HILLSBORO, Oregon — Not long after being drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first round of the MLB Draft, Drey Jameson was on a plane to Arizona.
He wouldn’t be there long.
Shortly after arriving, he found out he’d be heading to Hillsboro, Oregon, to join the Hillsboro Hops, a Class A Short Season affiliate of the Diamondbacks that plays in the Northwest League. He arrived in Hillsboro on July 4 and got to work, making his MiLB debut less than three weeks later.
On a tight innings restriction, Jameson started and threw one inning in his debut against the Eugene Emeralds. He threw 27 pitches — 14 were strikes — and picked up his first MiLB strikeout. He walked two and gave up a hit and one earned run.
In his second appearance, a start on July 26 against the Boise Hawks, he got through his lone inning on eight pitches, six of which were strikes, inducing three quick ground outs.
His third appearance, Wednesday against the Everett AquaSox, lasted a third of an inning. He threw 22 pitches to three batters, getting one out, walking one and hitting one batter.
Next week, Jameson is expected to start throwing two innings per outing before advancing to his cap of three innings closer to the end of the season.
The Greenfield-Central graduate was selected at No. 34 by the Diamondbacks, then signed a contract worth $1.4 million in mid June, according to MLB.com. He was the eighth Ball State player to be selected in the first round of the MLB Draft.
The Daily Reporter caught up with the Hillsboro pitcher prior to his third outing with the team to talk about his professional baseball experience thus far.
DR: What was the whole experience like, traveling to Arizona to officially sign with the Diamondbacks? Take me through that experience.
DJ: “The day I left town, it hadn’t really clicked. Nothing had clicked. When I got on that plane, it started to hit me like hey, I’m heading off to pursue my dream. When I got to Arizona, I had to wait around for a little bit to sign so I was just sitting around in the clubhouse. It was kind of tough. I’ve never had to sit out. I wasn’t hurt, but from their standpoint I can’t do anything until I sign that paper. I just wanted to go out there. Plus, I’m so far away from home. Different people, different faces. It was a boatload that got thrown at me at once. But it’s just a dream that I’ve always had. Whenever you do something, when you have a goal and you succeed in that goal, you feel good about yourself and you feel good. That’s kind of where I’m at now. Now I have a new goal (of making the big leagues). I won’t feel like I did when I got drafted until I achieve that goal.”
What was going through your head when you officially signed your first professional baseball contract?
“I really didn’t think much about it because I was waiting so long. I just wanted to sign it so I can go out to play. Don’t get me wrong, it was awesome. It’s a small piece of paper, but it means a lot. It was a big part of my life, probably the best paper I’ve ever signed in my life. I was pumped to be able to sign that and pursue my dream and get out on the field and start participating.”
When did you find out you were heading to Hillsboro?
“When I first got (to Arizona), they told me my plan, that I’d be going to Hillsboro and going through a progression. I wouldn’t be throwing much because I’d thrown 92 innings in college. My innings are limited this year, so they sent me out to Short Season. I can’t get into a full rotation, so I’m throwing one inning at a time. I knew I was going to Hillsboro from the second day I was there.”
What has your time in Hillsboro been like so far?
“I got here July 4. We have a game every single day. The guys in clubhouse, coaching stuff, even down to the clubbies, they are great people. They care about you. The thing I like about Hillsboro, I don’t know if it’s in every organization because I haven’t been in every organization, but they want to win. You get to pro ball and people are trying to move up. We all get that. But this team wants to win. We want to make the playoffs. We want to win the playoffs and win the championship. That’s our goal. Our goal isn’t who can move up the fastest, who is the best player. I like that. It’s more of a team like how I’ve been on.”
Tell me about your first start, your MiLB debut against Eugene. How did that go?
“Looking back on it, it was awesome. I did something that most people don’t have the privilege to do. I can sit here and think man, I did bad, but there’s other people out there, kids my age, younger kids that would love to have that opportunity to do exactly what I did that game. I was amped up. I haven’t had legs shaking on the mound until that game.
“My debut, it wasn’t the best. I came back out my second game and threw an eight-pitch inning. It wasn’t what I wanted, but it was good from a book standpoint.”
Through practices, training and games, are you happy with your performance in Hillsboro to this point?
“I’ve developed a new pitch since July 4, the sinker. Working on pitches, working … I’m trying to move from the left side of the mound to the right side of the mound. There’s just little things that I’m touching on that can help my game, help me move to the big leagues faster, help my team get wins. I’ve learned a lot just since I’ve been here about not just the skills of baseball but the fundamentals. There’s a lot that I didn’t know that was within pitching. It’s awesome.”
You said the Diamondbacks had a plan in place for you. Do you know what your immediate future holds?
“I’m here in Hillsboro until the end of this season. I’m pretty sure that’s a guarantee because I’m only getting up to three innings and only throwing, I want to say, 19 innings. There’s not enough innings for me to move up to a team since I’m a starter. When you get to that Single A, Double A, Triple A, all these guys throw innings like a real baseball game. Last night (Sunday) we had four starters go — you don’t usually do that. It’s because we have to get guys innings. They’re on a progression.”