Petty's disciplined routine impressing Twins

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Even though Chase Petty's right arm can reportedly launch fastballs to the plate as hard as 102 mph -- velocity rarely seen in the Twins’ recent history -- his new club was impressed by far more than his raw power in their initial look at their 2021 first-round Draft selection.

Often with young pitchers who have that caliber of stuff, what's more impressive is their ability to acclimate to the day-to-day routine of professional baseball and show the control to be aggressive in the strike zone. In that sense, the 18-year-old and No. 7 prospect in the Twins' organization has shown plenty of early promise.

"I’ve heard the perception among high school players who throw hard that they just want to go out there and blow it out, and it’s a spectacle to see how hard he can throw," Twins farm director Alex Hassan said. "I think he’s got more touch and more feel than that typical profile. He threw strikes in the very, very brief appearances he had in the [Florida Complex League]. In instructs, he continued to fill up the zone."

Indeed, the confident young right-hander -- who boasted on his Draft night of having connections with Mike Trout and Marcus Stroman and an upcoming meal with Fernando Tatís Jr. and Manny Machado -- is fine with taking focus off that fastball if that helps him become a well-rounded and healthy pitcher who could, one day, face off against those stars.

"The velo when I was starting in high school was around 94-97, topping 99," Petty said. "Around there would still be ideal, but at the end of the day, it's all about getting outs and still performing. So doing what I have to do, whether that's velo off and dominating with my secondary pitches, that's what I'll have to do [to become] an all-around better pitcher."

He noted that he and the Twins have already used a trove of data to tune up his sinker, changeup and slider, all of which he could throw for strikes in high school. He continued to do so in '21, when he struck out six and walked one across two brief appearances at the Rookie level in the Florida Complex League.

The Twins are also working with Petty to ease some stress in his pitching motion to clean up his arm path and arm angle. These tweaks are particularly important considerations for a younger prospect who throws as hard as he does, with the associated injury risk.

For most prospects, the basis for this work begins with the lifestyle and training adjustment to becoming a full-time ballplayer, and that's the area in which Petty has already most impressed the Twins. He has consciously focused on developing that routine since his sophomore year of high school in his work at the Baseball Performance Center in New Jersey, an environment where the Twins know and trust the coaches Petty works with.

"Normally, on the high school front, you’re really trying to emphasize routine in the training room or weight room or just on field in terms of catch play and things you’re working on," Hassan said. "He had a lot of that coming in, which has really stood out and been impressive. And then on the field, he’s also been impressive."

Petty’s routine has continued to develop as he's bonded and learned with roommate Marco Raya, a fellow high school pitcher drafted by the Twins a year before Petty. The pair reported early to Twins camp this spring alongside right-hander Louie Varland to continue their aggressive work together in a targeted environment.

Organized workouts for Twins Minor Leaguers will get underway at the Lee County Sports Complex on Thursday, and Petty will continue building towards his first full season, one in which he expects to pitch in a six-man rotation and hopes to progress to Low-A or High-A. His first taste of pro ball and a subsequent offseason certainly helped him prepare for that, but as it turns out, he'd already laid a strong foundation for all that work.

"Just clean up the act, and [have] the mindset of a big leaguer, because that's the goal, that's the dream, and exceed even that," Petty said. "Really, this offseason was kind of developing that mindset that this is going to be a grind and you really have to prepare yourself for it. I'm ready for it."