Silva’s Consistency Has Been Impressive in Rangers’ System

Ted Silva remembers last year’s baseball draft as a big disappointment.

Silva was in Omaha, Neb., with Cal State Fullerton for the College World Series, anxiously waiting for the phone to ring, and someone to tell him he had been drafted in the early rounds.

And even though he had one of the best records in college baseball as the Titans’ No. 1 pitcher, Silva wasn’t picked until the second day, in the 21st round by the Texas Rangers.

“That hurt me a lot,” Silva said, “and I took it personally.”

Even though he was upset, Silva kept his composure, and was the winning pitcher in the national championship game against USC. It was his second victory in Omaha and gave him an 18-1 record for the year, the most victories in one season for a Titan pitcher.

“Winning the championship helped a lot,” Silva said, “but it still was tough to put what happened in the draft aside.”

Only slightly more than a year later, Silva appears to have done that.

At the halfway point in his first full professional season with Class A Port Charlotte, he has a 9-2 record and 2.93 earned-run average. He ranks among the top pitchers in the Florida State League in victories, ERA and strikeouts. He was 5-4 with a 3.38 ERA last summer in the short season with Charleston, S.C.

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Silva seems certain to move up to the Rangers’ double-A team in Tulsa, Okla., next year, if he isn’t called up later this season.

“He’s done a great job for us,” said Port Charlotte Ranger Manager Butch Wynegar, a former catcher for the Angels, New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins. “He’s a legit prospect.”

Wynegar said he has been pleasantly surprised by Silva’s consistency.

“When I heard we’d drafted him and found out he’d won 18 games in college, I was expecting more of a hard-thrower,” Wynegar said. “But he’s a fine control pitcher, and he’s aggressive and comes right at hitters. I like that. I always tell our pitchers that you can’t defend against the walk.”

Good control and a sharp slider were the keys to Silva’s success at Fullerton. He issued only 35 walks in 152 innings his final season. As a sophomore, he had 13 saves as the closer for a team that reached the College World Series semifinals before being eliminated.

That control has been an important ingredient in his success this season. In 104 innings, Silva has given up only 26 walks and hit two batters.

“I’ve always prided myself on being able to keep the ball in the strike zone,” he said.

One of the concerns that scouts had about Silva was the speed of his fastball, and that probably was a factor in where he was drafted.

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Silva’s lack of speed doesn’t concern John Tudor, Port Charlotte’s pitching coach, who knows from experience that speed isn’t everything. Tudor won 21 games for St. Louis in 1985, and had a successful major league career with a fastball in the 84- to 85-mph range.

“What I’ve been working with him on as much as anything is his changeup,” Tudor said. “It can be a good third pitch for him. His speed is a little below average, but he makes up for it with his control and real good slider.”

Also like Tudor, Silva doesn’t throw a curveball.

“I knew I needed to develop my changeup, and I think I’m doing that,” Silva said. “Another thing I’m working on is pitching inside more to keep the hitters honest.”

Monty Clegg, the Rangers’ director of minor league administration, also is impressed with Silva.

“He’s exceeded our expectations,” Clegg said. “It looks as though he’s ready for the next level right now, but a lot of times we prefer to leave a player there a little longer to establish his success further.

“But he’s definitely been the best pitcher at Port Charlotte this season, and if Tulsa gets into a situation where they need the help, I’m sure he’d get the first call.”

Wynegar says it would be to Silva’s advantage to finish this season in Class A.

“If he can pitch in the second half the way he’s pitched in the first half, and there’s no reason he shouldn’t, it will help his confidence that much more,” Wynegar said.

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Former Cal State Fullerton player Steve Sisco has been hitting well recently for the double-A Wichita (Kan.) Wranglers.

Sisco’s 12-game hitting streak was broken not long ago. During the streak, he batted .458 with five doubles, four home runs and 13 runs batted in. He lifted his season average to .323, but it has fallen 11 points in the last few games.

Sisco has hit safely in 24 of his last 28 games.

He moved up to the No. 4 spot in the batting order after Wrangler catcher Mike Sweeney was called up to the triple-A Omaha Royals.

Sisco, in his fourth professional season, also has been playing second base and left field. He also has done well defensively, showing the kind of consistency that will make him a candidate for triple A next season.

Teammate Jeremy Carr, who also played at Fullerton, has been struggling, going six for 42 over the last 13 games.

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Jeremy Giambi, who recently signed with the Kansas City Royals, rejoined former Cal State Fullerton teammate Tony Miranda on the Royals’ class-A farm team in Spokane, Wash.

The Spokane team is a short-season rookie league made up mostly of players signed out of high school and college. Miranda is there this season, rehabilitating an elbow that required surgery at the end of last season.

Miranda’s throwing arm still isn’t fully recovered, so his appearances in the first six games have been limited to a few at-bats as a designated hitter.

Miranda led Spokane in runs scored and stolen bases last year and played center field. He hit .271.

Giambi was the starter in right field in the first six games and has four hits in his first 19 at-bats (.211), although he has walked seven times and has a .444 on-base percentage. He has stolen three bases.