Voorhees native enjoying new Double-A home in Trenton
TRENTON >> Shawn Semple has more bounce in his step than usual. He looks lighter on his feet and his arm feels strong.
“Just something about being here back in the Northeast refreshed my body,” Semple said earlier this week outside the Thunder clubhouse at Arm & Hammer Park. “I just feel amazing now.”
Semple is the latest in a line of Yankees prospects from New Jersey to make a stop in Trenton. A Voorhees native who starred at Paul VI, Semple has made three starts for the Thunder, including 4.2 innings in Wednesday’s suspended game, since his promotion from High-A Tampa.
When he started last Thursday, his first at Arm & Hammer Park, there were about 80 friends and family members there to cheer him on.
“To pitch here with a lot of friends and family, it gave me a lot of adrenaline and made me want to fight harder because I had all these people supporting me,” Semple said. “I want to show them how hard I truly worked.”
That start was the best of his three thus far. He allowed four runs on seven hits and struck out eight against one walk in seven innings.
Manager Patrick Osborn believes this is all part of the learning process for the 23-year-old who was selected in the 11th round of the 2017 draft out of the University of New Orleans (Semple was majoring in nursing at UNO and said he would be a physical therapist if it weren’t for baseball).
“I felt like he used the two offspeed pitches better,” the first-year skipper said. “He’s going to have to do that here as well as when he climbs the ladder. It’s one of those learning moments for a young pitcher who hadn’t pitched at this level yet. He’s got a nice three-pitch mix and he’s a strike thrower who competes really well.”
Semple agreed.
“If you don’t do that, they’re going sit on your fastball,” he said. “Once I was able to come here, something with my curveball and change-up has just been in the zone. I’ve just felt more consistent with that, so that’s really what’s been part of the development of being a pitcher.
“You need to be able to do that at the biggest level, and coming here, it forces you to be able to do that.”
In his 4.2-inning outing on Wednesday, Semple started strong by striking out the side, but was pulled with two outs in the fifth after conceding a pair of runs (one
earned) on 79 pitches. He threw 114 pitches in his previous start and was bumped up a day after Brian Keller was promoted to Triple-A late Tuesday night.
“He pitched around some jams and got a big doubleplay,” Osborn said. “It was a hot day and he threw 114 pitches in his last outing with five days rest, so he may have run out of gas in that fifth inning.”
Semple grew up a Philadelphia sports fan and tried to model himself after the Hall of Famer Roy Halladay. “His composure and the way he pitches,” Semple said. “I wanted to be like him.”
He has an Eagles tattoo on his chest, and laughed at the notion that if it were a Phillies logo that might have been problematic in a baseball clubhouse, especially now that he’s trying to get to the big leagues in Yankee pinstripes.
“My dad lives over in Hamilton, so whenever I would see him, my brother, me and him would come over and catch a game,” Semple said. “I’ve seen the Reading Phillies play here when guys were rehabbing. It’s absolutely surreal
to be here right now and play on this field.”
Suspended Game
The Thunder rallied to beat Bowie, 3-2, Thursday at Arm & Hammer Park in what was the completion of Wednesday’s suspended game.
First baseman Chris Gittens stroked a two-run home run — his 19th of the year — off left-hander Brian Gonzalez in the bottom of the sixth to pull Trenton ahead. The Thunder had trailed 2-1 when the game was suspended in the bottom of the fifth.
Outfielder Ben Ruta reached first base by drawing a one-out walk on six pitches prior to Gittens, who finished 2-for-3.
Relievers James Reeves and Brooks Kriske secured the final 12 outs without allowing a hit. Reeves struck out four, while Kriske allowed just one walk and earned his 10th save.
After the suspended game, the teams played a seven-inning game Thursday night to cap the series. Trenton next hosts Harrisburg for three games Friday-Sunday.