FRISCO, Texas — The ultimate destination, a gleaming, climate-controlled retractable roof stadium stocked with all the Major League Baseball amenities, awaits 35 miles away from Port Angeles minor leaguer Cole Uvila.
Uvila, a 2012 Roughrider graduate, is now a Frisco RoughRider with the Texas Rangers Double-A affiliate, located a toll road away from Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
He got a taste of the big-league career he’s aiming for while getting ready for the season.
“I didn’t go to spring training in Arizona; I was at the Rangers’ Alternate Training Site in Round Rock, [Texas],” Uvila said. “We played the Royals Alternate team there [at Globe Life Field] and was able to see the facility, the equipment and support staff that is available. They have their own chiropractor and barber on site, a nap room with these pod-like sleeping chairs. It was motivating to get up there and stay up there, for sure.”
Despite his older-than-most prospects age of 27, Uvila, a 40th and final round draft choice by the Rangers in 2018, isn’t in any hurry to advance up the ladder this season.
“Being one call away [from the big league club] was an experience,” Uvila said. “The Triple-A ball is a little bit different in your hand, and there were some growing pains, but it opened my eyes to how fast the game is up there and things to work on.”
And Uvila is interested in re-sharpening his tools with Frisco after a lengthy COVID-induced break.
“I don’t feel like this is a make or break year for me,” Uvila said. “My body of work in my career has pretty much guaranteed me a career in baseball. I’m in the place where I know its going to happen for me. Two steps forward, one step back mindset. For a long time, I was trying to prove to myself that I was a big leaguer. Now, I know I can be, and I have to continue to prove that to others by being a good teammate, showing up to the yard with a good attitude and taking coaching and instruction.”
Former Port Angeles Roughrider Cole Uvila is pitching for the Double-AA Frisco RoughRiders in the Texas Rangers minor league organization. (Courtesy Frisco RoughRiders)
Uvila’s stats are similar to his first two seasons of minor league ball with short-season Spokane in 2018 and A-ball with the Down East Wood Ducks and Hickory Crawfish in 2019.
In 16 appearances out of the bullpen, Uvila sports a 2.05 ERA with 31 strikeouts and 10 walks. He’s posted a 2-1 record, has converted all eight save opportunities and has a walks-and-hits-per-innings pitched (WHIP) number of 1.14.
“I’m throwing more fastballs this year,” Uvila said. “In 2019, my fastball velocity average was 93.5 mph, and this year its 95.5. I was able to get in the weight room, work on some stuff, and the ball has been zipping out of my hand. I’ve got a 98-mph pitch under my belt — one legit 98.3, which is my best in pro ball. I’ve been able to attack guys off my heater and go after guys.”
Uvila knows that he will need more than a big arm to advance up the ladder.
“Everybody who makes it to the bigs can hit a good fastball. I can pitch on it, but my career goal isn’t to be exceptional Double-A pitcher, so I’m throwing more changeups and working to become more of an overall arm,” he said. “My first few outings I threw 90-percent fastballs, and in recent appearances, I’m at 55 percent.”
The numbers look promising at a glance, but Uvila said there has been some ups and downs thus far.
“I’ve had some really good outings and some bad outings,” Uvila said. “When you take 17 or 18 months off, you forget what makes you good and what matters. I had a talk with our pitching coach [Jeff Andrews] about being in the middle and avoiding too many highs and too many lows. Just simplifying, the nature of the kind of person I am is I want more, and I want to tinker with things.”
Uvila said the simple act of pitching in a game that counts with a crowd in the stands “was really refreshing.”
“I was just on top of the world,” Uvila said. “The first game of the season, and all I could do was smile. I don’t think I realized how much I missed it until I was out there and able to play in games that matter in front of a crowd. It gets a bit mundane to head to a gym for 15 months.”
On the sticky subject that is the crackdown on the use of sticky substances by pitchers in an effort to increase spin rates? Uvila said he’s now checked coming off the mound after each inning for foreign substances by umpires.
“It’s really unfortunate that they did that in the middle of season,” Uvila said. “There will be more arm injuries, and for a lot of guys, it feels like the carpet has been pulled out from underneath them.”
With a naturally high spin rate on his pitches, Uvila stands to gain from the overzealous attempt at enforcement by Major League and Minor League Baseball.
“Long-term, the enforcement will benefit me. A lot of people were getting the movement and spin from sticky stuff that I have naturally,” Uvila said. “It’s something that we are all working through.”
Having played much of his college and professional career in the heat and humidity of the south, Uvila said weather conditions have impacted his ability to grip the ball.
“The balls are so slick, it’s almost like they are coming straight out of the factory,” Uvila said. “When you are playing in Corpus Christi in 100-degree heat with 100-percent humidity, my hands are sweaty, everything is sweaty.”
And the allowed option for tackiness, the rosin bag, can be too much of a good thing.
“Rosin actually can dry out your hand, but it makes the ball slick, and too much of it makes a slick mess,” Uvila said. “For me, it’s about managing the sweat.”
And Uvila will continue to take the ball when he’s called upon.
“We don’t necessarily have roles. Nobody has come up and said, ‘Cole you are the closer,’” Uvila said. “I’m doing what the team needs. I’ll come in for the sixth inning or the ninth, and I don’t care if I pitch fifth or 11th. But it is fun to close out the ball game, especially on a Friday or Saturday here in Frisco. We get really loud weekend crowds.”
And the ultimate focus this season? Simplification and consistency.
“I know I have stuff that can play in the bigs, but having stuff that can be consistent is what I’m working toward,” Uvila said.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-406-0674 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
