MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — By his own admission, James Marvel isn’t going to be the guy who “blows the door” off hitters. Instead, he’s just going to focus on being a pitcher.
A 26-year-old right-hander and 36th-round draft pick of the Pirates in 2015 — despite an elbow surgery that caused him to miss all but four weeks of his sophomore year and all of his junior season at Duke — Marvel said his focus throughout his minor-league journey has been on attacking the strike zone and letting the chips fall where they may.
“I pride myself on just being a pitcher, understanding the game, preparing between my starts on what I can continue to do better and preparing for the other team I’m going to face in doing scouting reports,” Marvel said before the Indians' game Saturday.
Marvel has always been calculated, and that’s where he’s found success, he said.
First drafted by the Twins out of high school, Marvel opted to instead attend Duke with the hopes of gaining a quality education and improving against college baseball players. It was a decision he said he’d never regret, despite a leg issue his freshman year and then the elbow injury.
“The things that I learned going through that long and extensive rehab process in college made me the player and person I am today,” Marvel said. “I can’t sit here and say I would be the person I am today without that process.”
He said he was even ready to take a break from baseball if that’s what it took to get his body back to form, with the hopes of earning a spot in the MLB Draft.
“To be honest, I wasn't entirely thinking of pro ball and the draft (when I got drafted). I was going day to day trying to get healthy and trying to come back,” he said. “I used it as an opportunity to grow as a person and as a player. I focused on my body and my nutrition, and got in the weight room to get stronger to put myself in the best possible position to come back.”
The Pirates took a chance on him in the 36th round in 2015, and Marvel hasn’t disappointed.
He’s worked his way up from Short-A West Virginia to Indianapolis, going 9-5 with a 3.16 ERA earlier this year with Double-A Altoona before getting the call to Triple-A Indianapolis in early July.
Those calls to the next level will never get old, he said.
“When that happens, you’re working every day to stay healthy and take the ball every fifth day for your team and go deep into ballgames while focusing on the things you can control. Then it’s incredibly exciting (to get the call),” he said. “I share it with my family, my girlfriend and those who support me every single day. I wouldn’t be here without their love and support. So, to share that is definitely a special feeling.”
Marvel has been nothing short of marvelous with the Tribe. He’s 2-0 with a 2.55 ERA in three starts. His first start saw him go seven innings, allowing no runs, no walks and just three hits while striking out six. In his latest start, he went six innings with just one hit against him, walking one batter and striking out nine.
Marvel said that success was a product of “just trusting what I already do.”
“There’s a reason that I’ve had success, so I try not to get away from what got me here. At a level like this, it’s easy to be really aggressive to the strike zone and let guys put the ball in play,” he said.
Marvel tends to credit others before taking any pride in what he’s able to do on the mound.
“It’s easy with the defense behind me. Some of the guys in this infield and outfield are incredible. It’s tough to find space out there for a ball to land,” he said. “I use them as much as I can, work at a quick tempo and keep them involved. Any time I can bring the defense back in and let them swing the bat, that’s going to keep our momentum going.”
That goes for the catchers, too. Marvel has been caught this season by both Steve Baron and Christian Kelley, guys he credits for his seamless transition to Triple-A ball.
“Baron, older veteran guy. Kelley, a guy who’s spent a good amount of time in the minor leagues. So just relying on those guys to help me with sequences, getting feedback between innings, that’s helped me a lot,” he said. “I’m not trying to think too much on my own against these big-league-ready players.”
It would be easy, though, to take one look at the Pirates' injury list and get a big head, wondering when he’ll get a call from Pittsburgh to serve as the next Indianapolis pitcher to make the move to the big leagues.
Marvel isn’t worried about that, though.
“I don’t look. I follow the Pirates and what they’re doing, but I kind of try to keep that to a minimum. I’ve done that at every level. My focus is to have tunnel vision,” he said. “There’s a lot in this game that we can’t control, so anything going on outside of the team that I’m on, I have no control over. I just try to know what I have in front of me, the work I have that day and go forward. Obviously we’re all here a step away from Pittsburgh and that’s our goal, to help the big-league club in any way we can. We all want to help them make a playoff push down the stretch, but I’m very fortunate to be where I am, so I try not to focus on things outside my control.”
For Marvel, it’s all about staying true to his process and doing the things the does day in and day out — focusing on learning as much as he can and then executing the game plan that’s been put in front of him.
“I go out there hoping to understand the sequences — in/out, up/down, changing speeds. I try to be as athletic as I can out there and being really aggressive to the zone with all of my pitches,” he said. “If I can get ahead and stay ahead and get some weak contact, that’s what I try to do as a pitcher. I just want to go out there and focus on every pitch. If I can do that 100 times and then we look up at the end of it and have a W, that’s what I want.”
TRIBE’S TOP HITTERS
Here’s who I’ve identified as the Indians’ top hitters over the past week:
Will Craig, 1B — 6 for 24 (.250) with two home runs and five RBIs.
Pablo Reyes, UTIL — 8 for 21 (.380) with a double. a home run and an RBI.
Jason Martin, OF — 9 for 19 (.473) with a double and three RBIs.
TRIBE’S TOP PITCHERS
Top starting performance: James Marvel went six innings in a 9-1 win against Durham Thursday. He allowed just one hit and struck out nine hitters against just one walk
Top reliever: Geoff Hartlieb made two appearances last week, tossing 4.0 innings. He didn't allow a single run and held opponents to just two hits. He stuck out seven while allowing two walks.
THE ROSTER MOVES/INJURIES
7/16: INF Hunter Owen reinstated from 7-day injured list.
7/17: INF Erik Gonzalez begins MLB rehab assignment with Indianapolis; RHP Rookie Davis ends MLB rehab assignment with Indianapolis.
7/19: OF Gregory Polanco ends MLB rehab assignment with Indianapolis (7/15).
THE RESULTS/SCHEDULE
The Indians went 3-4 over the past seven days, dropping a four-game series to Syracuse, 1-3, but topping Durham in a three-game series, 2-1. After taking Monday off, the Tribe goes on the road for three-game tilts with Syracuse and Rochester.
INDY FUN THING
I'm a fan of these home run GIFs, as displayed after Erik Gonzalez's 444-foot bomb this week:
On the fourth pitch he saw, Erik Gonzalez crushed it. @INBMV | #RollTribe pic.twitter.com/xdnU0XDnZm
— Indianapolis Indians (@indyindians) July 19, 2019
