Last year, Kenny Van Doren wrote an article about how a pitcher drove 200 miles for a late workout with the Astros, and ended up being selected by the club in the 2023 draft. That pitcher is Derek True. But what the Astros saw from him in college is not where they are using him now.
True was an 18th round pick by the Astros last year out of California Polytechnic State University. In college, True pitched in 57 games with only two of them being starts. And those starts came as a Freshman. The Astros saw something in True and decided to have him make the transition to a starter.
“So far the transition has been really smooth and I feel like I’ve been able to adjust well. I like being on a set schedule and can plan out my whole week and prepare for my outing,” True said.
Starting was something he had experience doing before though. He was a starter in high school and then started a few games in college and in summer ball. But even when he talked with the Astros, the message wasn’t clear on what they would have him doing.
“There weren’t really a ton of questions about it during the draft process, more just the idea of being through out there and what my thoughts on it were,” True said.
But as a competitor, True loved hearing the idea of maybe getting back into a starting role.
“Starting was something I liked to do and like the ability to have a full week’s schedule and be able to maximize my preparation,” True added.
College and professional baseball differs in many ways. One thing that sticks out the most though is development of the players. Players are judged on production in college where the traits might matter more in pro ball. The goal of a college coach is to win, understandably.
“For me the biggest difference has been the style of baseball. In college every game is all hands on deck to win, whereas what I’ve experienced so far is, that obviously we want to win every game but at this stage it is more about being able to learn and develop,” True said.
The success True has experienced this year is not just luck. He put in a lot of work over the off-season focusing on mechanics, among other things.
“The biggest thing for me this off-season was trying to clean up my mechanics and move better on the mound which was just something I’d work on every time I played catch. By doing that I felt like I was able to develop better mechanically and I feel like it has helped my overall pitching ability too,” True said.
True has gotten off to a great start. So far this season, True has struck out 27 over 21.2 innings whole allowing just 6 earned runs. Good for a 2.49 ERA. He’s 5th in the system in strikeouts and first in walk to strikeout ratio for starters.
“I have just been trying to make sure I do all I can to prepare during the week so when I get out there I have the confidence in myself and my pitches that I can go get outs effectively,” True said. “That is one thing I have been working on a lot the past year is being able to be consistent in the work I do outside of my outings so when I get to a game I have confidence in my game to go do well.”
But he also knows it’s not just about him.
“The guys on defense behind have been constantly making good plays that I attribute it to as well,” True said.
True turned 23-year-old a couple of weeks ago, so he probably won’t be long for Fayetteville. But given the immediate success he has had as a starter, he should be ready to face the next step in High-A.
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