Mike Soroka arguably is the best of a rich group of Braves pitching prospects.
Soroka, 20, was in Atlanta to accept his award as the Braves’ organizational Pitcher of The Year. He posted a 2.75 ERA over 153 2/3 innings at Double-A Mississippi.
Soroka likely will open next season in Triple-A Gwinnett, with the bigs not far away. But for now, he was at SunTrust Park as a spectator, and sat down with the media to discuss the best season of his career and being a focal point of a youth movement.
Q: What’s it like being with so many familiar faces and guys who also won awards?
A: It's always pretty special to be recognized by your organization. And just to be here, too. Once we saw the plans a couple years ago, to finally see it in action is pretty special. To be part of what they're advocating for the future as well. All these guys I've made lifelong friends with, I'm sure. A lot of these guys are already here, too. Just hopefully keep it going and be out on the field with these guys sometime soon."
Q: As the year progressed, did you feel like you’re that much closer to being here as a player?
A: Yeah, I think so to a certain extent. I think I learned more this year in Double-A than I have my entire life combined. Derrick Lewis, our pitching coach in Double-A, was tremendous. It was every game we had multiple things to learn. Just some things to watch as you go forward. I feel like a completely new guy now. So to have that confidence going forward is pretty special.
Q: To win this award in such a deep farm, what does that mean to you?
A: It's pretty amazing. Everyone knows what kind of competition surrounds you in the minor leagues. You look at MLB.com and there's names all over the Braves organization every night. It's amazing. I'm friends with some of these guys, and to progress with them as well. Like I said, we're all on the field day in and day out, and you see a guy on the field go out and dominate. It's amazing to see that because it's your friend. That's who you're being looked at and compared to right now. It does a lot for us as competition.
Q: Watching video, studying the game, how much has the last year helped in that aspect?
A: No doubt. Last year a lot in Rome was much more physical. Learning more bullpens. Now it's approach. I watched more video than I ever had this year. I always tell my dad how I'm never going to watch a baseball game the same. And I'm always thinking 'what's he going to throw next, what should he throw next?' I almost try to play a guessing game with myself, read situations from my couch at home. That's pretty special and something I hope to never lose. This is a game that you're never going to stop learning.
Q: What was it like playing with Ronald Acuna?
A: It's pretty awesome. It's kind of funny, I told people coming up in rookie ball, he came to Danville and we spent a little time in GCL right after I signed. Saw some bat speed and said, ''Guys, he swings it pretty good." And he was still kind of raw. But transitioning year-to-year, the crazy part is he didn't even have that many at-bats in Rome that year. And he came out this spring just absolutely on a tear. It was pretty special to watch.
You could have told me he was hitting .400 while he was in Mississippi, and I would’ve said I thought he was hitting .450. He hit it hard. If he struggled it was a game or two, then the next game after that was 3-for-4 again. So to see a guy like that, you can only hope he can keep doing it and I think he will be.
Q: Are you figuring out that you belong at this level?
A: I think so, for a little bit at least. I was very fortunate with the Canadian team. I got to pitch games against some high level talent. I threw against a Blue Jays split squad when I was 17. So that was already a little bit of a wake up. ''You can do this. You can belong." And I think a lot of that comes with learning and watching. That's something you can always learn. Guys like Rex Brothers were in Double-A this year with me. Just to see how he goes about his business every day, who he is, it's special.
Q: How often do you talk with the other young guys about playing in the majors?
A: Definitely. I talk with (Max) Fried quite a bit. I remember when he got called up. It was pretty crazy because it was so fast for him. But Kolby (Allard) and I, we were on the phone with him quite a bit, and he was explaining all the routines he's set into up here and how special it's been for him to get to know a couple guys. It's life changing, for sure. It's something you hope to experience for yourself one day.
Q: At any point do you feel like this is moving too fast?
A: No, I don't think so. I think everything's best left unsaid sometimes when you're talking about progression. But as soon as somebody displays that they're ready – and that's really more than physically – there's just some things you can't teach on the mound, and that's going out there and competing every single pitch. So I feel like this past year, I've gotten really good at that. A few of us have. Like I said, there's really no levels that you can compare to that. There's obviously things you can learn at each level, but I feel like you do your due diligence and learning to be the best you can be, it'll just kind of happen.
