In the final installment of this three-part series on the impact of the shutdown of the minor league season for Class-A Kannapolis, we’ll look at how the players are coping. With the lack of baseball being played in 2020 and their career mortality always lurking, it’s the players that may have the most to lose.
“It’s tough for the players,” Kannapolis Cannon Ballers general manager Matt Millward told FutureSox. “If they find a wooden bat league or smaller league to play in a lot of them are still under contract, and what happens if you get hurt? That automatically voids your contract. The liability and risk to continue to develop have got to be tough in their financial situation.”
Working with what you got
Right fielder Alex Destino bounced back from a rough 2018 to smash 17 home runs, to go along with a slash line of .298/.376/.476 for the then Kannapolis Intimidators last year. He finished 2019 among the leaders in the South Atlantic league in several categories. The 14th round draft pick in 2017 was likely ticketed for promotion to High-A Winston Salem in 2020.
“I’ve kind of fallen into a routine, It’s not as strict as it would be during the season, but I’m trying to stay in game shape and keep a healthy body,” Destino told FutureSox. “I have a good relationship with my hitting coach (Cole Armstrong). I’ve been reaching out to him on FaceTime when I have a question about my swing.
“I’ve been doing a lot of high-velocity work in the cage. I’m from a little town up in the mountains. It’s very hard to find kids that aren’t high school arms.”
Left-handed starting pitcher, Taylor Varnell was also coming off a successful season in Kannapolis. In 20 starts he posted a 1.13 WHIP with 115 strikeouts in 106 innings pitched. He was slated to begin the year in Winston-Salem, where he finished 2019. He struck out 21 in 21.1 innings pitched over four starts to go with an ERA of 3.38 for the Dash.
“I’m in a very rural area,” Varnell said. “I’m two hours from Amarillo and two hours from Oklahoma City. There aren’t any other Minor League Baseball players around here. I have a hard time finding a catcher. I ordered a net from Amazon. My wife Reilly will play catch with me. When I start to throw hard, I’ll throw it into the net, and she’ll throw it back. It’s tough for pitchers being in a place like this for a long period of time and trying to stay ready.
“It’s hard even to find someone to get in the box, and even when they do, it’s just someone standing there. I’ve done it a couple of times with high school kids, which isn’t what you want to do. I want to face equal competition. I don’t want to be able to get away with hanging a slider or a curveball and feel good.”
Getting by
Finding ways to work on baseball skills is one thing, but what about making money?
“I’ve been mowing a lot of yards,” Destino said. “I do a lot of blue-collar work, yard work, trim hedges. I like being outside working in neighbors’ yards, landscaping stuff. I’m still getting paid by the team.”
“We have a ten-month-old baby, she’s been keeping us busy,” Varnell said. “My wife’s a teacher and coach at the local high school, so I’ve been on babysitting duty lately. We closed on a house a few months ago. I’ve been staying really busy doing all the Dad duties.”
With all that going on, Varnell is thankful for the generosity that so many minor leaguers have benefited from.
“There’s a foundation, Adopt a Minor Leaguer, I signed up for that,” Varnell said. “It’s been great for me and my family. We haven’t been making as much money with this going on, and it’s been huge for us. The guy has been amazing. They’re doing a lot for us, especially for guys like me that are in a different stage of life.”
The future
“The guys that were on the fringe on not making it through the 2020 season probably aren’t going to get the benefit of the doubt now,” said Jeff Lantz senior director of communications for Minor League Baseball. “It’s certainly putting a lot of guys in a bad spot. It’s hard to show your value when there isn’t an opportunity to play. Or if you’re 26-27 years old, there isn’t a lot of opportunity to play anymore.”
Varnell is 25 and Destino turns 25 in late October. Neither have reached Double-A. Instead of 2020 being a big year for them to prove they can play against tougher competition, they are losing a year of pro baseball.
“I am in touch with a number of the players and former players that I have become close to. Everyone is trying to stay positive,” Kannapolis booster club president Debby Smith said. “They are trying to stay in the game. I have seen several of them move on to careers within the last month. This was their shot, and it’s gone. There is a deep more profound loss from the player’s side.”
Staying positive
“It’s tough mentally,” Destino said. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say I didn’t think about that. We’re all losing a year. In baseball, the way the minor league system works, the older you get, the less of a chance you’re gonna have.
“I try to stay positive, and not think about it a lot. I don’t dwell on it. It’s kind of a wait and see. I focus on keeping a fresh body, making enough money to live and support myself. I’m doing everything I can to stay in baseball shape.”
For Varnell, 2019 was a breakout year and his first full season of professional baseball. He has had successful stints at every stop of his minor league career so far, but time is running out, even for someone who hasn’t failed yet.
“If I sit there, and think about, I’ve lost a year and I’m already old,” Varnell said. “There’s nothing I can do about it, so I just try to make the best of it. If you look around the majors, a lot of people are older. A lot of guys make debuts when they’re older,
“This was a big year from me, and my goal was to make it to Birmingham. It stinks for the older guys, but I can’t let it beat me. I’ve got to stay positive. I’ve just got to keep working and treat it like a long offseason, and I’ll be better for next year.”
Varnell has gained something from not being able to play this year though.
“I was thinking the other day, I would have missed a lot with my daughter because I would have been gone,” Varnell said. “Obviously, I’d rather be playing, but you’ve got to look on the bright side of these things.”
The top prospects get most of the attention in the world of Minor League Baseball, but players like Varnell and Destino have to scratch and claw their way to the majors.
“That’s the beauty of Minor League Baseball,” said Kannapolis radio broadcaster and baseball operations manager Trevor Wilt. “Whenever you get high draft picks, they have to make that transition. You get to see exactly who they are. It is really cool being able to get those guys right away.”
“Seems like yesterday, I was picking up Luis Robert at the airport, and now he’s the starting center fielder for the Chicago White Sox,” Wilt said. “We may not have guys like Andrew Vaughn, Nick Madrigal and Robert for long, but they are going to be on national television soon. For an $8 ticket, you can watch these guys play in front of a small crowd.”
Now that sounds exciting.
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