Lost amidst the professional debuts of some thirty-plus White Sox draft picks and the hubbub around Carson Fulmer, one of the key picks made by the club this year never saw the field. Thought by some to be a tough sign, Chicago native and Simeon High School product Blake Hickman was selected in the 7th round and quickly signed. Shortly after signing, it was announced the converted catcher from the University of Iowa would require Tommy John surgery and not pitch competitively until sometime in 2016. He may not have suited up this year, but he’s very much in the picture among the team’s prospects.
I talked with Blake about the draft, his rehab process, the White Sox ACE Program and being drafted by his favorite team among other topics. The 21-year old had plenty to say…
On being drafted by the White Sox in the seventh round: “It was an amazing feeling. The White Sox being my favorite team ever since I got introduced to baseball when I was five. Dad took me to games all the time when I was little and I played on teams called the White Sox when I was little, so I mean it was huge that they gave me a shot and I was just extremely excited. Even if I wasn’t in the ACE program, just being from [the south side of] Chicago I was hoping the White Sox would pick me up. It just put the cherry on top that I played in the ACE program for so long and that they picked me up. When I went down to Arizona I saw guys that had been around me when I was little and in high school. I was definitely hoping for the White Sox to pick me up.”
On projections having him higher than the seventh round: “Yeah, I did expect to go higher, but you know things happen for a reason and I just didn’t go as high as everybody thought I was going to.”
On his pitching arsenal and what the team has talked with him about: “Right now I have a four-seam fastball, two-seam and a slider and a change-up. I’m trying to work on my change-up. I haven’t [pitched] because I had Tommy John surgery, but just talking with the pitching guys down there when I went to Arizona. They talked about being a taller guy to use my height to an advantage. Just pitching off my fastball because I can throw so hard and trying to develop that third pitch. A change-up is huge, especially if they want to keep me as a starter. That’s a pitch that I’m going to need.”
On being a starter or reliever long-term: “Long term, I do see myself as a starter. Just because I’ve done it one year at Iowa and I was so successful and I just fell in love with the process of being a starter. Whatever the White Sox have planned for me, I’m with it.”
On his fastball speed declining throughout this past season: “The reason my velocity dropped is it came out that my UCL was torn. That was the main reason why it dropped so drastically from what it was when I was fresh for most of the season. Towards the end, I thought it was just a forearm tightness. [I thought] if I just take rest, I’ll be fine, but it happened to be [torn] when I got the MRI done in Arizona.”
On his rehab and recovery: “My elbow feels good. Good spirits first of all. Doctor Cohen in Chicago did an unbelievable job, my elbow feels fine. Right now, I’ve got full mobility back in my elbow – I can stretch it out and bend it up – without any problems. Every week is getting just that much closer to being back on the field. It’s just a slow process right now, but I’m ready to see what happens. When I went back to Arizona the first thing [the White Sox] said was that they had the number one team with the least amount of injuries and that made me feel much better because, first of all usually guys who get Tommy John surgery, they don’t start throwing until four months out – but the White Sox are giving me six months, so I can fully get my arm healthy and strong so this will never happen again. Just with them coming up with that decision, giving me six months to throw again, it makes me feel confident and that they really care about me. When I get back, it will make me give them everything I have.”
On teams knowing if he needed surgery: “Nobody really knew, I didn’t even know. I didn’t know exactly why my arm was feeling how it was feeling and so then it just, I guess that was the rumor going around “Blake was hurt”, maybe that was the reason why I dropped. I honestly couldn’t tell you.”
On pre-draft discussions with the White Sox and other teams: “I met [a White Sox scout] when I was at regionals. He came up, he talked to me. I’d seen him around when I was younger at some scouting events, like when I played in showcases. But that was pretty much the only time I talked to the them, I had no clue the White Sox were interested in me coming into the draft, until a few days before the draft. I kept in contact with a lot of teams, but I couldn’t really tell you who I talked to the most.”
On not signing with the Cubs out of high school (in 2012): “I wasn’t ready for professional baseball. At the time I was a hitter, I had a lot of things to work on to get stronger. They offered me money, but it wasn’t enough for me to leave my full-ride at Iowa when I had it. It was kind of tough to leave that, but it was just smart on my part knowing I wasn’t ready and I’m glad I realized that when I went away after the draft.”
On transitioning from hitting to pitching: “Sophomore year of college, I was the main catcher. I was catching everyday and as the season went on, it didn’t go as planned from a personal standpoint and I finally went down with a shoulder injury and my coach wanted to see if I wanted to [pitch], I told him yeah and I had a really good start against Illinois. I went up to the Cape that summer before my junior season and I had a pretty good summer for a guy who has never pitched.”
On the ACE program: “They gave me the exposure I needed. Being from the city, it’s hard to make Perfect Game tournaments and go to these showcases where scouts are there. The one thing that the ACE program stressed was it wasn’t just, it wasn’t just baseball, it was going to college and being successful in college. That’s just huge that I got from the ACE program, personally. School is important and baseball can pave the way for you if you truly care about the game.”
On his return timeline: “Right now it’s just up in the air. Just how much I progress when I come back from Tommy John. It’s tough right now. It would drive me crazy if I just hope that they send me up to Winston-Salem or anywhere else. That’s something I can’t worry about, because first of all I have to get back on the field 100%. If they decide to keep me in the Arizona League the whole summer, next summer, that’s fine because I need to start getting that experience of pro ball.”
On what it would mean to pitch at US Cellular Field for the Sox: “It would be unreal. It’s kind of hard to describe how I’d feel that day. I really hope the first time I make it to the big leagues will be with the White Sox. I’d rather not be in any other organization, just because how much they care about me. It’s going to be a day I never forget … making my major league debut, nobody will ever forget their major league debut.”
On player he most looks forward to playing with: “Chris Sale. I would love to try and watch everything he does in Spring Training. One of my goals is just being able to sit next to him and talk to him and other guys who pitch in Spring. Hopefully I end up in the same rotation as him. I look up to him, especially when you talk about him as a competitor.”
Favorite player while growing up: “It would be between Jose Valentin because he was a switch hitter, he was the first ever switch hitter I’d seen. It would be between him and Frank Thomas.”
On being involved in the community: “Without a question. Even before the draft, this summer I went to the Double Duty Classic that they have every year for the Age 12 and up kids . I spoke with those kids. Without a question, I’m definitely doing [community work]. No matter what city I’m in because I know how hard it is for guys to get exposed to baseball in the inner city, so I might not be able to give the money that I want right now or do things most guys can do, but I think my voice can motivate those guys in that program and when I get there, I’m going to do everything possible.”
On being a role model and what it would mean to be a child’s favorite player: “It would be awesome. Just because, as a player, as a professional player, that’s what you want. You want kids to look up to you because it pushes you that much harder. I still have guys who I know that are down in the ACE program and they ask me these questions and I can just tell they look up to me. It makes me feel good because they see the hard work that I put in and that I’m actually serious about baseball. That’s something that everybody dreams for, or at least that I’m dreaming for.”
“I’m just glad the White Sox gave me this opportunity and that they’re going to take care of me. When I get back, they’re going to get a guy who’s going to go 100% every single time. My focus level is unreal right now and I’m going to be back real soon.”
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