Strickland On 'Stepping Stone To The Bigs'

Austin Strickland RHP / OF / Moeller, OH / 2020

BRADENTON, Fla. - Austin Strickland is now at the Pittsburgh Pirates’ facilities in Florida “doing workouts and all the fun stuff.”

It is what the Moeller 2020 graduate looked forward to doing after being selected in the eighth round with the 227th pick of the Major League Baseball Draft earlier this month.

“My body is in a good spot and my pitching is in a good spot,” Strickland said about his decision to turn pro and forgo his one year of eligibility left at Kentucky. “I only have one semester left to finish my degree and I can do that online. I’m excited to get to the pro ranks and start climbing. I’m ready to get going.”

The 6-2 210-pound right-handed pitcher, who was 4-2 in 20 appearances this spring in helping the Wildcats advance to the Super Regionals where they lost to eventual national champion LSU, was with family in their hometown of Winchester when his name was announced.

“I was with my mom, dad, brother and his wife and their two kids waiting around,” Strickland reflected. “I had no idea, nothing was specifically known. I had a lot of faith it was going to all work out the way I knew it would work out.

“You get some jitters as in any big moment, but I was never worried it would not work out the way it’s supposed to work out.”

To be taken by the Pirates was, admittedly, unexpected.

“I had a lot of meetings with area scouts in the fall and into the spring with a lot of great teams,” Strickland reflected. “A lot of them showed more interest than others - the Yankees, Padres and Braves. I only heard from the Pirates on draft day, so I was somewhat surprised since I’d not heard much from them.”

The decision to sign a professional contract rather than return to Kentucky was not as hard as might be expected.

“The coaching staff was super supportive with my moving on and pursuing my dreams,” explained Strickland, the highest drafted of three Kentucky players chosen in this year’s MLB Draft. “Kentucky does a great job of getting us ready to move on. They know college is just a stepping stone to the pros, which is a stepping stone to the Bigs. It was not a super difficult decision. I feel I’m getting close to my prime.”

His days are routine at the present.

“I wake up early, 6:30-6:45, have breakfast and then go to the training room and weight room,” Strickland related. “After that it’s throwing and finishing up with a lift. By then it’s noon and you go out and enjoy the Florida weather.”

The current goal is a simple one according to the 21-year-old.

“The biggest thing is to continue to get better with my fastball control,” Strickland said. “I switched from a four-seam to a sinker in the last year and need to work on that and then add a change to throw when I need to.”

The hope is that those improvements help propel the eighth-ranked 2020 right-handed pitcher in Ohio coming out of high school to bigger and better things as his baseball journey continues.

“The long-range goal is to make the Bigs,” Strickland concluded. “The immediate goal is to stay healthy and mobile, keep going with the strength of my body and continue to grow and learn with all the great people here. I just need to continue to do what’s made me successful.”