.'
"I just yelled at my mom. She was downstairs. I yelled at her and she reacted and started giving thanks to God. That's what we're about."
Mesa had plenty of chances to watch his father pitch.
"I got to see him a lot," he said. "I was the bat boy for a few of the teams, so I got to see him a lot pitching. It was always exciting. Sometimes, I'd get right next to the manager and the game would be 7-0 and he's the closer and they would be like, 'Do you think we should put your dad in?' I'm like, 'Yeah, just put him in.' I didn't care if it was three days in a row. I just wanted to see him pitch.
"Up close from him personally, I always learned hard work and with him and other players I always learned to be respectful, be respectful to the people around you at all times and just don't take anything for granted. Just be grateful for where you are and know that there's people wanting to take your spot, as well, so you have to work hard every day."
The Orioles will use Mesa as a starter in camp, increasing the total to eight.
"I'm definitely excited about it," he said. "It's a big step. I'm just ready to take on whatever role they give me. If it's in the big league level, I'm excited about it. Just to be in baseball period, I'm excited about it. To be able to compete for a starting spot is just a blessing. It's beyond words."
The transition shouldn't be difficult for Mesa despite making only nine starts among his 78 minor league appearances in the Yankees system. He's gone 12-4 with a 2.86 ERA and 1.15 WHIP and held opponents to a .188 average.
"It wasn't really different at all," he said. "I attacked it about the same way because going into long relief, you pitch multiple innings, so you see guys at least more than once. So, just going into it, it's about reading hitters and their tendencies. And as a reliever, sometimes you wait four or five days to pitch anyway, so waiting for a fifth day with a side in between, I wasn't mad about it.
"It's all based off the work you do in the offseason. Every year, I work hard, so I feel that I'm going to be ready for every position, but going into it, probably at the big league level, you have to look at it a little different because you know the hitters are going to be more experienced. You know that they're going to a lot more video on you, more information, so you have to be more ready for whatever's going to come for you that day. Just be ready for whatever."
Mesa carries his father's advice with him. It's like growing up with his own pitching coach.
"What he preaches to me is just finish out in front," Mesa said. "We're big guys, so we have to work hard and finish out in front. That's pretty much what he preaches to me. Just get my arm out, finish in front and try not to show the ball back here, because I know at one point in his career he used to do that, as well. How he used to do it early on."
Anything else?
"He just told me pretty much to attack every day, work hard and just show what you've got."
Note: The Orioles have the 11th, 35th, 51st, 86th and 115th picks in the First-Year Player Draft.