Bonifay went on to say of Woodward, "He's a switch-hitter so you can keep him in the line-up [because] he can play multiple positions. He does a really good job behind the plate communicating with pitchers. He's very vocal. He kind of takes the bull by the horns as a leader on the field. And he just gives you a good at-bat every time up. He does a lot of extra work. He wants to take ground balls at third, at first, so he's very active."
Trent Woodward - July 2014
Photo by Jayne Hansen
When I sat down to talk with Woodward recently, our first area of conversation was his college experience, "My first two seasons I went to Orange Coast College in southern California. Had two amazing years there. Played for a very good program." Orange Coast was recently named the top Junior College team in the country by Perfect Game.
Woodward continued, "Then after my sophomore year, in the summer going in to Fresno State, I tore my UCL so I got to Fresno State and had to have Tommy John surgery. So my first year was just getting to know the program, getting to understand the difference between junior college baseball and Division 1 baseball. At eight months, I got cleared and I got to go play baseball in the Cape Cod League which was an unbelievable experience. I had a lot of fun out there. Then my senior year, I had a great experience [at Fresno State]."
I asked about his draft experience and whether or not he was aware of the Astros interest in him. "I did. They were not one of the more forward teams, but Tim Costic, the California representative, did a great job communicating some interest early and prior to the draft. It was one of those bittersweet days. It's stressful, stressful, stressful and then you get that phone call and an opportunity to go play professional baseball. It's an unbelievable experience, an unbelievable feeling."
The biggest adjustment to professional baseball for Woodward is "probably the work load." Trent went on, "At school it's a little different. You go to school. You have an hour break and then you have three-hour practice. Here you have early work, you have BP. It's just baseball, baseball, baseball, baseball. There's nothing I'd rather do instead, but it's a physical adjustment, actually a mental adjustment as well. Waking up every single day regardless of how you performed the night before, being confident, trusting your game and flushing the good days and the bad days ... just come out and play and be confident."
I never had the opportunity to see Woodward catch a game during my time in Greeneville so I asked him to characterize his work behind the dish. "Behind the plate, I view myself as the commander of the field, the leader. I want to take control. I want to instill confidence within my pitchers. I feel like as a pitcher you control the game, but as a catcher, I want him to trust me with signs, calls, pitches, the tempo of the game. I feel like there's a lot of little things and variables and I take a lot of pride in controlling the game and understanding base runners, hitters' tendencies. I might not have the best arm on the field. I'm probably not going to stand out, but I'm going to compete and I'm going to do all the little things right."
How would he characterize himself as a hitter? "I'm extremely patient. I like seeing pitches. I believe good pitches, good hitter. The better pitches I'm seeing, the better pitches I'm swinging at, the better I'm probably going to perform. I'm extremely patient and I like to focus on gap-to-gap. I might run into a ball from time to time, but I view myself more as a doubles guy, a guy that's going to be a tough out. I don't like that walk back to the dugout and I don't like getting out. I know it's part of the game, but I'm going to go up there, I'm going to compete and have a quality at-bat every at-bat. That's my goal. I'm not a guy that's going to hit it 500 feet, but I like to have quality at-bats and put my best swing on every pitch."
In detailing what he's accomplished in his short time as a professional, Woodward said, "I think one thing that I've accomplished [is] I've shown myself that I'm more versatile, a more versatile player. In college, they kind of just stick you at one place or another. Here, I've caught. I've played first. I've played left. I'm taking ground balls at third. I'm showing versatility within my game. I think that's something I'm accomplishing. I'm making gains not just as a catcher, but whatever it takes to be on the field, to be in the line-up, to help the team win, to contribute."
As far as what he's working on, he said, "I think that it's just continuing to get better every single day. You're out here for three months. I want to get better every single day. I want to leave the field, go home, look myself in the mirror and say, 'I got better today. I gave it my all. I did everything I could.' It's those little things. I'm 22 years old. I don't want to be the same talent/skill level when I'm 23 or 24. I want to continue to get better in all aspects ... athleticism, flexibility, strength, hitting, catching, throwing, the fundamentals. I think that it's all so important."
