News
Brian McFall - Climbing the Ladder
Kyle Galdeira
03/28/07
With Opening Day less that a week away, Major League rosters are being trimmed down, and minor leaguers are filtering down through the
system.
One such player is former West Oahu Canefires first baseman Brian McFall who hopes to start the season in double-A Wichita after recovering from a pulled hamstring suffered earlier in the spring. The six-foot-three-inch, 205-pound Flagstaff, Ariz. native was able to participate in a few weeks of Spring Training action after resting the nagging injury. McFall hopes to build upon a respectable .239 batting average, two-homer, nine-RBI performance in the HWB League.
"It really improved my game," McFall says of his HWB experience. "I had a rough time at first, but at the end (of the season) I could see the adjustments which have helped me in the game."
While his power numbers are on the rise, the same holds true for McFall's strikeouts.
Last year in his time with the high-A Wilmington Blue Rocks, McFall cranked 21 home runs and collected 25 doubles. But, his powerful swing led to 120 strikeouts in 398 at-bats, and McFall made an effort to improve his plate discipline during the winter.
"I worked on strike-zone discipline a lot, being there and seeing that level of competition where the pitchers are around the zone," he says. "It got me to a point where, late in the count, I knew I could wait for my pitch, so it kept me a lot more relaxed (during various counts)."
As his fate now rests in the hands of his coaches and the Royals' player-development staff, McFall is confident that his chances of advancing are greater because of his extra innings with HWB.
"I think Hawaii prepared me, it was a real stepping stone to the higher levels of the minor leagues," he says.
