Biermann moves forward to the past
The bad news didn’t come as a complete surprise to Zach Biermann. He wasn’t playing much for the Asheville Tourists, the high-class A affiliate of the Houston Astros.
Not that it made hearing the words from Asheville manager Nate Shaver any easier. Biermann, a first baseman and outfielder, was released by the Astros last Monday.
“Just the way I was set up to play and what they were doing with playing time, I kind of saw it coming a little bit,” Biermann said. “But at the same time, when it happens, it’s some shock. It sucked for a little bit, but I’m just trying to put it behind me and go forward because it’s all you can do.”
For Biermann, 24, going forward means returning to the past. He’s playing for the Tri-city Valleycats,
the team for which he started his professional career as a 23rd-round draft pick of the Astros out of Coastal Carolina two years ago.
He drove up from Florida on Friday and signed with the Valleycats, now in the independent Frontier League. He started in left field in a 13-6 victory over Equipe Quebec on Saturday in the first game of a doubleheader in front of 1,907 fans at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium. Biermann went 1-for-3 with an RBI single and drew a walk.
Denis Phipps and Nelson Molina homered and Willy Garcia went 3-for-3 with three RBIS in the Game 1 victory. However, Equipe Quebec salvaged a split with a 2-1 victory in the nightcap.
Juan Silverio struck out swinging with two men on against Equipe Quebec left-hander Evan Rutckyj, a former Yankee prospect, to end Game 2.
The Valleycats (24-26) fell into a tie for first in the Atlantic Division with the New York Boulders, a half-game ahead of Equipe Quebec.
“Guys kept fighting,” Tri-city manager Pete Incaviglia said. “We had a chance to tie that thing up late in the game and it didn’t happen.”
Biermann said he signed with the Valleycats because of his familiarity with the team and because his agent, Jonathan Weisz, is the father of Tri-city infielder and former Coastal Carolina teammate Keaton Weisz, currently on the inactive list because of a knee injury.
“It’s a familiar area, which makes it really easy to get acclimated quickly,” Biermann said. “When you move around all the time, it’s kind of hard to stay in one spot and get comfortable.”
Biermann only batted .171 in 11 games in the Astros’ system this year, split between Asheville and Double-a Corpus Christi.
Nonetheless, Biermann felt he was a victim of a system that values analytics such as exit velocity instead of the eye test.
In his first stint with the Valleycats, Biermann batted .221 with three homers and 14 RBIS in 26 games in 2019 before being promoted to Class A
Quad Cities.
Though he enjoyed his relationship with thenvalleycats manager Ozney Guillen, Biermann said he has more freedom in independent ball under Incaviglia.
“Pete kind of lets us be ourselves and helps us make little adjustments,” Biermann said. “You go hit in the cage and the hitting coach comes in there and you’ve got to change this, this and this now that you’re with our system. Here it’s a little more laid-back and he lets you be you.”