Babin Adjusting in His First Season

Travis Babin, the Mets’ 16th round pick in last June’s draft, has not got off to the start he anticipated, but the right-handed reliever’s confidence is not shaken as he is doing the little things to improve each time out. Though he remains a cog in the crowded Kingsport bullpen, he is still taking each appearance as an opportunity to find something new in his game.

[FREE PREVIEW OF PREMIUM CONTENT]:

Travis Babin is experiencing the life of a pitcher selected in the middle rounds. Unheralded and rather unknown in comparison to the selection of players assigned to the Brooklyn Cyclones, the 21-year-old headed off to Kingsport to learn what it takes to pitch at the professional among a collection of arms on the K-Mets.

It has not been the easiest experience to say the least as the opposition tagged Babin for 17 earned runs in his first 22 innings pitched [6.95 ERA] and hit for a .348 batting average. Though he recognizes his stat sheet has taken its shots, he knows there is a whole lot to work on.

”As far as my numbers go, those aren’t nearly as good as I’d like them to be but it’s my first year and I’m learning a lot about pitching and everything that goes into pitching. I’ve got a good base,” he said.

“There are so many things we’re working on. I really need to be able to throw three pitches for strikes. I need to be able to throw in on batters and not live on one side of the plate. We’re working on pitching backwards. There really is a lot to it and at this point its just taking it step by step,” he continued.

With a respectable fastball that sits 90-92 MPH and a slider about ten miles per hour behind that, hitting his spots and preventing hitters from sitting on pitchers are key elements to Babin’s success, but they have only come in flashes.

When he is pitching effectively, he is aggressive with his fastball and more confident in knowing where it will end up when the ball leaves his hand. As a reliever, he is quickly find out just important fastball location is and how it pays off at the professional level.

“From a reliever’s standpoint, I want to just go in and attack guys with fastballs. I’ve been throwing one or two innings an outing the entire year so I can come out and throw fastballs because the hitters haven’t really seen me.”

”The most important pitch is that first pitch strike and if I’m getting ahead of batters that means I’m in control. I need to get in control so I can dictate the at-bat rather than being in hitters counts where they can sit on a fastball. Staying in pitcher’s counts is a goal right now.”

Despite his struggles, Babin lets any sense of pressure roll of his back as K-Mets coaches [similar to other short-season coaches] let their rookie pitchers work to their own strengths without much in the way of in-season adjustments. At this level, alongside a host of other pitchers all in the same shoes, he understands it is more important to pitch stress-free and take advantage of his time on the mound, though it may come only once a week.

”The coaches know we’ve been successful in college so now they just want to see us play and then when off-season work and Spring Training comes around, we’ll really get down to working on things,” he said.

“With that much time between outings, focus becomes really important. I need to just show up, get my work in the bullpen, stay in the zone and be ready to turn that switch on when my name gets called by the manager. I just need to stay sharp and focused at all times.”

As the K-Mets come to the final weekend of their season, Babin already looks forward to the work ahead this fall and what lies ahead in the spring, and the possibility that comes with it all.

“This off-season will be about getting stronger. We’ll find out about Instructional League soon which would be a great opportunity, but if I don’t get asked to go there, that’s ok. I’ll just take that time to get my body stronger and get into shape as much as possible before next spring for my first Spring Training where the goal will be to make a long-season team,” he closed.