[quote quote=27302]Unfortunately, Mike is having trouble putting the bat on the ball. After struggling with K’s in the Cape Cod league, it appeared he started his pro career with a different approach and walked 10 times in his first 10 games compared to just 8 K’s. Since then (33 AB’s in 10 games) he has K’d 13 times to just one walk.
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There is a huge difference in the pitching between the Gulf Coast League, where he did well, and the NY-Penn League, where he is now. In the GCL, the majority of pitchers just graduated from HS or are unpolished pitchers who just moved to the States from the DSL. A few are recent draftees from Juco’s. In contrast, most of the pitchers in the NYPL are either players who were recently drafted after completing 3-5 years of college or else players drafted out of HS a few years ago who have been good enough to advance. In general, NYP pitchers are a couple of years older, and much more experienced, than the legitimate prospects in the GCL.
Although Garzillo has struck out 12 times in 27 official AB’s since returning to the NYPL, it’s a good sign that he is still getting regular AB’s. It also was a good sign that he wasn’t left to play in obscurity in the GCL as an over-age player. Batavia’s team batting average is .209 btw, so it won’t take much for him to look good compared to a number of his teammates.
