Friday, January 30, 2009
Q&A with Joe Testa
Twins Minor League Pitching Prospect
Happy Friday everyone! It has
been a busy week, so it is nice to be able to bring another Q&A with a
Twins prospect. Joe Testa is a
left-handed pitcher in the Twins system. After four solid seasons at Division I
Wagner University, he went undrafted. The Twins later signed him and he
impressed in his pro debut. He pitched well for the GCL Twins. Later in the
season, the Ft. Myers Miracle were preparing for their playoff run and wanted
to find some left-handed pitchers. Testa was brought across the parking lot, to
pitch for the Miracle. He made a solid impression. He has good control, decent
stuff and he’s left-handed. He has the ability to strike out hitters. I think
that he is one to watch. And we know that the Twins have had good success with
undrafted players in recent years. Dan
Leatherman had a good run, and recently signed with another organization. Rob Delaney may become the poster child
for all Twins pitchers signed as a non-drafted free agent. I think that Testa
can be very good.
Click here for the stats of Joe Testa. (Click here to see previous Q&As)
Let the Questions Begin!
SethSpeaks: Growing up in New
Jersey, who was your favorite team, and who were some of your favorite players
to watch?
Joe Testa: My favorite team was the
Yankees, and Paul O'Neil and Ken Griffey were my favorite players.
SethSpeaks: Tell us a little bit
about your high school baseball career. Did you play positions beside pitcher?
Joe Testa: I played Center Field
and First Base too, but outfield was probably the most fun to play.
SethSpeaks: Did you participate in
other extracurricular activities?
Joe
Testa: I
was a Corner Back and a Running Back/Wide Receiver on my Football team, and I
played Point Guard and Shooting Guard for my Basketball team.
SethSpeaks: Were you recruited much
in high school, and what led to your decision to go to Wagner College?
Joe Testa: I was recruited by a lot
of D2 and D3 schools; Wagner was one of the few D1 schools that contacted me. I
chose Wagner because it was in NY and only a free ferry ride into NYC. They
made me a good offer and I loved the campus.
SethSpeaks: Your ERA went down significantly
each of your four years at Wagner. What types of things did you learn over your
four years there?
Joe Testa: That you don't always
have to try to strike hitters out, they will get themselves out most of the
time.
SethSpeaks: In 300 college
innings, you struck out 308 hitters. Do you consider yourself a strikeout
pitcher?
Joe Testa: I guess I would. My roommates
in college would always joke about that, because they said that strikeouts were
all I cared about. So if I got the loss one day and gave up like 4 runs and 5
hits in 6 innings, they would sarcastically say, yea but you had 9 strikeouts
so who cares.
SethSpeaks: What pitches do you
throw? What would you call your out-pitch, and what are you working on?
Joe Testa: I throw a fastball,
curve, slider, change up and a cutter. I'd say my out pitch would be my
fastball and cutter. I've been working a lot more on my off speed pitches and
my pick off move.
SethSpeaks: Despite a very solid
collegiate career, you went undrafted. Did you talk to any scouts, and were you
surprised that you weren't drafted?
Joe Testa: Yes, a few scouts and agents contacted me and sent
letters so I was kind of surprised when I didn't get picked. But I know that
God has a plan for me, and this is it, and I'm blessed to be here.
SethSpeaks: You signed soon after
with the Twins. What was that the process from the end of the draft until you
decided to sign with the Twins?
