Two springs ago, Chicago Cubs minor league pitcher and No. 4 overall prospect Duane Underwood Jr. had an experience he’ll never forget. It was during spring training in Mesa, Ariz. Underwood was pitching for one team in the scrimmage. Future Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrietta was pitching for the other.
It was a duel in which Underwood held his own. He still watches film of that outing.
“Even before he (Arrieta) went on to win 20 games and the Cy Young and all that, it was fun to go out and compete against the best,” Underwood Jr. said. “It was fun to go back and forth and go back and look at the tape and just see the pitches he was making versus the pitches I was making.”
@smokiesbaseball pitcher Duane Underwood Jr. taking a look at his own pitch tonight. pic.twitter.com/Rjl0KgIdWX
— Tate Nations (@kaotate) June 7, 2016
This last spring training wasn’t nearly as eventful as Underwood missed all of it with an arm injury and, of all things, allergies. Yes, allergies.
“Usually I get some (allergies) here and there when I arrive in Arizona, but this time I was just sick,” Underwood Jr. said. “It’s hard to explain. I’m from Georgia, so when I’m down here I’m not affected by the pollen or anything. It was weird.”
With the injury and allergies, Underwood had to stay in extended spring training until joining the Double-A Tennessee Smokies on April 29. With no action in the preseason, Underwood Jr. has been forced to work through his own “spring training” facing live fire.
“The first two or three weeks he was here, we were kind of taking his starts like that (spring training),” Smokies manager Mark Johnson said. “Four innings and 65 pitches. A lot of times you try to get into that rhythm and you can’t, or you do get into it and you’re out of the game.”
Duane Underwood Jr. throwing straight 🔥🔥🔥 in the first. Hit 97 MPH several time with the fastball in a 1-2-3 frame. #Cubs #Smokies
— Justin Rocke (@JustinRocke) June 1, 2016
Underwood has tried to take the whole thing in stride. He’s a laid-back guy and on the day he was drafted back in 2012 he wasn’t home or near a computer. He was on the lake fishing with his cousins. And he doesn’t even like fishing.
“I got drafted and I missed all the phone calls because I didn’t have any reception,” Underwood jr. said. “. I was on a boat. I can’t fish worth anything. I don’t have the patience, but my cousins took me out there. Whatever they were doing, I was doing it. I wanted out of the house.”
It’s a struggle for a talented player drafted in the second round right out of high school to have a stumble, even if it is due to just bad luck and a high pollen count. He’s currently 0-4 with a 5.40 ERA so he has some control issues. What he doesn’t have any trouble with is power, with a fastball that has hit 100 m.p.h on the radar gun.
“It’s been tough,” Underwood Jr. said. “You want to go out on the field and do the best you can. I’ve had some hiccups here and there, but overall I’m getting back to full strength. I can’t worry about what’s happened before. I have to move forward.”
Duane Underwood Jr.’s Double-A debut is in the books: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO on 72 pitches (44 strikes). #Cubs
— Justin Rocke (@JustinRocke) April 30, 2016
No one seems worried about Underwood’s slow start. Last season he went 6-3 for the High-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans with a 2.41 ERA, the same year he finally made sure the team added “Jr.” to his jersey to honor his father.
“It’s been a new experience for me,” Underwood Jr. said. “I try to roll with it. At the end of the day you’ve got to make pitches and try to go out there with your best stuff. If you don’t have it, you don’t have it. You have to keep with it.”
#Cubs Duane Underwood Jr. ranked as 77th best prospect in baseball by @MLBPipeline
— ChicagoCubsOnline (@TheCCO) January 30, 2016
Johnson and the Smokies coaches are pleased with Underwood’s progress. He’ll be off his pitch count soon and turned loose as part of the usual rotation. He’s taking his spring training lumps, just a few months late.
“He (Underwood Jr.) is trying to get the feel of his fastball and get the feel of it coming out of his fingers and being more consistent,” Johnson said. “It takes time, especially when you miss the start of the season and you come straight to Double-A for the firs time. It takes a while to get that feel back and he’s starting to get it.”
