Interview with Cody Asche

* Interviews

Today’s interview features FSL All Star third baseman Cody Asche, who is one of the hottest hitters in the organization right now. He also gives a great interview, and had a lot of interesting things to say. Jump it!

PhuturePhillies: First off, I just want to congratulate you on making the All Star team.

Cody Asche: Thank you. Yeah, I just found out a couple days ago that I got added, so that was nice

PP: Before you found out that you got added, did you feel, I guess, cheated or maybe just kind of disappointed that you didn’t [make the team] based on your stats?

CA: No, not really. I’m down here just trying to get better every day. If you get picked for stuff like [the All Star Game] it’s just extra, you know. I was planning on enjoying a couple of days off, but now I got added to the team and I couldn’t be happier.

PP: [I chuckle because I have no segue into this question] How was the move from second to third base over the offseason?

CA: It was natural. I played third base for three years in college, so down in Spring Training the coaches said ‘hey, let’s take you back over to third, see what happens’ and it just felt comfortable for me, and I have a lot of confidence [in my self] over there, and I just feel comfortable right now.

PP: Do you think that confidence and comfort is translating over to your hitting?

CA: It could possibly be a reason. This year I’ve just had an overall [better] understanding of the game and what’s going on. I’ve learned a ton since last year, and that’s what’s been helping me out, I think.

PP: Who, and what, have been the main factors in your developement, even from college and especially over this offseason?

CA: Mainly it’s just taking everything in and learning as much as you can. I think that was kind of a mistake I made last year: going in, getting drafted, and thinking ‘hey, I played at a high level in college, I got it figured out.’ You realize you don’t, and you just [have] to come in every day and get your work in, and learn as much as you can learn from  all the coaches and coordinators and players, and just suck all the information out of everybody that you can. And the more you learn, the better you get, the more you’re going to develop.

PP: Have you changed anything mechanically about your swing?

CA: Just a few minor tweaks. Down in [the Instructional League] I worked with Hendu [Steve Henderson], my hitting coordinator, a little bit. I got a little more rhythm in my swing and I think that’s helped me out a lot this year.

PP: Do you judge yourself by your stats, or more by how you feel coming into each game?

CA: I don’t really judge myself by my stats, at all. Once you get caught up in that, you’re not going to do [well]. And plus, we’re in [Single-]A Ball right now, we’re out here trying to develop and learn new things every day, and just get better every day. That’s basically what I measure myself on. If I’m getting better every day, then I’m going to be happy with the result no matter what.

PP: Do you think you may be a candidate for a midseason promotion to Double A?

CA: Hey, you know, I’m not worried about that. I’m just trying to be down here and help my team win. We have a couple games left in the first half, maybe win the first half and go from there. But I’m just going to show up to the park every day and be ready to play, because that’s what my team needs.

PP: Since you made the move to second base last year, I guess it shows a level of comfort in the infield. Have you considered moving somewhere else, maybe even left field, to try to move up the ranks of the organization quicker?

CA: No, I leave all that to the organization.  They have a lot of smart guys, and they’ve been doing this for a long time. They’re going to find eventually what is the best for me, and I’m just going to be all in for whatever they ask me to do.

PP: So one last question: What has been your favorite experience this season so far?

CA: Favorite experience so far?… that’s a tough one… Probably hitting in front of Jim Thome, that was pretty cool. I batted three hole, and he batted four hole for two games, and having him in the locker room for four straight days, he was in the dugout, and just getting a chance to talk to him was really cool. He’s one of the guys that I watched and idolized growing up, you know that was a cool experience.

PP: Did he give you any good advice?

CA: Yeah, he gave me a couple good tips on hitting. He’s a really nice guy, one of the nicest guys I’ve met.

18 thoughts on “Interview with Cody Asche”

  1. Thanks for the interview. It’s always nice to get another view of the prospects aside from box scores. Im always rooting for Asche, he grew up and played around where I am, and I know a few guys who played with him. Hope he has continued success.

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  2. Seems like an awesome guy and it would be nice to see him move up through the organization quickly. If he turns out like Polanco currently (minus the injury problems) that would be great.

    The other thing I take from this is that if Thome retires after this season the organization should make a strong push to bring him in as a coach of some sort. You always hear great things about him working with younger players and maybe he can teach them some patience at the plate to wait for their pitch.

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    1. I imagine both the Phillies and Indians, as well as some others perhaps, will offer him a job of some sort after he retires. It’ll be interesting to see what he decides. Thome is one of the only people I’ve never seen anyone say a bad thing about and he definitely has things that he could teach. Who wouldn’t want to learn from a Hall of Famer, especially when he’s such a nice guy?

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  3. Or he could take Wheeler spot. lol
    Cody sounds like this years winner. Move him up. Fall league then ………whatever happens
    Thome could certainly teach young men how to mature

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    1. They really need to at a minimum move Wheeler back to just 3 innings instead of 6, and either use Sarge for 6 innings, or get that radio team onto TV. All I ever hear is how great they are, I don’t understand why they aren’t on tv by now? Wheels would do really well on radio IMO, especially since I never listen to the radio….

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      1. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I heard somewhere that LA rubbed the FO the wrong way with some of his comments.

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        1. Yeah there’s no doubt wheels will NEVER criticize the home team for anything. He is a marketing arm of the team. I watch a lot of Phils games on other teams broadcasts as I live in LA and have the MLB package, and most other teams are much more critical of their own team, and then there are a few who are worse than wheels.

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  4. Great interview. I thought it was a very interesting perspective specifically when he was talking about stats and A ball. I understand stats are indicative of progress, but he is right in that A ball is more of a learning experience and the stats don’t really matter.

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  5. matt gelb trweeted the other day that he thought asche might be promoted after the FSL all star game.

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      1. it was david murphy then. someone asked him about asche being promoted and he said perhaps by the end of the month.

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  6. Williamsport’s Mitch_Rupert posted a pic of the Crosscutters roster today on Twitter. Exciting to see Quinn, Walding, Greene and Greene all about to debut

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    1. Well, that gives me an idea… How about Walding or Quinn (or both!) as the next interviewee(s)?

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      1. Yes…but maybe we’ll hear one or another of them offer anything but the same old cliches. Not to criticize the efforts here; thanks for your contacting him and having him respond to questions.

        The prospects go to school by the org on how to handle the press. They know that saying anything off the expected could cause the Rook some unnecessary attention. So what we get is rarely enlightening about their play.

        However, an inquiry into their family, education, girlfriend(s), and intentions AFTER baseball, and their outside interests and hobbies, and what does each one consider their own baseball strong points and what they are working on in particular.

        Hopefully, that can be done…and thanks for the efforts.

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