Joe Testa: Well when I didn't hear my name called on draft day, that
was probably the worst day of my life, ha. A lot of Independent teams started
to call me soon after to see if I would go play with them, and it sounded pretty
good. But then I started to think, there's no way that I am going to let myself
not be on a Minor League team within the next month. So I got on the phone and
the computer and started calling and emailing all different scouts, teams and
anyone else I could think of to see if there was a way I could get a tryout of
some kind. I went to a few open ones but nothing came of that. Then finally, a
scout from the Tigers and the Twins (John Wilson), contacted me to let me know
they would be sending an area scout to come watch me pitch in a Summer League
game. So I asked a coach (Art Rooney) from a team I used to play on if I could
throw a few innings for some scouts. I hadn't thrown in over a month, but I figured
it was my last shot since I had a flight to Missouri scheduled for the next day
at 12 pm. to play for an Independent team out there. So, I threw well in the
game, and the two scouts said they would contact me soon. The next morning I got
up and didn't get a call, so my Dad and I got in the car and started to drive
to the airport for Missouri. We were about 10 minutes away from the airport
when I got a call from John Wilson. He asked if I got on the plane yet and when
I said no, he asked if I'd like to come play with the Twins instead of going to
Missouri. Ha, it wasn't that hard of a decision for me to make, so we turned
the car around and I got on a plane for Fort Myers the next day. So the worst and
the best day of my life so far both happened in the same month. It all worked
out though, and now I'm here.
SethSpeaks: You reported to Ft.
Myers. What were your impressions of pro ball when you got there?
Joe
Testa: At
first I hated getting up at 7 am every morning in Rookie Ball, but then I just
remembered how much it took to get there and that there was nothing else I'd
rather be doing. And when I got to play with the Miracle, that was just
awesome. Playing night games under the lights with thousands of fans yelling
and cheering, it was the most fun I've ever had.
SethSpeaks: In 8 games with the GCL
Twins, you walked one and struck out 17 in 13.2 innings. What was the level of
competition and how did you feel about getting off to such a great start?
Joe Testa: In the GCL, there were a
lot of younger players that got drafted out of high school or came from other
countries, so I felt like I at least had a little more experience than some of
them which helped. And no matter how young or old, they could ALL hit a
fastball. I felt confident going in, but I felt even more relieved and relaxed
when I got off to a good start. Because I knew that since I was a free agent,
if I didn't perform well, they would have no problem with letting me go and
finding someone who could get the job done. So starting off right really boosted
my confidence.
SethSpeaks: At that point, you
skipped two levels and pitched in four games for the Miracle in Ft. Myers, and
did very well. Although limited innings, can you describe the adjustment from
moving up a few levels?
Joe Testa: The hitters are much
more disciplined and the balls they hit go much farther. If you make a mistake,
they will make you pay for it. My first game up there, I only gave up 1 solo
homerun, but it was probably the furthest anyone has ever hit a ball off of me
in my life... wood OR metal bat.
SethSpeaks: What has your first
offseason been like? Were you able to get away from baseball for awhile, and
when did you start your preparation for the 2009 season?
Joe Testa: I took a little over a
month off from throwing when I got home which was nice. I've been giving
pitching lessons since I got home too, so I never really got a chance to get
away from Baseball which is how I like it. Ha, and I never want to have 6
months off from Baseball ever again.
SethSpeaks: What are your goals and
hopes for the 2009 season?
Joe Testa: I
would really like to start in High A again with the Miracle and then hopefully
move forward from there. And as for my goals, to be in the starting rotation,
win a championship and have an ERA under 3 would be at the top of my list.
SethSpeaks: Favorite Baseball Book?
Joe Testa:
Never read a Baseball book.
SethSpeaks: Favorite Baseball Movie?
Joe Testa:
For Love of The Game and Major League.
SethSpeaks: What would it be like to put on a big
league uniform in a regular season game for the first time?
Joe Testa: It's what I've been working towards my
whole life, it'd be unreal. My legs would probably be like jello out there for
the first couple minutes, but I can't even imagine the adrenaline after
throwing that first strike or getting that first out.
A big thank you
goes to Joe Testa for taking the time to answer these questions. We
certainly wish him the best in 2009 and hopefully well beyond as he works
through the Twins system! If you have any questions or comments, please feel
free to put them in the comments,
or e-mail me and I will try to
get a response. There is a good chance that Joe will be checking the comments
from time to time, so if you have specific questions, be sure to ask them. Have
a great day!