TRENTON, NJ—Trenton Thunder’s right-handed relief pitcher, Cody Carroll, is 6’5” tall and is killing it. He has the advantage of throwing down angled pitches and is throwing high speeds, while practicing new types of pitches:
“I have been working on the split finger pitch for about 2 months and I’m throwing it in the low 90’s, while my slider is in the mid-upper 80’s and my fastball is in the upper 90s. Everything has been coming along so far.”
Trenton Thunder Manager, Bobby Mitchell, agrees that everything has been developing for Cody:
Mitchell stated, “He has a really great arm and nobody can hit his pitches, especially when it’s up. He’s so tall, which is a great advantage because he just has a great down angle.”
Coming from a first-hand experience, “I saw him once at Spring Training and he was playing against us (intersquad game). He really threw well and I was kind of like ‘Woah who’s this guy?’” he laughed.
Cody feels that the offseason and then Spring Training this past year really prepared him for the Double-A level. He kept a confident mindset that showed throughout his games:
“At Spring Training, I really worked on my command and slider. I got into shape and prepared like we were always going into games. You have to be ready to compete as soon as we get to Spring Training, which is why the offseason is essential. In the offseason, I always kept a confident mindset that I had coming out of a successful season last year.”
While playing at Tampa last year, Carroll worked an ERA of 2.25, pitching in 13 games, while throwing 30 strikeouts. So far this season, after pitching in 8 games, Cody has an ERA of 1.40 with 26 total strikeouts.
Switching from a starting pitcher to a reliever, Carroll’s velocity has jumped and he has kept a different mindset:
“I was a starter last year and at the end of the season I went back in the bullpen where it increased a little bit and then this year, it climbed a bit, as well. Being a relief pitcher, you have to have a different mindset because you have to be ready to go at any time and I personally like the bullpen.”
Moving to the Double-A level, Carroll had to make a few adjustments in order to be successful.
“The strike zone gets a little bit smaller, and the hitters are better, so I just have to prepare more in advance.”
Bobby is very proud of the success Carroll has had at Trenton Thunder so far this season:
“He looks really good,” Mitchell said. “We get a lot of compliments on him and when we bring him in, the way he’s been throwing, it’s pretty lights out. I think he just needs to work on his command and sharpness of his secondary pitches: his changeup and sliders.”
Carroll is often being compared to New York Yankee Pitcher, Jonathan Holder, because he started off as a starting pitcher and then switched to the bullpen, as did Cody. Carroll can see himself being able to do what Holder did:
“I can definitely be a whatever you need kind of guy. I can start, relieve, close, wherever you need me I can play that position.”
Carroll shares the advice he gives himself to get him through each and every game this season. With this confident mindset, he will succeed not only at the Double A level, but higher levels to come.
“Keep at it. Don’t let one bad outing or game keep you down. You have another chance the next day, that’s the great thing about this game. You have a short time span to forget about everything that happened yesterday, and move on to the next thing,” he concluded.