Young back in the swing of things
It’s been a long year since Jared Young had the rug pulled out from under his feet, along with thousands of other professional baseball players trying to make the jump from the minor leagues to the majors.
The pandemic cancelled all minor league seasons in 2020 and Young, a 25-year-old Prince George native trying to make that climb in the Chicago Cubs organization, suddenly found himself without a place to play.
Twelve months later, Young is back on the spring training field at Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz., getting in the swing of things again to prepare for a season that starts May 4.
He’s not sure where he’ll be playing this year but when the dust settles he’ll be ready fpr that opening pitch.
“Things are rolling now,” said Young. “It was definitely strange having a year off.
“There was a lot of uncertainty, a lot of wondering how this is going to be because we haven’t played in a while, but it’s come back to me pretty quick and it’s just so amazing to be here.”
Listed at six-foot-two, 185-pounds, Young spent the 2019 season with the double-A Tennessee Smokies and he would love a chance to return to the Knoxville suburb of Sevierville to stick together with his Tennessee teammates.
“I’m a little bit bigger and stronger and that’s definitely going to help as we get going,” he said. “Having the year off to not play and not really do anything, that was one thing I really focused on and hopefully it pays dividends. I’ve probably gained 10 pounds. I’ve worked on staying limber and getting bigger and that’s going to help over 152 games, you definitely have to have some weight on you.”
Playing mostly at first base and sometimes in the outfield his average dropped to .235 in his first year of double-A, moving up from the high-A level the previous season with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Young was held to five home runs in 123 games after hitting 16 round-trippers combined with Myrtle Beach/South Bend in 2018.
The Cubs extended Young’s season when they selected him for their Arizona Fall League team – the Mesa Solar Sox – and he played a six-week schedule that ended in October 2019. Dating back to his youth baseball days in Prince George, he has always had the ability to hit well and he’s anxious to prove that again in his fourth season of professional baseball.
“It’s been over a year since I’ve played,” said Young. “This is a whole new year and it’s time to get going. I just keep getting better, I think. You get a little bit better every year and see where it takes you.
“Everyone is pumped, everyone was in the same boat. You take something away from someone for year and obviously they’re going to be pumped when it’s back. I’m excited to get going and I can’t wait to see where it takes me.”
Chicago’s top farm team, the Iowa Cubs, will play in a seven-team Triple-A Midwest Division, the Tennessee Smokies are part of the Double-A South ‘s four-team North Division, the South Bend Cubs will play in the High-A Central’s six-team West Division, while the Myrtle Beach Pelicans have switched from High-A to Low-A in the realignment and will compete in the 10team Low-A East League.
The 6,000 minor league players were not paid in 2020, other than monthly stipends provided by the parent teams. Young stayed in Arizona where he could train year-round outdoors and he used his signing bonus to cover his living expenses.
He lives in nearby Scottsdale with his girlfriend Julia and their apartment is a 15-minute drive from the ballpark in Mesa. She works in software sales and wasn’t much of a baseball fan before they met.
“She is now,” said Young. “She’s learned a lot in this last year-and-a-half and I’ve got to give her kudos for that because she’s watched a lot of baseball with me.”