"The Best of the Best."
These are the words baseball
insiders use to describe the competition at the
Arizona Fall League. An
elite baseball league that plays its season each October in the desert
sun of Phoenix, the Fall League invites only prime, just-on-the-cusp
prospects to play. Its alumni bears resemblance to a latterday All-Time
All-Star squad, many of its storied participants honored with plaques
gracing the walls in Cooperstown.
Each year a new cluster of stars break
into the bigs and with increasing regularity these phenoms previously
wore a Fall League uniform.
Albert Pujols,
Justin Morneau,
Ryan Howard,
Derek Jeter,
Roy Holladay and countless other current and
past stars all played in the Arizona Fall League. Of last
year's breakout rookies,
All-Star Jason Heyward and World Series winning
Rookie of the Year Buster Posey both played in the Fall League.
As in
the past two seasons, I again had the opportunity to profile two of the
Fall League's most polished stars. Both players have
demonstrated a rare combination of sheer talent, mental fortitude and
maturity beyond their years. We discussed their priorities and what
their expectations are for the coming season.
Jordan Pacheco
Jordan
Pacheco is currently one of the most promising young catching prospects
in minor league baseball. After playing his college ball at the
University of New Mexico, the Colorado Rockies drafted Pacheco in the
9th round in 2007. Over the course of the past four seasons, Jordan has
worked his way through the system. In 2009, he was named the South
Atlantic League MVP and was selected as an All-Star catcher. Now
prominent on the Rockies radar, Jordan has every chance of getting
called up to the big club next season.
ProSource: What has the
experience been like playing in the prestigious Arizona Fall League?
What are your expectations this spring?
Jordan Pacheco: It has been a great experience
so far. It's nice to meet the guys you have been playing against all
year and see that they are not just good ball players but good people.
It's also good to see some of the things these guys do that make them
successful and maybe pick up a few drills that might help me in the
future. I am not too worried about next year right now. I will
set those expectations or goals once I am done with this
season.
ProSource: How important is fitness and maintaining a
consistent workout routine to succeeding as a professional baseball
player? Please elaborate.
Jordan Pacheco: I feel that eating right and working out
consistently is very important for maintaining
strength and making it
through a healthy full season. Getting in an eating routine makes sure
you are supplying yourself with enough
nutrients to perform at your max
level on the field. A healthy workout routine keeps your body
balanced and your muscles ready to perform when you need them throughout
the year.
ProSource:
Being an everyday catcher in the major leagues, you have
to be durable. Are there any specific things you do
in your workout routine to assist you with that?
Jordan Pacheco: The off season is
very important for building strength and
endurance to make it through a
full season as a catcher. As far as workouts, I try to not
only lift heavy in the off season but make sure I stay flexible and
explosive. So I make sure I do a lot of ply metrics workouts
that consist of jumping, running, and pushing/pulling of sleds.
ProSource: How
important is getting the proper nutrition to a professional ballplayer?
Also, please elaborate on the difficulty of getting proper nutrition as
a professional baseball player.
Jordan Pacheco: It's very important to make
sure you are getting enough nutrients as a baseball player because our
sport is not only
mentally demanding, it's also very physically
demanding. We are on the field sometimes at 2 o'clock for a 7
o'clock game so you really have to make sure you are getting enough
calories to make it through the game. It's also tough getting
the proper nutrients as a baseball player because the games end around
10 or 11 at night sometimes and if we are on the road usually the only
thing open is fast food. If you eat fast food all year after games, you
are only hurting your body for the next day.
ProSource: What are your thoughts
on the Supreme Protein bars?
Jordan Pacheco: The taste of the
Supreme
Protein bar
is unreal compared to other protein bars. Usually a protein bar is very
plain-tasting and it's tough to eat some of them. However I
find it very easy to eat a whole bar of
Supreme Protein after my
workouts everyday. I also love the convenience of the bar
because sometimes I just need a little snack before the games or before a
workout. Really, the taste is phenomenal.
Jordan Swagerty
Hailing from
the small town of Sachse, Texas, Jordan Swagerty possessed outstanding
athletic abilities from a very young age. A three-sport athlete in high
school, Swagerty would eventually play his college ball at baseball
powerhouse Arizona State. In 2010, he led the Pac-10 Conference with 14
saves to go with an impressive 2.05 ERA and earned First-Team All-Pac-10
honors. Entering the draft earlier this year, Swagerty was
selected 75th by the St. Louis Cardinals. With his combination of talent
and mental toughness, Swagerty has the potential to make a big impact
for the Cardinals.
ProSource: What has the experience been like
playing in the prestigious Arizona Fall League? What are your
expectations this spring?
Jordan Swagerty: The experience of playing in the fall league
is one I will never forget. Putting on a big league uniform and going
out to represent your club is special. The talent is great here and it
makes for good competition.
ProSource:
How important is fitness and maintaining a
consistent workout routine to succeeding as a professional baseball
player?
Jordan Swagerty: Maintaining a fitness program is very important. We work all
off season to gain weight and
put on muscle to help us play. If we do
not maintain that during the season it all goes to waste. Maintaining
muscle is an all-important priority.
ProSource:
What types of endurance and/or
other training do you do to build your stamina to pitch late into
games?
Jordan Swagerty: I do few different things to maintain my
stamina. For one, I
love long toss which helps arm strength and stamina. Another big thing
to build stamina is a comprehensive work out plan, which should mix
tough workouts with some intense running.
ProSource:
How important is getting the
proper nutrition to a professional ballplayer?
Jordan Swagerty: Finding time to get
the proper nutrition is very tough. We are at the field all day long and
it is tough to get the right foods in your body to maintain a weight or
help your body get the fuel it needs to perform. This is where
Supreme
Protein bars come into play. I can take a bar to the field and get the
fuel I need to perform my best.
ProSource:
What are your thoughts on the Supreme
Protein bars?
Jordan Swagerty: I love the bars. They have all the nutrition
and fuel I need to get through a long day or a long game. It really
helps me maintain weight and get the protein needed to add muscle in the
off season. Every flavor I have tried has been great and nothing is
more convenient than having a
box in your locker and always having them
there when you need them.
