http://www.palmbeachpost.com/marlins/conte...arvey_kris.html

 

JUPITER ? Kris Harvey was 7 years old when he would follow his dad, Bryan, the California Angels' closer, onto the field and then accompany Jimmie Reese, a coach who once roomed with Babe Ruth, into the outfield to hit fungoes.

 

Two years later Kris was watching Bryan save 45 games and represent the expansion Florida Marlins in the 1993 All-Star Game.

 

Now, Kris is attempting to follow his dad again, into the big leagues as a pitcher.

 

Both Harveys are 6-foot-2 right-handers. Kris' fu manchu mustache makes him look much like his dad did when staring into the plate. But Bryan Harvey was in the majors at 24. Kris, 25, is back in Class A with the Jupiter Hammerheads.

 

Kris was a starter in college. He is returning to the mound after being drafted out of Clemson as a position player and watching his average steadily decline during his first four years in the Marlins' organization.

 

"He has plenty of arm strength," said Bryan, who pitched his final three seasons for the Marlins and now is the pitching coach for the Tulsa Drillers, the Class AA affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. "The thing that separates pitchers is just learning how to pitch, setting up hitters, commanding the fastball. Learn how to throw strikes with fastballs.

 

"I think he's learning how to become a pitcher. It's learning to do more than throw hard."

 

Kris was drafted in the second round in 2005 after being selected as a second team All-American. The Marlins projected him as an outfielder.

 

"I was surprised they drafted me as an outfielder," said Harvey, who was mainly a designated hitter at Clemson when he wasn't pitching.

 

He hit .300 in 65 games at Class A Jamestown (N.Y.) in 2005, but his average dropped every season thereafter. After hitting .148 and striking out 71 times in 74 games at Class AA Carolina last season, Harvey was starting over.

 

He would reinvent himself as a pitcher, starting in July in the Gulf Coast League.

 

"It came pretty quick," said Wayne Rosenthal, the organization's pitching coordinator. "He just needed to get back his rhythm and fine tune his delivery."

 

The mystery was how his bat disappeared. He finished second in the country with 25 home runs his final season at Clemson and hit .339.

 

After signing for $575,000 he continued to show promise in Jamestown, slugging .479 with nine home runs in 263 at bats. But his undoing was an undisciplined strike zone (he has 313 strikeouts and 88 walks in his minor league career) and a huge dip in confidence.

 

"I think it was probably more mental," his father said. "It got to the point where to me he didn't believe he could hit anymore."

 

Kris Harvey used the second half of last season to get reacquainted with the mound. He was 1-2 with a 6.97 ERA in eight games, four in the GCL and four at Class A Greensboro.

 

Entering Monday's game with Jupiter, Harvey was 3-1 this season with a 3.00 ERA in nine games in long and short relief. He throws a fastball that's typically around 93-95 mph (he hit 97 in college), including a splitter, along with a curve, slider and changeup.

 

"I think that's hereditary," Rosenthal said about the split, which Bryan Harvey used as his primary weapon to record 177 saves in nine seasons.

 

Jupiter manager Tim Leiper said Kris Harvey still can follow in his father's footsteps into the big leagues.

 

"I don't think it's too late," Leiper said. "The arm is fresh. It's probably beneficial for him that he hasn't thrown in a while."

 

But as far as following Bryan as a closer?

 

"To be a closer, you need one dominating pitch at the end of the game to strike out guys," Bryan said. "What separated me from most was the splitter was pretty good and at times it was unhittable."

Best of luck to him in this endeavor! I'm not sure if he's still around he's listed on the GCL roster but Jonathon Fulton is also trying to make the switch to pitcher.

He looks EXACTLY like his father! It's unbelievable. Gotta be the Fu Manchu