BY MIKE CORMACK
sportsnet.ca
TORONTO—When it comes to Kyle Drabek’s transformation, apparently you have to see it to believe it.
The 23-year-old Toronto Blue Jays pitching prospect was back in town with the big club on Wednesday, sounding a mix of relief and confidence claiming to have found the magic elixir to the control issues that necessitated a nearly three-month stint in triple-A Las Vegas earlier this summer.
Drabek — one of a handful of players to have earned a September callup with the club on Tuesday — began 2011 in the Blue Jays rotation but by mid-June found himself pitching for the 51s after losing control of his fastball and his emotions.
At the time of the demotion, the Blue Jays said they wanted to see how Drabek would adapt to the challenging pitching conditions in the notoriously hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, while also temporarily shelving his beloved cutter.
His Las Vegas numbers, 75 innings pitched, 111 hits, 41 walks, 45 strikeouts, 7.44 ERA and 2.027 WHIP scream anything but successful makeover, yet prior to the Jays’ 11-10 win over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday, Drabek said he’s confident he’s on the right path.
“Right now I’m throwing strikes and all my pitches are where I need them to be, so I’m happy now,” said Drabek, who in his final start with Las Vegas on Saturday walked a single batter over seven innings of work.
Watching Drabek from the stands that day was Toronto general manager Alex Anthopoulos.
For weeks, Las Vegas pitching coach Tom Signore had been telling Anthopoulos to remain patient as the subtle changes he had been making to Drabek’s mechanics were slowly beginning to bear fruit.
During an interview on Sportsnet Radio the Fan 590 on Tuesday, Anthopoulos conceded that Drabek’s Las Vegas stats and the message being delivered to him via Signore, didn’t add up.
“He kept telling me, ‘trust me, it’s coming. Forget the numbers, forget the line, it’s getting a lot better,’” said Anthopoulos. “Even though you’re hearing it, you’re looking at the stats and saying ‘God, are we looking at the same thing here?’”
Hence the trip.
“But having seen him with my own eyes, he’s throwing his curveball for strikes, which he couldn’t do in the past,” Anthopoulos explained. “The fastball, though it’s not there yet and he’s still going to walk guys, it’s coming along.”
Drabek said he knew his delivery had gotten out of sorts earlier this year with Toronto as he was “throwing differently” each time he took to the mound.
But once reunited with Signore, who served as his pitching coach last year with double-A New Hampshire, his issues were quickly identified.
“Mechanically, he could tell what I was doing different from last year,” said Drabek. “It was good seeing him again and getting me back to where I used to be.”
The by-product of the time in Vegas, says Drabek, is a smoother delivery and what he hopes is a greater ability to forget the previous at-bat, good or bad.
“It’s definitely tough to pitch there,” he explained. “It seems like all the hitters were hitting over .350 and in Vegas the playing field wasn’t the best. You’d have those innings where you’d hit a ground ball and it just takes a bad hop.
“It taught me that it happens and you just got to get over it quickly.”
Blue Jays manager John Farrell says the plan for now is to use Drabek out of the bullpen as a multiple inning reliever, though plans could change between now and the end of the season.
He also believes it’s important for Drabek to end the year with some positive momentum.
Having last pitched on Saturday, there’s a chance Drabek will have the opportunity to build some as early as Thursday against the Red Sox.
“It wasn’t the year that I wanted, but I’m happy to be back up here and to show that I’m back to where I used to be,” said Drabek.
