Playing with patience

 

Jeremy Hermida and Jason Stokes, who once seemed primed for a quick rise to the majors, now find they have lessons to learn before they get there.

 

BY KEVIN BAXTER

 

kbaxter@herald.com

 

 

JUPITER - When the Marlins drafted Jeremy Hermida out of high school nearly three years ago, it appeared the only thing that could keep him out of the team's opening-day lineup this spring was getting lost on his way to the ballpark.

 

Ditto Jason Stokes, who had been drafted two years earlier.

 

Both, after all, were among the best high school hitters in the country their senior seasons, and the Marlins, a young organization in the process of rebuilding, were rushing prospects through their farm system. The Marlins might not have been able to promise their draft picks a chance to win, but they definitely could promise them a chance to play.

 

But a funny thing happened to Hermida and Stokes on their way to Miami. The past two seasons, the Marlins have gone from a youthful team full of opportunities to an experienced team full of veterans. And all that hype? Well, turns out it didn't add points to either player's batting average.

 

So barring a surprise, both Hermida, an outfielder, and Stokes, a first baseman, will open their seasons in the minors next month. And that's not necessarily a bad thing for the players or the organization, said Dan Jennings, vice president for player personnel.

 

''They're growing into their bodies, they're learning their swings, they're learning to read pitchers and make adjustments. That takes time,'' Jennings said of the pair, participating in their first big-league spring training camp. ``No matter how good the raw skills are, the skills of learning how to play take time to develop. And that's the advantage of getting time in the minor leagues.''

 

Time, certainly, is on their side. Stokes, who has already played four seasons in the minors, is just 23, two years older than Hermida, who has played three summers of professional baseball.

 

''You come out of high school kind of young and immature, and you don't really realize how the whole minor-league system works,'' said Hermida, a first-round draft pick out of Wheeler High in Marietta, Ga. ``But once you get into it, you realize it's a marathon, not a sprint. You've got to work your way through each level and prove yourself at each level before you get a chance to come up here.''

 

Hermida has done that. The team's top prospect each of the past two years -- the last Marlin to do that was Josh Beckett -- he hit .290 with 99 RBI combined the past two seasons in Single A despite a hamstring injury that sent to the disabled list for a month last summer.

 

Stokes, a second-round pick in the June 2000 amateur draft out of Coppell (Texas) High, ranks as the top power hitter in the Marlins' farm system and the organization's best non-pitching prospect after Hermida, according to Baseball America.

 

Stokes was the Midwest League's MVP in 2002 when he hit .341 with 27 homers and 75 RBI in a season shortened by complicated surgery to remove a cyst from his left wrist.

 

The next summer, his average fell nearly 100 points -- to .258 -- after a promotion to the Florida State League, but he bounced back last year with solid campaign for Double A Carolina, hitting .272 with 23 homers.

 

Each player struck out and singled in two at-bats Monday in the Marlins' first intrasquad scrimmage of the spring.

 

''They both have come as advertised,'' Jennings said. ``They're doing what we drafted them to do and what we signed them to do.''

 

Now Jennings is asking them to do one more thing: Be patient.

 

''Development time is good,'' he said. ``When you have to rush guys to the big leagues, then you put them at an unfair advantage because they're asked to perform at the level where it counts every night. That can make it hard on the player and, to a certain degree, it can slow down his growth and his progress.

 

``The one thing you can't do that's unfair to the player and the organization is set a timetable as to when a guy arrives.''

 

Hermida and Stokes say they understand that and they're trying -- just not always succeeding. Patience is a virtue, but that doesn't make it any easier to achieve.

 

''Being young, as me and Jeremy both are, we're probably both being too impatient,'' Stokes said. ``Obviously, it takes a little bit of time to make it to the big leagues. If you're kind of young and immature, kind of like I was at an early age, it's going to set you back a little bit more.

 

``You've got to take it day by day and do the little things and just be patient, and then everything falls into place.''

 

NOTES

 

? Rule V draft pick Luke Hagerty got off to a rough start in his Marlins debut, hitting the first batter he faced and walking the next four in Monday's intrasquad scrimmage. He did not retire a hitter.

 

On offense, Joe Dillon homered and drove in four runs, and Derek Wathan also slugged a home run in the five-inning contest.

 

? The Marlins kick off the spring training exhibition this afternoon with a 3:05 game against the University of Miami at Roger Dean Stadium. Dontrelle Willis will start on the mound for the Marlins and will be followed by Josh Johnson, Mike Neu, Scott Olsen, Ronald Belisario, Michael Flannery, Chris Resop and Bryan Corey.

 

Each of the regular position players is expected to start and bat at least once.

 

 

 

 

 

 

With that facial hair, Stokes looks like Peter's friend and neighbor Russell(?) from Office Space, IMO.

maybe it will keep him healthy

It makes him look like a quasi-redneck version of Mike Lowell.