Q&A with Tyler Flowers

June 30, 2:23 PMChicago White Sox ExaminerJJ Stankevitz

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After coming over as the centerpiece of the Javier Vazquez trade, Tyler Flowers is currently hitting .292/.439/.532 with 11 home runs as Birmingham's starting catcher. I had the chance to talk to Flowers over the phone before Monday's game against Mobile in which we went 4/4 with a stolen base. Flowers talked about his progress, defense, hitting, and how some of his teammates have fared in Birmingham this year.

How have you made this transition easier going from Atlanta to the Sox organization?

TF: It was never too difficult. The only real obstacle in my eyes was getting used to working with the pitchers. I faced a couple of them, but never caught any of them. It was a pretty good transition, learning their tendencies. I have to help them out of tough jams and what works for them. Our pitching coach has been a big help, he’s coached these guys for the last couple years. As far as everything else, everyone’s been great and spring training was great, everyone was nice as can be. It was pretty easy. I felt very welcome when I came over there.

Was the transition from Atlanta hard on you since you grew up there and rooted for the Braves?

TF: I still live about 15 minutes from the stadium. I have a bunch of buddies that play with them. Everyone has that childhood dream to play for your favorite team. My entire extended family lives in the Atlanta area, so I always thought about that. It won’t be that big of a deal, everyone can get on a plane now and go to Chicago.

What have your coaches said about your defense?

TF: Chicago’s expressed that they’re real pleased. Obviously there’s certain things that me and every catcher in double-A can improve. There’s definitely stuff on my agenda to take note of and try to improve and be more consistent with. They made it very clear that I’m going to be a catcher, and I was definitely pumped to hear that. They weren’t just excited about my bat, but they were excited about me behind the plate too. That was important to me.

Working on being consistent with my throwing and footwork. I feel like receiving’s come a long way, blocking balls has come a long way. Calling a game, our pitching coach has helped me out tremendously, especially explaining the staff to me, explaining what their putaway pitch is, going back to their tendencies how to get them to of it. It’s been pretty good.

Did you get a chance to talk to AJ Pierzynski or Don Cooper about catching in general?

TF: Coop really took some time to talk to me about their staff up there in anticipation of me getting up there this year, next year, whenever.

AJ, well, there’s not much to say about AJ [laugh]. He was actually all right. He didn’t offer up too much information. I’d ask him about certain guys how to deal with them. Some guys, he had a suggestion for, and others, he didn’t know how to deal with them either.

Did you talk to any of the hitters about hitting MLB pitching?

TF: I was in spring training this year and last year and I’ve faced some big-name guys. It’s the same game. It’s just a bigger name guy on the mound. I don’t see it being that much of a transition. The only disadvantage is the extreme scouting reports and stuff, so if you have an exposed weakness they’re going to exploit it until you figure out how to make the adjustment to it. I think that’s the big difference. As far as stuff-wise, there are a couple nasty guys out there no matter who you are. You know. Albert Pujols strikes out against those guys.

Beckham’s up there, I’ve talked to him a couple of times. He’s made it clear being with the team for a couple weeks that it’s the exact same game, you just gotta wait on your pitch and take advantage of it.

Do you feel like a promotion to AAA is coming in the near future?

TF: You know what, I have no idea. I really don’t. There’s a couple good catchers in Triple-A, that’s up to the organization what they want to do with it. It doesn’t make a difference being in AA or AAA. It’s pretty much the same game. You got some great prospects here, you have a couple older prospects up there in the holding pattern for the big leagues. I think either way it’s a challenge, and I’m trying to get better every day. I’m not worried about going up.

On Dayan Viciedo:

TF: Viciedo has come a long way. I can only imagine what he’s gone through since day one coming to a different country not to many guys speaking Spanish with him. He had to feel pretty alone at the beginning, at least. Our team here is so team-oriented, and I really think he’s starting to feel part of the team and his performance is getting a lot better. He’s a special player. He’s young, but he’s matured so much this year. He’s going to be scary about a year from now.

On Jordan Danks:

TF: He just came up here and first game, I think he went 2/4 or 3/4, something ridiculous. He just came out swinging it. He went through a little rough spell where I guess scouting report got to him. He took a couple games, made the adjustment, and he got right back on track. He’s one of the best hitters we have here right now, and he definitely sets the table for us early in games. He can steal bases, cover a lot of ground in the outfield, he’s got a great arm. He’s definitely a five-tool player. He looks good.

On Aaron Poreda and his offspeed pitches:

TF: From what I understood—obviously, I didn’t catch him last year—it was real inconsistent. I think JR and Champ made it a point in ST to tell him look, if you figure out this offspeed stuff, you’re going to be up there. I think he really took that to heart, and he was working hard to get to the big leagues. He was actually my roommate until he moved outta here. We talk about it all the time. He just needed to commit to it and trust himself throwing those pitches. Once he started doing that, his slider was nasty, his changeup started becoming a good change of speeds for him and just another aspect so they can’t sit on that fastball. And you know what, his fastball is so devastating anyway, he might not even need anything else. I heard in his appearances in the big leagues he’s only thrown a couple offspeed pitches for a couple strikeouts. If he can command that fastball it’s a huge part because hitters have to start cheating and his offspeed is right there with his fastball now.

He came a long way this year. At the beginning, he was kinda inconsistent as far as break on his sliders and change of speed on his changeup—sometimes, it’d be a little too firm. Him and JR worked on it and he committed to it and we committed to using it in the games. It started working for him, confidence started rolling, and before you know it he’s in Chicago and in his first outing striking out a couple of guys.

On Beckham’s walk-off single against the Cubs on Saturday:

TF: I sent him a text, I’m sure he was bombarded that day. I sent him a text saying ‘good job.’ I know he’s pumped and he deserves to be up there. I tell you what, he’s about as whatever he is, a 22-year-old as you’ll ever see. Even in spring training, he just belonged there. Right out of the gate, right from college he was ready to go. I think that’s why he got a chance this year. He’s just mature, professional, handles himself well, plays the game hard. I think he’s going to be in Chicago for a long time now.

He can go 0/4 and you’d think he went 3/4. He’s out there busting his ass on defense. He has a good time when he’s playing, too. I think a lot of guys get away from that.

Links for the day:

• Jim tries to project what Kenny Williams will do over at Soxmachine.

• The Cheat recaps yesterday's 6-3 win at SouthSideSox.

• Not many like Ozzie Guillen or Lou Piniella, as passed along by View From the Bleachers.