Shull adjusts to life as pro
PRINCETON, W.Va. – Life in the Appalachian League is much different for Trevor Shull in 2009. It’s no wonder last year seemed much longer than what it was. Shull was only 17, and he was living 3,000 miles away from his home in Spokane.
“That six weeks I was here felt like three months,” said Shull, a right-handed pitcher from Central Valley High in his second season with the rookie Princeton Rays. “That is like a month and a half, so that’s not really that long. … To me, it’s just way different. I’m completely prepared mentally. I miss my family and everyone back home, of course, but I’m kind of prepared for that. I’m used to it now.”
He’s done well so far, posting a 1-0 record with a 1.20 earned-run average in three starts.
He’s allowed 14 hits in 15 innings, striking out 13 and walking three.
“I’m pretty pleased, but you don’t want to be too pleased at this point, because it is just two starts (now three) and you’ve just got to take it one game at a time and one pitch at a time,” Shull said. … “That is kind of how you have to act. If you get too excited now, you can kind of lose focus of what is happening.”
A 19th-round draft choice by Tampa Bay last June, Shull considered playing ball in college but decided an education could wait.
“The money is awesome, but college got paid for, too,” Shull said. “That was the big part for me, too, because it was like if baseball doesn’t work out – which the percentages say it doesn’t, but I’m going to make it work if I can – I have school to back me up. Either way, I come out winning.”
The 6-foot-4, 185-pound Shull didn’t expect to be drafted.
“I kind of had a senior season that wasn’t real good, but I got better as the summer went on and I was told I might get drafted,” Shull said. “I thought it might be later in the draft, that is not real high, but for me I was really pleased with it.
“Once you’re here it doesn’t matter, just to get a chance to be here is all you really want.”
After arriving at Princeton midway through last summer, Shull struggled in seven appearances with a 9.90 ERA, allowing 11 runs and 13 hits in 10 innings. He walked eight and struck out six.
He returned to Princeton for a full season, and is pleased to still be working with Rays pitching coach Marty DeMerritt.
“I had no idea what to expect,” Shull said. “I wasn’t sure how to act, and I had some ups and downs with my mechanics.
One year later and Shull is a different pitcher. He has the height that scouts like and has added about 20 pounds to his slender frame since last season.