When your job description involves competing against the best athletes in the world at your particular sport, there’s very little time to rest.
With that comes very little margin for error in your workout regimens.
Two local minor league players in particular that have risen up the ranks this past year are already beginning their preparation for the 2017 season.
Kyle McGowin, 24, and Joe Palumbo, 22, have both gotten back from their 2016 seasons and have hit the ground running with their training–both mentally and physically.
Mike Trout photographed for BodyArmor sports drink by Monte Isom
Their 2016 campaigns when a little differently, but they both factor in heavily in their respective organizations plans moving forward.
But before you know where they are going, it’s important to know where they have come from…
McGowin, a native of Sag Harbor, was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the fifth round of the 2013 draft out of Savannah State. He was named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year and was one of 10 semifinalists for the National Pitcher of the Year Award when he compiled a 12-2 record with a 2.02 ERA and a school-record 135 strikeouts.
His mid 90s fastball and wicked slider allowed him to progress through the minor league system quickly. The 6’3″ RHP was ranked as the No. 13 prospect in the Angels system.
His best season came in 2014 when he compiled a 3.03 ERA over 65.1 IP with a 1.16 WHIP, peaking in Double-A.
Since then he has been promoted to Triple-A, tasked with the challenge of throwing in the notoriously-difficult Pacific Coast League.
He struggled to the tune of a 6.11 ERA but feels that his off season training will reinvigorate him both mentally and physically.
“Earlier this year I was mentally all over the place,” said McGowin. “One day I spoke to our mental coach from Los Angeles and it all clicked. Since then, I’ve been really good.”
McGowin noted that while he was dominating in high school and college, he didn’t need to focus nearly as much on his mental game but as you progress through the ranks it becomes increasingly difficult.
“Working your way up through the minor leagues, you start to realize every level you go up that you start to be normal–you’re a normal guy out there. Being one of the youngest guys in Triple-A, I was humbled quick,” he added.
That has motivated him to begin his preparation early in the off season, in order to regain that competitive advantage.
Palumbo, drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 30th round out of St. John the Baptist in 2013, is a thin 6’1″ LHP.
(Mike Janes/Four Seam Images)
He is coming off a very strong 2016 campaign for the Hickory Crawdads of the South Atlantic League. He compiled a 7-5 record with a 2.24 ERA over 96.1 IP. He struck out an incredible 122 batters with a WHIP of 1.11.
Like McGowin, the Long Island native knows that the results on the field will be directly related to the amount of work they put in now.
“The harder you work,” said Palumbo. “The more it shows on the field. This year I didn’t take anything for granted. I took everything serious this year and it really showed on the field, for me.”
In previous offseasons, he chose to workout on his own at LA Fitness but is now working with Russ Taveras on a more specialized training program that suits him as a pitcher.
McGowin has chosen the same route, preferring the methods used at Infiniti Performance over generic workouts used at other facilities.
Both pitchers are a case study in why it pays to dedicate your time and concentrate your focus on offseason training.
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