WooSox left-hander Shane Drohan avoids injury after leaving start on Sunday afternoon
WooSox left-hander Shane Drohan left his start on Sunday afternoon after four innings or work with calf cramp, as first reported by Beyond the Monster’s Andrew Parker.
Drohan went four scoreless frames before he was lifted from game against Lehigh Valley IronPigs. He gave up three hits, three walks and only struck out one batter.
The WooSox will begin a five-game series in Buffalo beginning this week and Drohan is currently scheduled to make his next start.
Since joining Triple-A Worcester, Drohan has struggled with his command walking 23 batters in 25 1/3 innings. He owns a 5.03 ERA and 1.576 WHIP in 39 1/3 innings over eight starts.
Drohan has seen a difference in the level of competition between Double-A and Triple-A.
“It’s definitely different, it’s definitely a jump I would say. It’s just a lot more experience up here, guys know what they really need to do, especially when they’re hitting, really good approaches, they know when to take and when to swing. They’re just really in control,” said Drohan to BostonSportsJournal.com.
Drohan is settling in and adapting to life in Triple-A and is enjoying the new challenge of facing the quality of hitters this level of professional baseball has to offer.
“I enjoy the challenge, it’s never going to be easy, I enjoy when it gets a little tough. I think that’s when you really find out a lot about yourself and the player that you are, and the person that you are. I pride myself on when things get tough I’m going to dig my toes into the ground, I’m not going to give in,” said Drohan.
The Florida State product offers a five-pitch mix within his arsenal, a four-seam fastball, sinker, slider, changeup and curveball.
"He uses a cutter too, with his sinker, but he uses more of a four-seam fastball that has action that runs. It's tough sometimes on databases, certain pitches will get tagged a certain way. He uses a little more sinker but uses his cutter too. His breaking ball he uses but hasn't a ton yet. He'll run four seams up top making it look like his sinker," said Chad Tracy.
As Drohan continues to develop at the Triple-A level he will continue to find ways to fine-tune his craft on the mound.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say I’ve made any big adjustments, it’s really been more like reassuring myself of my routine, reassuring myself that I have really good stuff and that I can challenge guys with it,” said Drohan.
There is no doubting that Drohan's stuff plays at this level and he will continue to get better at understanding how the hitters at the International League level approach preparing for opposing pitchers.
“I would say that’s the biggest difference, the approaches are a little bit better, competition is better,” added Drohan. “The competition day in and day out, it’s what I like to do, I like to compete."
Follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisHenrique
For additional Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, MLB and NFL content follow Beyond the Monster on Twitter @BeyondtheMnstr.
