Olmsted Ready for Year Two

The burly right-hander had a strong rookie season which included pitching at three different levels. With a deep repertoire and a hard-edged mentality, Michael Olmsted hopes to elevate his game to a new level in his second season by focusing on his secondary pitches and stamina for the position.

Michael Olmsted, the Mets’ ninth round draft pick from Cypress Junior College (CA), appeared in just ten games during his rookie season and compiled 35.2 innings pitched. Yet, even in that limited time, he made an indelible mark thanks to his formidable size on the mound [he is listed at 6-foot-6, 245 pounds] and a deep repertoire which leaves him with number of opportunities.

Heading into his winter workouts, Olmsted set goals to ensure that he would be physically ready in both conditioning and pitching for whatever options could come his way during Spring Training and beyond.

“I worked a lot with a personal trainer this off-season, three times a week with him, and then I spent three times a week by myself at my old college,” said Olmsted. “I did a lot of work on my body to build up a lot of stamina. I feel a little bit stronger in my upper-body, but feel a lot stronger in my lower-body because I focused on getting my legs strong for the upcoming season.”

That stamina will be an important factor in Olmsted’s success this season after his short showing in 2007. It is still uncertain if he will maintain a reliever’s status or return to the starting rotation [he made six starts with Kingsport], but either way, he made sure to strengthen his repertoire for either scenario.

“I had a great pitching coach from my college named Greg Harris who was a 15-year big league veteran, and he helped me a lot because he coaches with the same style the coaches with the Mets do,” he said.

“He really had me focus on my mechanics, but even more focused on my changeup,” he continued. “Any time I threw a ball it was with a changeup grip so I could get a good feel for it. I feel good about the rest of my pitches, but I need my changeup to get a lot better so I can mix it up with the rest of my pitches.”

He will need the rest of pitches as he looks ahead to a long-season roster spot after posting a 2.52 combined ERA [1.93 in Kingsport] last season. He also knows despite any successes he achieved last year, he cannot rely on anything that previously worked and needs to enter the season with a fresh approach.

“I don’t really think I can look back on last year too much to dictate success this year. I need to just go out and give it all I got and perfect everything that I need to. I need to have a purpose behind every pitch,” he said.

“It’s been a lot of work and it’s been a big challenge, but I welcome the challenge because I have a lot to prove to myself and I want to prove what I can do to the coaches. I want to make the long-season team that’s a huge goal.”