Blue Jays prospect Damiano Palmegiani talks about Vauxhall, his junior college playing days, and the 2023 season
“When I was in grade nine, baseball was already a priority for me and something I wanted to do through high school, college and beyond. One of the Vauxhall coaches, Joel Blake, and his dad Tim had been coaching me in British Columbia (Cloverdale Minor Baseball) and offered this (Vauxhall) as an option. When I was given the low down of the program and looking at the alumni and where they ended up, it was a no-brainer and sealed the deal.”
Vauxhall, Alberta, regarded the Potato Capital of the West, rests approximately 20 mins north of Taber, Alberta and 2 and a fifty percent hrs southeast of Calgary.
“I used to have to negotiate with one of my teammates who had a car to drive us down to Taber so we could go to McDonald’s or one of the other restaurants Vauxhall didn’t have,” Palmegiani stated.
Prospect Damiano Palmegiani talks to Blue Jays Nation about his time in Vauxhall, being prepared two times by the Jays, and his objectives for the 2023 season …
Palmegiani encountered a challenging choice in his quality 12 year, as he had a dedication to California State University, Northridge for the 2019 season yet was likewise prepared by the Blue Jays in the 35th round of the 2018 MLB Draft.
“I was fortunate enough that during my time at Vauxhall, I had developed well under the guidance of the staff and my teammates and because of that, I was able to get some draft looks. I was ultimately a late-round pick by the Jays. It was a tough decision at the moment, as your heart wants to go one way but you have to assess the situation a little more and take a step back. I will be honest and say I was not ready at that time (to sign), I believe the physical tools were there but mentally I was still a bit young, I hadn’t experienced too much failure at that time and wasn’t as polished compared to a few years down the road like I am today.”
“In JUCO, you are eligible for both years and that was something that drew me towards their program. I had made that decision (to transfer) during my sophomore year at CSUN and the transition to the program was easy for me because we already had that relationship. I believe it is one of the premier Junior College programs certainly in the western United States, and the winning standard and the higher expectations that Coach Nick Garritano installs brings out the best in every player there. I have a lot of high praise for the College of Southern Nevada”
Palmegiani obtains prepared by the Blue Jays momentarily time …
The Blue Jays would certainly once more draft Palmegiani, this moment in the 14th round of the 2021 MLBDraft Following the option, he ended up the year in Rookie Ball with the Florida Complex League Blue Jays, defensively at 3rd base. At the plate, the power-hitting 3rd baseman drove in 9 runs while likewise including 2 crowning achievement, going 13 for 39 in his initially venture right into expert baseball.
Speaking on the change from JUCO to his initially season with the Blue Jays, Palmegiani talked about the physical vs. psychological elements of his strategy in the batter’s box, “The first thing I noticed was that physicality can’t be your everything, and slight swing deficiencies and deficiencies in your approach cannot be made up by being stronger. It can help, but at this level, being dialled in and consistent with your mechanics and always being ready will go a long way. I think everybody who shows up here regardless of where you came from or what program you started in, that’s the first thing everybody notices.”
Following that job, Palmegiani split the 2022 season in between the Single- A Dunedin Blue Jays and High- A Vancouver, making the promo to the Canadians on June 21st. Collectively on the year, the righty-batter published a. 239 batting standard with 24 crowning achievement, 83 RBI, and 54 strolls to a. 815 OPS and a 128 wRC+ split in between both degrees.
Defensively, he took a lot of his associates at 3rd base yet likewise blended in time initially and as the marked player. Since being prepared, he possesses a. 931 fielding portion via 711.0 innings at their base and a. 974 fielding portion initially base via 184.1 innings of job.
“Playing baseball every single day is a lot different than playing a lot of baseball in a singular school season or summer league season. I learned that with so many at-bats over the full year, you can’t hang your head on every at-bat because there are so many to be had. I was doing that early into the season, putting a lot of weight on how specific games went and focusing on an at-bat basis, and I had to take a step back and look ahead and not get caught up in the little things.”
Looking in advance to the 2023 season …
The infielder likewise talked on what he worked with this offseason from a psychological element too, “I put a key focus on being present, and telling myself to not think about the next at-bat or the last at-bat, as I can get caught up in those sort of things. This is a journey and I want to enjoy it. I want to give myself the biggest chance to succeed both mentally and physically.”
With Spring Training right around the edge, all eyes will certainly get on the Blue Jays and their leads as they begin to increase their work in Dunedin over the next 2 months. That being stated, Palmegiani is most definitely one gamer to watch on as the future 23-year-old remains to function his means up the Minor League ladder in the Blue Jays system.
