ZACH A CAT … AGAIN:
Biermann getting off to strong start in Valleycats return
TROY, NY » Zach Biermann was a ValleyCat in 2019 when the ‘Cats were an affiliate of the Houston Astros.
Now in 2021, Biermann returns to Tri-City to play some independent baseball.
After being released by the Houston Astros organization on July 19, the opportunity arose to return to Tri-City.
“My agent is actually Keaton Weisz’s agent, who was on the team, it’s actually his dad,” Biermann said. “He knew the the coaches already and Keaton liked it here. I said I wanted to play, he said he’d reach out to a couple teams and Pete was gracious enough to give me a spot and let me get a chance here.”
The ValleyCats signed Biermann on July 24, five days after his release.
“For me, it wasn’t a shock that I got released because of the amount of playing time I was getting and where I was getting in,” Biermann said. “At the same time, it always sucks. I just have to put it behind me, I have baseball left to play and I still want to play. I can’t con
trol what the upper-management of the Houston Astros thinks, all I can do is go out there and control my controllables. I can control my attitude, control my effort and control my focus that day. That’s the biggest thing that’s helped me keep moving forward.”
As Biermann worked on proving to himself that he’s still able to play at a high level, in his return, he’s picked up six hits in his first 13 at-bats, with a double, triple and four RBIs.
“It had been kind of a mental thing for me. COVID sucked for everybody, a lot of guys weren’t able to get at-bats, so it’s been just getting back to getting at-bats and trusting myself again because you’d been questioning if you can really do that again,” he said. “The coaches are a lot more laid back, a lot more relaxed and letting me do my own thing and figure it out for myself.”
Biermann comes in to a Tri-City team that is now 28-27 and in first place of the Frontier League Atlantic Division, after coming back from a 4-16 start to the season.
“I think today was a prefect example of that,” Biermann said after a doubleheader against New York on Wednesday. “Specifically how we responded to the adversity that came. We came out to an early lead, they came back, we went up again and then were able to battle through. We didn’t stop, we kept grinding out at-bats and that’s the one thing I’ve noticed, guys do not give away ABs and when they do, they get upset with themselves and you know it’s not going to happen then next time.”
“I also want to learn from these guys,” he added on veteran players like Denis Phipps, Willy Garcia and Juan Silverio. “We have some big-league guys, some high AAA guys, just learning from them on how they approach certain at-bats and what they want to do. I want to help us win and one a personal level, I want to get out of here one day and get with an affiliate again. I’m going to do my best to put up good numbers and help us win.”
With his insertion into the ValleyCats lineup, a platoon has began with Biermann and Brad Zunica between the first base and designated hitter positions. Manager, Pete Incaviglia, has long expected Zunica to receive offers from another affiliated club. Without knowing how much longer Zunica will be available, Biermann’s presence offers some stability to the ‘Cats roster.
Bierman’s first stint with Tri-City was in 2019, when they were the low-A, short season affiliate of the Houston Astros of the NY-Penn League. In 26 games, he hit .221 with three home runs and 14 RBIs.
“The area really hasn’t changed a whole lot. We stay in the same apartments, the food options are the same, but I’m actually able to have my car now, so I’m able to see the area more, so it’s nice to be able to explore a little bit,” he said. “I wanted to see downtown Troy a little bit more and downtown Albany. I was able to get into Albany on our off-day and same with Troy, just looking around and seeing what’s what. Just getting a feel of the area is pretty cool.”