A Little Advice for New Draftees

I asked several of the Hooks players what advice they would give the players who were drafted last week, what they wish someone had told them when they were first drafted. This is what they had to say.

RHP Jason Stoffel - a fourth round draft pick in 2009 out of the University of Arizona
"Get ready! Minor league baseball's a grind. It's a long season. I came from college. We played 56 games or whatever and you almost triple that, and it's every day. It's tough and it takes some getting used to. That's my best advice. Don't underestimate it."

1B Jon Singleton - an eighth round draft pick in 2009 out of Millikan HS in Long Beach, CA
"Not to be in a rush. A lot of guys went to college. They had a great experience. [For players drafted out of high school] it's definitely a learning experience. It's three or four years of your life that you really want to enjoy and have fun so just take your time. You shouldn't be in any rush."

OF Jake Goebbert - a thirteenth round draft pick in 2009 out of Northwestern
"What do I wish someone had told me? Give it all you have every day and have no regrets. Really play like you've got nothing to lose because eventually for all of us being in the game a while, we see it ends and not too many people get to finish out on their own accord. So when you're given the opportunity which is a special opportunity, make sure you give it all you've got and don't take it for granted."

OF Austin Wates - a third round draft pick in 2010 out of Virginia State University
"My best advice is keep your head down, keep playing. You never know how far away you are and you never know how close you are either so you've got to kind of keep your head down and keep playing."

LHP Kevin Chapman - a fourth round pick in 2010 out of the University of Florida
"What do I wish I'd known? Just how to pace yourself throughout the season because it's a long season. In college you get into long season but you're not playing 13 out of 14 days every time, and to be able to pace yourself and keep yourself in shape is huge. I feel like last year, my first full season, towards the end of the year I sort of just fell off a little bit because of that. I feel like coming into this year I had a lot better idea what I needed to do."