An Interview with JetHawks LHP Mitch Lambson

LHP Mitch Lambson has long intrigued me, but it wasn't until the end of May on my recent trip to Lancaster that I finally spoke with him more than briefly. Lambson has always had a terrific strikeout to walk ratio, but this season it's even more impressive than in years past. He currently has 27 strikeouts to 4 walks in 20.2 innings pitched or a 6.75 SO/BB rate.

Mitch Lambson - May 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

Lancaster Pitching Coach Don Alexander weighed in on Lambson, "Mitch does what he does. He's a left-handed pitcher that works on the plate, changes speed extremely well, is not afraid to challenge hitters. He commands his fastball on both sides of the plate and he changes speeds. And if you can do that, you have a chance to be successful."

The first question I had for Lambson was regarding his pitch repertoire, "I don't really know my velocity because I don't throw too hard so I try not to look at them. I throw a 4-seam fastball, a change up and a slider, breaking ball, whatever you want to call it. That's it. That's all I've got."

I also wanted to know to what he attributed his reverse splits (lefties have always hit better off of him than righties), "I think my change up is my best off-speed pitch and it works well against right-handed hitters [but] I'm still learning how to throw it to the lefties. And my breaking ball is hit or miss sometimes. I just hang it, leave it up a little bit [sometimes]."

With the draft still approaching when I spoke with Lambson, I was curious about his draft experience back in 2011, "I was actually in the weight room working out. I had my phone with me because at some point during the day I was expecting to get a call and that's when I got it. I was pretty excited. The Astros guy called me and told me they were going to take me 19th round and it was emotional. It was special. That's what I've always wanted since I was a little kid."

In response to my question about changes in the Astros minor league system since he came aboard, he replied, "It's different. At least on the minor league side we're winning a lot of games so there's a different atmosphere. There's a winning atmosphere. There's a good attitude around the clubhouse. At Spring Training and all the teams I've been with have good attitudes. We're playing to get better individually and to win games as a team."

What is he working on this season? Lambson responded, "Like we were just talking about, getting the left-handed hitters out. I've got to work on that. I think that's just my breaking ball, working to get that better." Of what he's accomplished so far this season, he said, "I think I got off to a decent start, but there's a lot of baseball left to be played. It's a long year so I've just got to keep working every day and try to get better every day. It's such a long season that if you inch forward every day, by the end of the year you realize that, 'Oh, I got way better through that whole year,' but day to day it doesn't seem like much."

Who in the Astros system has a pitch he'd like to steal? "I'd like to steal a lot of guys velocity. That would be nice. I'd say Lance McCullers has a good breaking ball so that would be nice if I could pick up that. There's a lot of guys with a lot of talent in our system. It would be nice to steal a lot of pitches."

Who would Lambson least like to face in the batter's box? "I'd say obviously Carlos Correa is a really good player. He's a really good hitter. His approach at the plate is ... he's tough to get out. You have to really fool him and make good pitches. He's not going to get himself out. But we have a lot of hitters like that. Teoscar's [Teoscar Hernandez] got great power at the plate. It would be tough to face him because if you make a mistake, he'll make you pay. I'd say overall a lot of our hitters have really good approaches at the plate."

Noting that Carlos Correa is a standout in the field as well, I asked Lambson if there was anyone else he really liked to have playing behind him in the field, "I'd say Tony Kemp. At the end of last year and this year, he's a great defender at second base. Rio playing third is great. Our outfield ... there's a lot of good players out there like Teoscar. [If] you give him a chance to throw somebody out, he's going to throw him out. And actually, I've been really lucky the last two years to have Roberto Pena behind the plate. And Jobduan Morales too behind the plate. Those guys defensively are some of the best I've ever thrown to."

Since Lambson played with Andrew Aplin at Arizona State, I asked him for his take on Aplin, "I haven't played with him yet here with the Astros, but in college ... just a good person to be around, a good clubhouse guy, great attitude. Defensively, he's one of the best outfielders and he can hit a little bit too." Although Lambson is originally from Oregon, his family now lives is Arizona where his brother Mark also pitched for Arizona State.

On what he would do if he couldn't play baseball, "I really love the game so hopefully coach or give lessons to stay around the game if I could. I'd go back to school and get my degree and see where that took me. I've always liked Motocross so if I could just pick a sport besides baseball to be really good at, it would probably be that, but that's a dangerous sport. It doesn't mix with baseball."

Lambson was a workhorse out of the bullpen in 2013 for Quad Cities, making 41 appearances for a total of 71+ innings. I asked him about his durability and he noted, "My first Spring Training I dealt with a little bit of injury at the beginning of Spring Training, but other than that, I've fortunately been healthy. I think that has a lot to do with the trainers and the strength coaches we have. They have us on programs that keep us strong and healthy and at the same time don't overdo it so we get fatigued. I think that's definitely why."

Mitch Lambson - May 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

>>>>>>><<<<<<<

I really enjoyed talking with Mitch and found him to be a breath of fresh air. I don't know whether it comes across in his answers or not, but he is someone who is very comfortable in his own skin. He's able to poke a little fun at himself and at the same time is generous with his praise of others. He doesn't ever seem too high or too low. All of which brings me to one final statement from Don Alexander who praised Lambson for his mindset and his approach, "We always talk about how you go about your business. He goes about his business extremely well."

Thank you for your time, Mitch, and best of luck as the season continues.