Jon Berti and Ross Gerdeman have proven themselves worthy of being drafted thus far, as Berti is hitting .331 and Gerdeman collected his first professional win last week.
Berti is doing many of the things offensively he did at Bowling Green State University. He is hitting for average and remains a triple-producing machine, leading the Vancouver Canadians–the Toronto Blue Jays‘ Short Season affiliate that competes in the Northwest League–with four. Berti had a career batting average of .386 at BGSU and holds the single season and career triples records.
Gerdeman is playing for the Diamondbacks summer Rookie League team in Phoenix, Ariz. His first win came last week in a matchup against the Padres. In his third start, he threw six innings giving up seven hits and two runs while registering two strikeouts. He
Starting is not a role Gerdeman is accustomed to, as he spent nearly all his time at BGSU as a reliever. However, he said several extended relief outings with the Falcons have made the transition a bit easier.
“It’s been three years since I’ve started a game,” Gerdeman said. “It’s a little different than relieving, since you’re expected to go a little longer distance. At BGSU I made a lot of long-inning relief appearances of five or six innings, which I think helped prepare me.”
In 29.1 innings, Gerdeman is 1-1 with a 3.68 ERA. He has recorded 16 strikeouts.
Both players said professional ball is a change from college but for different reasons.
Gerdeman said the competition is noticeably better.
“You make a pitching mistake here they’ll take you deep and over the fence, which I have experienced once here already,” Gerdeman said.
Berti said the pitching is definitely good, but it is not anything he has not seen before. The professional schedule, however, has been an adjustment unique from his college experience.
“The routine is a little different,” he said. “We meet at the field at one for a seven-o’clock game, and are sometimes at the field for ten hours. It’s starting to feel like my job, but I’m enjoying it.”
The switch from aluminum to wood bats has not been difficult for Berti
“The transition to wood has been smooth,” he said. “Definitely a lot of work has been put into it. I am not really changing too much, just making a couple of adjustments.”
Though Berti played shortstop at BGSU, he was drafted by the Blue Jays as a second baseman.
The Rookie and Short Season leagues can run until September depending on a team’s postseason success. Both leagues are below Low A, but Short Season is a notch above Rookie. Players can get bumped up from Rookie all the way to High A during the summer if proven elite.
Berti and Gerdeman’s destinations next season are unknown but will be determined based on their play this summer and next spring.
Gerdeman, a 35th round draft pick, will continue learning as much as possible in the meantime:
“You have to take the players’ and coaches’ knowledge and wisdom and make it into your own, and do the best you can,” he said.