I've enjoyed watching this guy play. Here is a nice piece by:
Ian Ruder is a freelance writer based in Portland, Ore.
Untapped Potential
Older than many PCL peers, Padres' Will Venable has upside
By Ian Ruder
April 30, 2009
PORTLAND, Ore.–At 6-foot-2 and a muscular 205 pounds, Padres center fielder Will Venable looks every bit the prospect he has become over four-plus years in the minors.
He has enough athleticism that he was able to play Division I basketball for Princeton. He has a natural lefty swing and a good eye that allowed him to hit .292/.361/.464 with 14 home runs last year in his first season for Triple-A Portland. He even showed the defensive chops to do an adequate job manning Petco Park's cavernous center field last September in his first taste of the majors.
Yet despite all that, it wasn't until this April that Venable finally came to the realization that he hopes will propel him to the next level.
"I've always had this label of, 'He hasn't played that much baseball' or 'He's a basketball player.' I've wanted to get away from that," he said. "Just the other day was the first time that I've reflected and was like, 'Wow, I'm really a baseball player now.' "
At 26, Venable knows he is on the old end of the prospect spectrum, but said his unique path has helped him to his recent realization.
"The whole time I've been playing I've had to remind myself that everyone has their own path to the big leagues, and you're fortunate to get there," he said. "I understand that I'm not Cameron Maybin or one of those guys who was just born to be a baseball player–and kind of rolled out of bed and were on that path to the big leagues. I'm still working for it and I'm happy to be 26 and be considered a prospect, if I am."
Venable's hard work has impressed the Padres and diminished any concerns about his age.
"He's certainly developed into a prospect, no matter what his age is," said Grady Fuson, the Padres vice president for scouting and player development. "There aren't going to be that many live-bodied athletes with his size and his strength and his speed that have done the things that he has done in the last three to four years in the minor leagues. And on top of that, there's the month he spent in the major leagues."
Making Up Ground
As little as seven years ago, the simple question of whether Venable would even play baseball was up in the air. Despite growing up on and around the diamond with major leaguer Max Venable for a dad, Venable stopped playing baseball his senior year of high school in order to focus on basketball.
Venable played only basketball his freshman year at Princeton, but a conversation with his mom convinced him to give baseball another shot. He went on to become only the second player to earn first team all-Ivy League honors in both sports.
Despite his having missed more than two full years of baseball development, the Padres selected Venable as a seventh-round senior pick in the 2005 draft, knowing he had experience to make up.
Venable followed up a so-so pro debut in short-season ball by batting .314/.389/.477 with 11 home runs for low Class A Fort Wayne in 2006. That success coupled with a batting title in Hawaii Winter Baseball that winter at the age of 24 raised hopes Venable had made up for some of the experience he lacked.
The following season, with Double-A San Antonio, wasn't as kind.
"There were times in Double-A where I felt like, 'Man, this just isn't really working for me,'" he said. "Playing with some guys who were my age, but a lot (who) were younger I felt like I was still behind the game."
Venable showed enough to earn a ticket to Portland for the 2008 season and started to take the steps many had anticipated for him.
Working with his father, the Beavers' hitting coach, Venable began hitting again. More importantly, he started to show the ability to drive the ball to all fields.
One Final Step
Venable continued to impress during his September callup, batting .264/.339/.391 in 110 at-bats, and, according to Fuson, was as close to making the Padres this spring as an injury to Jody Gerut. Still, the Padres think there is room for Venable to grow.
"I still think there's another click left in his development, as far as who the true Will Venable is going to be," Fuson said, "But I certainly think he's closed in on being big league ready."
Venable and dad Max agreed that Will needs to continue growing into his power potential.
"He's going to hit the ball hard, and I think driving it gap to gap is the thing the Padres are looking for," Max Venable said. "Although I don't really consider him as a home run hitter, you look at a guy that size and you talk about clicking–you would think that he'd be a kind of guy who would at least drive the ball gap to gap, hit a lot of doubles and occasionally pop some balls."
After a disappointing stint in the Dominican League last winter and a spring training showing he felt was subpar, Venable seems to have rediscovered his comfort zone this year in Portland.
Through 20 games, he was batting .280/.365/.560 in 71 at-bats with four home runs. A consummate perfectionist, Venable said there remains much room for improvement.
"If you looked at my numbers, you'd say I was swinging it well, and I have been, but not to where I know I could be," he said. "I think that's part of me also being a perfectionist and wanting to get to that level–and knowing that I have the athletic ability to do so."
Fuson agrees and hopes Venable continues to take advantage of the opportunity to improve and prepare himself for San Diego.
"It's his time to really put up the kind of numbers that he wants people to see in the big leagues, and keep himself ready for and prepared for his next trial in the big leagues," he said. "He's going to get it. It's just a matter of time."
http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/m ... 68028.html