Bauer’s impressive spring a reflection of maturity

Heralded prospect Trevor Bauer has been the feel good
story for the Arizona Diamondbacks this spring, despite
not earning a spot in the team’s rotation.

The 21-year-old right-hander struggled with his command in
Tuesday’s 4-3 win over the division rival San Francisco
Giants at Salt River Fields, but still put forth a quality
outing.

Bauer was scheduled to throw four innings but surrendered
runs in the first two frames and was limited to three
innings of work due to an inflated pitch count. Bauer
allowed two earned runs on six hits, while fanning two, on
53 pitches.

“It was a little bit of a struggle, control-wise today,”
Bauer said. “I’ve had four outings now and this was
probably the worst I’ve thrown the ball.”

Bauer, whose control has been greatly improved this
spring, fell behind in the count more than he would have
liked and broke a few bats along the way.

“I think I did a pretty good job of disrupting their
timing,” Bauer stated. “Not really a whole lot to be
displeased with other than being behind in the count a
lot, which I haven’t really done yet this spring. I’ve
pretty much been ahead.”

As the third pick in the 2011 MLB draft, Bauer has made
great strides with an eye-opening spring. In four
appearances, Bauer has a 3.60 ERA (4 ER, 10 IP) with one
walk and nine strikeouts.

“I think I’ve actually thrown the ball better than I was
hoping to,” Bauer said. “I am really pleased with my
offseason changes that I made and my mechanics and all the
work I put in the offseason.”

Bauer’s unconventional warm-ups have been much talked
about during Spring Training. The D-backs’ right-hander is
still tweaking his mechanics and trying to find
consistency with the command of certain pitches.

“I am throwing a lot more strikes, quality strikes at
that,” Bauer explained. “Overall, I am pretty pleased. I
haven’t given up a whole lot of hard-hit balls, but there
are still plenty of areas where I can improve. I still
can’t figure out how to throw a curveball in the dirt when
I want to, which is a little frustrating.”

Bauer could receive a call-up to the Big Leagues this
season, which is a credit to not just his skill set but
his temperament and makeup.

“I have learned a lot,” Bauer said. “I’ve gotten to face
some really high quality hitters and I am definitely a
better pitcher now than I was four outings ago. Nothing
wrong with that, right?”

The Diamondbacks are surely pleased with not only Bauer’s
results but the poise, composure and maturity he exudes
every time he toes the rubber.

Arizona Sports 620’s Craig Grialou contributed to this
report.

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