Observations from the Fan Forums at Fan Fest, Part 3

In the first part of a series of ruminations from the Fan Forums at Fan Fest, new WTHB addition Nance shared her take on what Director of Player Development Quinton McCracken and Assistant GM David Stearns had to say. In the second part, we heard from Bo Porter. Today, we hear from Mark Appel, George Springer and Jason Castro.

Prospectations – Fan Forum Part III by Nance @Bbfanlady

Prospectations is a word I made up (or copied from somebody so long ago I have forgotten) that refers to discussions about our hopes and expectations for MLB prospects. When I was a little girl, my friends wanted to grow up and marry Prince Charming. I wanted to grow up and marry Sandy Koufax. That was the first of my Prospectations that did not come to fruition.

The following are from notes that I made during FanFest forums about two of the Astros top prospects, Mark Appel and George Springer and All-Star Jason Castro.

Mark Appel – Was very poised and seemed very comfortable speaking to an audience. He was asked how he balances lofty expectations and statistics. He said that he looks internally and doesn’t compare himself to other players. Says you have to have the right work ethic and attitude and become your own player. You cannot let expectations dictate how you play and just have to perform and compete. He said the thing he felt he needed to work on most was to develop a 4 seam fastball. He did say that if he were to face Springer in the batter’s box during spring training and Springer digs in, Mark would go in on him (laughter on stage and in room). Mark said that he views baseball as an entertainment business. He doesn’t want to feel like he’s a big shot. It is a human to human relation. He appreciates the fans so the caravan was a good experience to thank fans for their support. The guys in the minors all pull for each other. When he was at Lo A, they were constantly checking box scores to see if Springer reached 40 HR. They had an off day when Cosart made his home debut and they all got together and watched on TV. They are all pulling for each other and like that kind of excitement. He told one story that I thought was funny. He said he had a professor at Stanford that reminded him that people making decisions are your high school friends grown up.

George Springer – George was more reserved than Mark. I got the impression he was not as comfortable as Mark speaking in front of a live audience and several of his bosses. He said he doesn’t try to hit home runs. He swings hard and hopes he hits it. He laughed and said major league spring training is valuable as he watches how major leaguers prepare and see how they go about the day. He goes out and has fun and tries to learn all he can. He wants to be a sponge to soak up as much information as possible. He said he tries to hit the ball as hard as he can. When asked how he thinks he can reduce his strikeouts, he answered “Keep Swinging.” George said strikeouts were not a big deal to him and he wasn’t going to let fear of strikeouts keep him from playing the game. He plans to get prepared to hit his pitch. He said he thinks he can reduce strikeouts through proper preparation and by making sure he chooses the right pitch to swing at. He also wants to miss fewer pitches by not fouling it off when he gets his pitch to hit.

Jason Castro – Jason shared the stage with Bo Porter and since Bo was not short on things to say (see prior post), Jason didn’t get many questions. He looked and sounded poised and comfortable. When asked who the biggest practical joker was in the clubhouse, Jason said as a young team there was not much in the clubhouse in the way of pranks. He named Jarred Cosart and Dallas Kuechel as guys who were fun in the clubhouse and on the plane. He said those two were good at keeping the chemistry going.

Here’s wishing long and successful MLB careers to all of our prospects and players. And Sandy, I know you have had some arm trouble in the past, but I haven’t given up those little girl hopes and dreams yet and am still available.

Disclaimer: The content of this article is not intended to reflect direct quotes from the forum participants. Content is based on what I “heard”. I apologize in advance if my hearing was impaired.