At plate: Phils' pitching prospect Savery

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Hitting a pitched baseball is supposed to be the single most-difficult athletic feat. So if nothing else, Joe Savery has raised the degree of difficulty as he attempts an extreme makeover of his career.

The Phillies' No. 1 draft choice in 2007, a lefthander out of Rice whom team officials at the time likened to Cole Hamels, reported this past weekend listed among the position players instead of the pitchers. It goes without saying that the 25-year-old didn't make this decision because of all the success he was having. "I'm a lot of things, but I like to think I'm not an idiot," he said.

After four professional seasons, he was 28-31 with a 4.29 ERA. Last year, he was sent to the bullpen at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. So Savery approached the Phillies, asked for an honest assessment of where he stood and how he fit into the organization's plans. "You start looking at your situation and the way things are going," he said. "I'd been moved to the pen, which was fine. But I really didn't have a role. So my concern for my career started to come up. More than anything, I feared the way things were going."

In college, when he wasn't pitching, he was used as a first baseman, outfielder or designated hitter. He batted .360 his junior year with the Owls.

The most recent example of a pitcher becoming a successful hitter would probably be Rick Ankiel. Currently in camp with the Washington Nationals, Ankiel said the most difficult part is getting mind and body prepared to perform every day. "The biggest thing is just getting at-bats. Seeing pitches, seeing the off-speed pitches," Ankiel said.

Savery's ready for the challenge and happy he's a Phillie. "One thing I'm sure of is that everybody roots for me in this organization. I have that going for me and I'm thankful for that. But at some point, you really have to put up the numbers. I understand that."

- Philadelphia Daily News

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