With spring training on the horizon, countless professional baseball players are looking to make an impression and earn a spot on their Major League club’s roster. Among these hopefuls are young rookies and seasoned minor league veterans alike, all hoping for that one rare opportunity to showcase their abilities.  Baseball Factory is taking particular interest in this year’s spring training because three of the company’s Exclusive Program alumni appear poised not only to make their respective Major League rosters, but also have breakout seasons. Chris Perez of the Cleveland Indians, Bud Norris of the Houston Astros, and Derek Holland of the Texas Rangers all started their journeys to the pros with guidance from Baseball Factory and are now on the cusp of becoming impact players at the Major League level.

 

Chris Perez, a native of Holmes Beach, Florida, joined Baseball Factory’s Exclusive Program in the summer of 2002 as a 17-year old rising high school senior. Standing at 6-4, 220 lbs, he already had the body of a Major League player and an overpowering mid-90’s fastball to go with it. While he went undrafted out of high school, Perez accepted a full scholarship to the University of Miami (Fl), a traditional baseball powerhouse that has churned out current Major Leaguers Pat Burrell and Ryan Braun, among others. There he developed secondary pitches to complement his blistering fastball and began to mature as a pitcher. After showing significant improvement in each of his three collegiate seasons – culminating in a dominant junior campaign in which he compiled a 4-1 record and 12 saves in 35 games, to accompany a 1.88 ERA and 62 K in 52.2 IP – Perez was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1st round (42nd overall) of the 2006 amateur draft. 

 

Perez tore through the Cardinals’ minor league system and made his major league debut in 2008, appearing in 41 games and notching a 3-3 record with 7 saves and a 3.46 ERA. Touted as the Cardinals’ potential closer of the future, Perez was supplanted last season by veteran and 2009 All-Star Ryan Franklin. In desperate need of offensive help, the Cardinals traded Perez to the Cleveland Indians for Mark DeRosa at the 2009 trade deadline. He stepped in immediately for the Indians as the team’s right-handed setup man and helped provide stability to one of the league’s worst bullpens.  After giving up six runs in his first 6? innings as an Indian, Perez settled down and at one point strung together 20 straight scoreless appearances. He enters 2010 as an integral piece of the Indians’ bullpen and will look to build upon his success from the second half of last season.

 

Originally a third baseman, Bud Norris did not begin to truly realize his potential as a pitcher until his sophomore season at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. A native of Novato, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area, Norris, like Perez, joined Baseball Factory’s Exclusive Program in the summer of 2002 as a 17-year old entering his senior year of high school. Measuring 6-0, 175 lbs, Norris displayed a blue-collar work ethic and supreme confidence in his ability, which allowed him to be successful even though his fastball maxed out in the mid-80’s. While he relished the opportunity to play every day, Norris began his conversion to starting pitcher upon accepting a scholarship from Cal Poly in 2003. He showed promise as a reliever during his sophomore season in 2005 (17 G, 5-0, 4.55 ERA, 38 K in 33.2 IP) and caught the eyes of Major League scouts, but it was not until he became a full-time starter in 2006 that Norris really elevated his game to another level. Weighing a solid 195 lbs and throwing in the low-to-mid-90’s, Norris established himself as a legitimate prospect after logging 110.2 IP in 18 starts and posting a 8-6 record with a 4.55 ERA in his junior season; he was selected by the Houston Astros in the 6th round (189th overall) of the 2006 amateur draft. Despite going 12-25 during his time in the minors, Norris posted the kind of stats – 3.68 ERA and 361 K in 340.2 IP – that indicated he had the potential to pitch in the big leagues. Sure enough, Norris made a splash in 2009, pitching 7 innings of 2-hit ball in his Major League debut and carving out a spot for himself in a struggling Astros’ starting rotation. Combining plus stuff with the bulldog mentality that endeared him to Baseball Factory scouts, he went on to post 6-3 record and 4.53 ERA in 10 starts, emerging as a bright spot in what was otherwise a forgettable season for the Astros. Norris enters 2010 as a strong candidate to win a permanent job in the Astros’ starting rotation.

 

Derek Holland has spent his baseball life exceeding expectations. He entered Baseball Factory’s Exclusive Program in 2004 as a spindly yet athletic left-handed pitcher, standing 6-2, 170 lbs. Despite his quiet and unassuming personality, Holland stood out not for his velocity – only 80-83 MPH – but because he was able to throw three pitches for strikes (fastball, change, and slider) and showed both a fiery competitive streak and unflappable poise on the mound. Lightly recruited out of high school, Holland accepted an offer to play for Coach Randy Putnam at little Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, Alabama. Not exactly a hotbed for producing Major League talent (Holland is the only alumnus to play in the Majors), Wallace State has been a perennial power at the NJCAA Division I level and provided Holland an environment in which he could flourish. As a freshman in 2006, he went 8-2 with a 2.69 ERA and recorded 80 K in 77 IP; he caught the attention of the Texas Rangers’ amateur scouting staff and the team selected him in the 25th round of the 2006 draft. He returned to school and during his sophomore season at Wallace State, Holland improved upon his freshman numbers and posted a 9-2 record with a 1.82 ERA, to go along with 84 K (and only 11 BB) in 74.1 IP. By the time he joined the Rangers minor league system in 2007, Holland had filled out physically, adding 15 lbs to his frame, and was being clocked in the low-90s. After excelling in low-A ball as a first-year player in 2007, Holland continued his domination in 2008 – compiling a stellar combined record of 13-1 with a 2.27 ERA and 157 K in 150.2 IP during stints at the A, A+, and AA levels – and came out of nowhere to cement himself as a top prospect in the Rangers organization. 

 

Holland’s amazing ascent through the Rangers system culminated with a call-up to the Major League team early in the 2009 season, and a permanent role in the starting rotation by mid-May. Despite a rocky rookie season in which he went 8-13 with a 6.12 ERA, Holland showed glimpses of his potential, consistently throwing his fastball in mid-to-high-90s and mixing in effective low-80s changeups and sliders to keep hitters off balance. He enters 2010 with the opportunity to build upon his rookie season and become a fixture in the Rangers’ starting rotation. The team is excited about his potential, given his repertoire of pitches, mental makeup, and fierce determination. Holland has only gotten better as his career has progressed, and there is no reason to believe that his success cannot continue at the Major League level. He certainly has all the tools and is a player to watch this upcoming season.

 

Baseball Factory has helped over 30,000 high school baseball players make the transition to the collegiate level; 2,500 have been drafted by Major League teams, and 215 more, including Chris Perez, Bud Norris, and Derek Holland, have played at the Major League level. While Perez was a bona fide major recruit in high school, Norris and Holland were more hidden gems and joined Baseball Factory because they needed extra exposure in order to appeal to college coaches and secure scholarship offers. Their hard work, perseverance, and dedication elevate them as role models to younger players who hope to become Major Leaguers, even if they do not start off as the most highly touted prospects. All three players are examples of fantastic success stories, and their achievements highlight the goals Baseball Factory strives for in offering aspiring baseball players opportunities to fulfill their dreams.

 

 

 For more details on our alumni, please visit our Team One Baseball site.

 

To get started on your path to college baseball and beyond, show our scouts what you can do at an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout near you.