Rice Pitchers Battle Injuries, Stigma

By Moisekapenda Bower
June 5, 2007

HOUSTON—Like seemingly every prior moment of his baseball career, Rice lefthander/first baseman Joe Savery was acutely aware of how his July 6, 2006, surgery to remove bone spurs from his left shoulder could affect his draft position.

Up until that moment Savery had, by his own admission, lived a charmed life on the diamond. He was a Little League standout, an all-state performer at Lamar High in Houston, Baseball America's Freshman of the Year in 2005, and a third team All-American as a sophomore.

BONUS BONANZA The amount of money each team spent on signing 2006 draft picks. These numbers do not include draft-and-follows signed this spring, or Jeff Samardzija’s $10 million major league contract (the second he signed) with the Cubs.
Club	1st/Supp. Picks	Total
Red Sox	4	$8,507,000
Braves	3	$6,802,200
Yankees	2	$6,563,000
Royals	1	$6,545,500
Rockies	1	$6,054,000
Indians	1	$6,016,500
Tigers	1	$5,982,500
Dodgers	3	$5,632,000
Nationals	2	$5,329,000
Orioles	2	$5,281,500
Pirates	1	$5,269,000
Devil Rays	1	$5,090,500
Cardinals	2	$5,085,000
Padres	2	$4,881,000
Phillies	2	$4,837,500
Marlins	2	$4,832,000
Reds	1	$4,667,500
Mariners	1	$4,656,000
Cubs	1	$4,622,500
Giants	2	$4,444,500
Brewers	1	$4,020,000
Rangers	1	$3,965,500
Twins	1	$3,910,500
D'backs	2*	$3,583,500
Astros	1	$3,437,500
Blue Jays	1	$3,344,500
Angels	1	$2,648,500
White Sox	1	$2,599,500
Mets	0	$2,323,500
Athletics	0	$1,857,500
AVERAGE		$4,759,640
*Haven’t signed 11th overall pick Max Scherzer.

Every progressive step was beautifully in sync until Savery experienced lingering discomfort in his shoulder during his sophomore year and went under the knife. For the first time, uncertainty had a grip on Savery. And he had no clue as to what lay ahead.

"I have dealt with the feeling that (teams) are looking for a reason why I won't succeed," he said. "The thinking has been, 'Well, he's not hitting 95 (mph).' It definitely enters your mind, especially from my side coming off surgery."

Savery and classmate Cole St. Clair have had the misfortune of being first-round talents who sustained injuries during their draft-eligible seasons—while pitching for a program that has had a rash of first-round picks suffer significant arm problems early in their professional careers.

From Kenny Baugh and Jon Skaggs in 2001, to Philip Humber, Jeff Niemann and Wade Townsend in 2003, Rice has produced a string of hurlers whose development was slowed by shoulder and elbow maladies.

"Absolutely, that will be discussed everywhere," one National League scout said. "It's gotten to the point where so many of them have had surgery that you have to say, 'Wait a minute.' In both situations, you're going to have to go off what you've seen in the past. I don't think you're going to see either guy completely healthy this year."

Because Baugh, the 11th overall selection by the Tigers in 2001, and Skaggs, taken 42nd by the Yankees in the same draft, had their careers derailed by labrum (Baugh) and Tommy John (Skaggs) surgery, the operations Humber (elbow), Niemann (shoulder) and Townsend (elbow) had early in their pro careers raised eyebrows. Whether it's legitimate, there is a perception of worry when it comes to pitchers developed at Rice. The unfortunate timing of their minor injuries left Savery and St. Clair branded by a stigma.

But with arm injuries so prevalent across baseball, some wonder how the stigma was born, and why Rice pitchers are forced to bear that burden.

"There are way too many variables out there for me to pinpoint it, because I know that when I was in high school and lower than high school, I didn't know anybody's arm that got hurt," Skaggs said. "Nowadays I hear about 15- or 16-year-olds having Tommy John surgery. There's a lot more going on than anybody knows, more than pitch counts, more than nutrition and training and overtraining. So I really don't have a strong take on it."

For Savery and St. Clair, who missed the first two months of this season with biceps tendinitis that developed from an offseason weightlifting mishap, their considerable upside hasn't prevented scouts from worrying about their health.

"Absolutely, there's no question that the track record at Rice is a concern," one American League scout said. "The thing with Savery that may help him is that he's been a first baseman, too, so his innings and pitch counts have been limited, especially after his injury. St. Clair is a concern again. They're saying he's fine . . . but he's a real wild card."

Said St. Clair: "It's unfortunate, but (the perception is) there. I feel like I'm taken care of well here, but if you look at the track record, there is reason for people to believe that.

"It's an interesting game you have to play, where I have to go out there and do as well as I can and convince them that I feel fine, and they have to be skeptical just to make sure they're giving their organization a fair shot at really analyzing me as a player."

That analysis will continue through the run-up to the draft. Savery has slowly worked his way back to form, reaching milestones in pitch count (110 at Alabama-Birmingham on April 29) and velocity (touching 93 mph several times against Tulane on May 13). After he regained his mechanics, St. Clair again featured a fastball topping out at 93 mph.

Even that good news offers no guarantee, however.

"You go from maybe being a top five pick to right now I don't really know," Savery said. "I really have no idea what to think or what (teams) are thinking. It (the draft) is going to be exciting because it's a big step in my life, but it's also going to be a relief in the sense that I can just go play. Those things are decided, and you don't feel like everything is being critiqued as closely."

—MOISEKAPENDA BOWER
Houston Chronicle