SURPRISE, Ariz. -- There’s always someone who raises eyebrows early in camp, who turns heads by offering a glimpse into the tantalizing promise of possibilities. It is, for many, one of the irresistible charms of spring training.
That someone, this first week at Royals camp, is right-handed pitcher Felipe Paulino. That’s no surprise, really. He has been here before — for years in Houston and briefly last season in Colorado.So…what makes this different?“I believe I found my home here last year with KC,” Paulino said. “I’m really happy about the opportunity that KC gave me. They let me be a starting guy last season, and that’s what I’ve prepared to be for all of my career.“When I’m really healthy, I can prove what I can be.”Paulino’s potential has always intrigued scouts and last year, after arriving in a May 26 cash transaction from the Rockies, he showed extended flashes — more than ever before — of turning that potential into productive performance.He averaged 8.6 strikeouts per nine innings, which is the fifth-best total in club history for anyone working at least 120 innings. He recorded 11 strikeouts in a Sept. 10 victory at Seattle and closed the season with just one loss in his last seven starts.Still, the Royals saw too many lapses to lock Paulino into their 2012 rotation alongside Luke Hochevar, Bruce Chen and Jonathan Sanchez in their offseason planning. Instead, at 28, he came to camp promised no more than an opportunity to hold onto his job.“He’s got to make some adjustments,” manager Ned Yost said. “His stuff is dynamic and electric, but he still can’t pitch effectively out of the strike zone. He can’t pitch up, and he can’t pitch out. It was a very fine line with him.“He would overpower guys at times last year, but in order for him to maintain his consistency, and become a consistent winner, he’s got to command the fastball down in the zone. When he gets out of the zone, when he gets the ball up, he gets hammered.”Enter new pitching coach Dave Eiland, whose offseason film study uncovered the need for a small mechanical adjustment. (Implementing such discoveries is also, of course, an honored spring rite.)“It’s pretty simple,” Eiland said. “We’re working on his balance and his separation over the rubber. That will help him get to his arm slot consistently, which will allow him to get the ball down in the zone more consistently.“It will help his command overall but primarily down in the zone. For what we’re trying to accomplish, we’ve seen pretty much instant results.”Yost added, “If he takes what he’s doing on the side into the games, he’s a lock (for the rotation). His side sessions, I’m seeing exactly what I want to see.”Now the qualifiers:From Eiland, “Throwing on the side, and throwing when a hitter gets in there — and maintaining that body control — are two different things. But one step at a time.”And Yost, “You can’t get too crazy from watching guys on the side. You’ve got to be able to take what you do on the side into the game. If he’s capable of doing that, then nobody is going to hold him back.”For his part, Paulino believes he’s poised for a breakthrough.“The previous couple of years,” he said, “something always happened. I got hurt or something, but last year I stayed healthy. Now, I think I know what I have to do to be healthy. I’m ready to have my best year.”Paulino understands the doubts — of course there are doubts when your career record is 10-31 with a 5.28 ERA over 113 games. But he contends he turned a corner last year in going 4-6 with a 4.11 ERA and allowing fewer than four earned runs in 13 of 20 starts.“I’ve been working out for this,” he said. “This is an opportunity that Kansas City is giving me, and I don’t want to miss that opportunity. I want to show I’m better than last year. I’m pretty sure I’m going to surprise a lot of people.“And for anybody who doesn’t believe in me, I will show them what I can be this year. I believe that. I believe I’m going to be better and stronger. Everybody will see.”Read more Royals
Posted on Thu, Feb. 23, 2012 04:56 PM
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Royals’ Paulino thinks he’s poised for good year
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To reach Bob Dutton, send e-mail to bdutton@kcstar.com. Follow his updates at twitter.com/Royals_Report.