Unlike Sean McMullen whose interview I posted earlier this week, Woodward wasn't familiar with his new Hitting Coach at Greeneville. Of Cesar Cedeño, he noted, "I had to go home and Google him. My Dad texted me, 'You know, Cesar Cedeño's your hitting coach. I remember he was a stud. He was great.' Sure enough, I pulled up his numbers, unbelievable what he did ... baserunning, stealing bases, I think he had [over 2000] hits. Just unbelievable stuff. I try to pick his brain as much as I can. 'Hey, CC, what have you got on this.' Because he's a legend in the Astros organization."
I went on to ask him which pitcher on the team he would least like to face in the batter's box. He responded, "I have two. I'm going to say [Reymin] Guduan is probably my least favorite one because he's just nasty -- 97, 98. [But having caught him], I'd hate facing [Jose] Montero because Montero has three quality pitches. He throws very firm. He's probably 95, 96 and he has big league demeanor. You see him on the mound and he just looks like you could put a big league uniform on him ... obviously he's still developing and he's only going to get better, but he's a guy that's a couple ticks away from being there."
Woodward hadn't caught Guduan in a game situation yet, only bullpens, but he is very impressed, "He's dynamite. Just electric stuff. Unbelievable fastball. Great slider. Been working on a better changeup for him. I've got nothing but good things to say about him. He's only gong to get better and he's still young. That arm's unbelievable."
Is there a player or pitcher that he particularly enjoys watching? "One of the biggest things that I've noticed is the level of talent out here is so strong. I've got three or four hitters that I love watching. I love watching [Jason] Martin hit. I think he goes up there and he's got a sound approach. I like watching Guduan because he's got dynamite stuff. Same thing with Montero. There's so many quality guys that have quality at-bats. It's just a step up from college where it's not the same level of competition. When you get here, everyone knows how to play. Everyone is the best from wherever they came from. [Sean] McMullen ... I hit fourth so I usually hit right behind him and that sucker has a great at-bat every time. It just blows my mind. He's up there. He's battling with two strikes, making good contact. He's someone I enjoy watching too."
In answer to who on the team makes him laugh, Woodward said, "I'm going to go with Jacob Nottingham. I spend a lot of time with him as one of the other catchers and he's got one of those quirky personalities. It's not what he's saying. It's how he says it. He's a fun person to be around. I know me, him and Brett [Clements] all have a great time, spending time together and he makes me laugh probably the most."
If Woodward couldn't play baseball, he told me, "I would try to pursue a career in college coaching, be a Division 1 head coach. 18 to 22 years old is such a young [moldable] age, and I think it's important to be a positive influence and instill confidence. [I'd want to] be around the game because I don't know what I'd do without this game. This is the best game ever. The level of competition, understanding failure ... there's a lot of things that I feel like it doesn't just help you in baseball, but it helps you in life. I feel like college kids [would be] a great age to coach."
My last task for Woodward was to have him tell me something that most people don't know about him. "In my spare time, I enjoy playing FIFA so I'm probably one of the best FIFA players I know. FIFA soccer. I'm obviously into the World Cup. I'm slightly disappointed that America could get past the 16 stage, but we're getting better and better. I do like watching soccer. Anything to do with sports, something competitive."
My take on Trent Woodward is that he is one of the rarest kinds of ballplayers. He is extremely smart and extremely self-aware, but he doesn't let his intelligence bog him down and get in the way. He is also exceedingly competitive, and he is always looking for ways not only to compete against the team in the other dugout, but against himself as he challenges himself to be a complete ballplayer.
I'll leave you with these final words from Josh Bonifay, "He's just a professional baseball player. He does all the little things well." Woodward already knows it is the little things that will set him apart.
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Thank you for your time, Trent, and best of luck as the season continues.
The voice you hear in the background of this BP video is none other than Greeneville Hitting Coach Cesar Cedeno.
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