An Interview with Tri-City OF Derek Fisher

Derek Fisher, drafted 37th overall in 2014, is having a very, very nice first professional season with the Tri-City ValleyCats. In his first 29 games, he is hitting .336/.425/.400 with three doubles and two triples. His first home run has eluded him, but he is expected to provide plenty of home run highlights as he progresses through the Astros system. He has already stolen 14 bases in his short time with the 'Cats.

Tri-City Manager Ed Romero talked to me about Fisher, "Fisher is a player that's very talented offensively. He hasn't shown the power yet. I think he will. He can use the entire field. He's a gap-to-gap hitter right now with solid contact, outstanding speed. He's the guy who gets on and goes right away. He's not afraid. It doesn't matter. he goes. He has good acceleration. He steals bases easily." According to Romero, Fisher's left field defensive and throwing skills need to be honed, but overall, he likes what he sees.

Derek Fisher - July 2014

Photo by Jayne Hansen

I spoke with Fisher on my recent trip to Tri-City and we started with his college experience. He told me, "I went to the University of Virginia. Had the time of my life. It was the best three years of my life. Taught me a lot on the field. Even more off the field. Made me a better person and prepared me for what's at stake here."

Of the experience playing in the College World Series this year, Fisher said, "It's something I watched as a kid. When I was growing up as a kid, it was Rosenblatt [Stadium] and they changed it to TD Ameritrade [Park] which is a beautiful park. The town of Omaha is all about baseball for two weeks and everything's about the teams. You get treated so well there and, quite frankly, spoiled. They make it a great experience and obviously it's something that every kid wishes to do, and if you get a chance to do it, it's definitely going to be something you'll never forget."

This year's draft was a big event for that University of Virginia team with eight players drafted. Of the experience, Fisher told me, "I went into the draft with no expectations. Just try to have fun. Try to have fun and soak in the experience. Fortunately, there were a lot of guys on our team that got drafted, something like seven or eight guys on our college team that got drafted. To be there with them when it happened and obviously supporting them through the process the next few days was a lot of fun, something that I'm never going to forget."

I had noticed that, as a left-handed hitter, Fisher appears to be equally comfortable hitting against lefties as he does against righties. I asked him if that had always been the case for him or if it was a matter of a small sample size. He responded, "It's something that I always try to work on [from when I was] a kid and growing up and being at Virginia. Obviously, when you're growing up, you're not facing many left-handed pitchers. So when I was at Virginia that was a big thing that I worked on because you're starting to get into situations and guys are coming out of the bullpen and so on and so forth. Now, am I the same against righties and lefties? I'm not going to say I'm as comfortable against both, but there's definitely some points throughout the process and throughout the season where I do feel more comfortable against left-handed pitchers. To hit a left-handed pitcher, you've got to be seeing the ball well and swinging well. It definitely helps if you make adjustments. When you face left-handed pitchers, you've got to change some things up a little bit, and try and simplify yourself and I think it definitely helps."

What does he feel that he's accomplished so far? "Something I've really wanted to work on my whole life is to steal bases. In college, I didn't really steal many bases because it wasn't exactly the way we played which is fine. Coming here, I wanted to make that another aspect to my game. I've always liked to hit. I haven't hit for much power here, but hitting and hitting for power was always something I loved to do, [but] being able to use my speed and steal bases is just another thing I can use on the field."

As far as what Fisher needs to work on to continue in his development, that's simple. "Consistency. Consistency is always something. You've got to be more consistent at each level. You [need to] be consistent with the things you do no matter how you do it, no matter how you get it done day in and day out. Consistency is the number one thing that everybody's trying to work on."

I asked Fisher to characterize his style of play, and he responded, "I like to play hard. Just playing hard all the time. There are a lot of games. It's more games than I've ever played in my life. So, just to play hard, run balls out, play the game the right way and play as if you're not going to play the next day. That could be the case. I think just play hard and just play the game you've played your whole life, and I think that things are going to happen."

The biggest adjustment for him in playing professional ball is also something he's been looking forward to, "It was something I've been waiting to do, just playing every day. In college you play a lot of games, but they're over a span of time and you have days off every single week. The most games you play in a row is three. So playing every day is something that's different, but I like it. It's something that was a good adjustment and something that I enjoy doing. Playing every single day is something that you've got to take pride in and that's where the consistency comes in."

Which of the 'Cats pitchers would he least like to face in the batter's box? "I've got to say Jordan Mills [recently promoted to Quad Cities]. Left-handed pitcher. [He throws] from a weird 3/4 arm slot. Definitely a guy that looks like he's throwing a lot harder than he is. He looks like he's throwing mid-90's because he's so big and lanky and throws from a low 3/4 slot. As a left-handed hitter, I don't think I'd want to face him."

Fisher enjoyed watching Troy Scribner on the mound while he was with the 'Cats (before Scribner's promotion to Quad Cities). "I like to watch Scribner pitch a lot. Just talking to him, he's a kid who's made a lot of adjustments in his career, and he just knows how to pitch. He might not have the 95-mph fastball and the big league stuff, but he's able to pitch, and pitch to any kind of hitter. It's obviously shown here as [he has been] one of our best and most consistent pitchers. With the pitching staff that we have, I think that says a lot because we've got a lot of kids that can really pitch. Scribs is a kid that's going to be able to go out and battle every night. He's got four pitches and he throws them all for strikes, and he can read hitters well and that's something that's going to take him a long way."

When I asked Fisher who on the team makes him laugh, he ended up on a tangent about the team's chemistry. The first name that came to mind was Jay Gause, but according to Fisher, "I could go down the list. There's a lot of fun guys I play with. I think that's what definitely sets us apart. We're seeing each other every single day and you could think that a lot of us get sick of each other because [these are] the only people we see the entire season and that's not the case. We're always smiling. We're having fun and that's how baseball should be played when you're playing it every day."

He also got off on a bit of a tangent when I asked him what he would do if he couldn't play baseball. He wants to stay in the game and talked about the influence that a former major leaguer like Ed Romero has in the development of young players. Fisher said, "Somebody like Eddie Romero, somebody that's played in the big leagues for so long ... he doesn't have to do this if he doesn't want to. He's been around the game for so long and he could be out enjoying his time with his family and his grandsons, but he just loves the game, loves helping kids out, love teaching us. That's why they're here. It's something that we appreciate for sure."

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I felt that I only scratched the surface in trying to get to know Fisher. He seemed much more comfortable talking about others than himself, which is not a bad thing at all. But I enjoyed speaking with him and look forward to watching him as he makes his way through the Astros system.

Thank you for your time, Derek, and best of luck as the 'Cats head toward the playoffs!