IN FOCUS: YANKEES
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Pa.) left-hander Dietrich Enns has been nothing short of brilliant since the New York Yankees made him a 19th-round selection out of Central Michigan in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. He has gone 22-13 with a 1.88 ERA through his first 94 games (40 starts), including 4-2 with a 1.51 ERA through seven Class AAA International League starts.
Still, he has yet to make New York’s 40-man roster, and his name isn’t brought up by the Yankees or by the news media covering the team when discussing pitching prospects who could find their way to the Bronx.
“I just fly under the radar and have been doing it my whole career,” said Enns, 25, who had Tommy John surgery in 2014. “I just try to go out there and pitch. I pitched well in high school but didn’t get recruited by too many big schools. Then in college it was the same thing. It is a smaller MAAC school and not a powerhouse like the SEC. I did well in college and in the Cape Cod League, though. I just have to keep pitching and block out what people say or not say.”
RailRiders pitching coach Tommy Phelps says there are players such as Enns throughout baseball who have ability but have to continually prove themselves.
“From a player development standpoint, we’re really pleased with his progress this season,” Phelps said. “He’s come back from being injured, showed he is healthy and has executed his pitches. He’s letting them know he’s here and on the map.”
Enns’ repertoire includes a four-seamer, a change, a curve and a slider. He has been working on being able to throw the slider well enough to get left-handed hitters out. He said he wants to be able to throw it at any point in any count or any situation but concedes it is a pitch that hasn’t come easy for him in his career.
Lefties are hitting .267 against him in the International League.
“Since coming off my surgery, I’ve worked with Tommy Phelps on it,” Enns said. “I worked with him on it in Tampa last year, and we found a good grip and a way to throw it. The slider has been a good pitch since then, a good third pitch for me.”
Phelps said he and Class AA Trenton (N.J.) pitching coach Jose Rosado have worked on refining Enns’ slider and getting him to a consistent release point in order to “get the tilt and late action.”
He added that he thinks Enns’ stuff is good enough for him to succeed at the next level.
“I think if I have consistent fastball command, I will have a shot (of moving up),” Enns said. “It’s not an issue now. But when it’s at its best and I’m commanding my fastball, everything else plays off of that.”
It’s now simply a matter of finishing up strong enough over the final five weeks of the International League season to earn a spot on the 40-man roster and possibly give major league hitters a taste of what their minor league counterparts have already sampled.