Ohio State, Michigan Rivalry Hits Home For Tribe's Putnam

Putnam's length of stay in Columbus will
depend on the pitching need in Cleveland.
(Photo - Tony Lastoria) 

It's Rivalry Week in college football.

All the big college rivalries are taking place all across the country. Auburn - Alabama, Stanford - California, Texas A&M – Texas, as well as Florida - Florida State. Heck, even huge college basketball rivals North Carolina and Duke square off on the gridiron this weekend.

But the biggest rivalry in sports is Ohio State - Michigan.

That Ohio State - Michigan rivalry has recently found its way into the Cleveland Indians player development system as several former Michigan Wolverine baseball players have been selected in the draft. In 2007 the Indians selected catcher Doug Pickens in the 50th round, and then followed that up by selecting three more Wolverines in 2008 with right-handed pitcher Zach Putnam (5th round), infielder Adam Abraham (13th round), and first baseman Nate Recknagel (19th round).

All four players knew that once they were drafted and signed by the Indians that they would be coming into "enemy" territory to play most of their minor league career in Ohio, and if they made it to the big leagues that they would do it in Cleveland, a town with strong Buckeye ties.

A funny thing also happened at the end of the 2008 season where the Indians and Columbus Clippers reached an agreement to be the organization's new Triple-A affiliate. With this affiliate change it meant that if any of these players ever dreamed of making it to the big leagues, that road would include a trip to the Buckeye city.

It's all in good fun of course as all four players have no problem with ever playing in Columbus. In fact, Putnam is the first of the Wolverine foursome to make it to Columbus this past season. He was born and raised in Michigan as a diehard Wolverines fan and resides in Ann Arbor in the offseason, but while his heart belongs to Ann Harbor he has grown to respect and adore the city of Columbus and its fans.

"It is an awesome city and I love it here, as much as it pains me to say that," laughed Putnam in a recent interview for the IPI. "I keep telling myself that I am not going to go to an Ohio State game, but I might have to cave just to see what it's all about."

Putnam, 23, opened the 2010 season at Double-A Akron and in 20 games (7 starts) he went 4-1 with a 3.86 ERA. He was promoted to Triple-A Columbus in mid-July, and finished the season there going 0-1 with a 3.33 ERA in 17 relief appearances. In total, he pitched 75.2 innings between the two stops and allowed 78 hits, 16 walks, and had 65 strikeouts.

Putnam was able to spend the final two months of the season in Columbus, and with him and his Clippers teammates playing well into September he got a chance to see firsthand the craziness in Columbus once football season gets underway. He was smart enough to avoid wearing Michigan gear in public, and generally had fun but was respectful with fans about the rivalry once they found out where he was from.

It's a scenario Putnam never envisioned himself in back when he was drafted, that's for sure.

"No, I never did," Putnam said about any thought he would one day have to pass through Columbus to achieve his big league dreams. "When I had it all planned out early on Columbus wasn't exactly in the mix (laughs). All of the clubbies in the clubhouse are either Ohio State grads or are diehard fans, so I have to catch it from them everyday. But it's been great, it really has. I have gotten some grief from people in restaurants and other places once they find out where I am from, but the fans here are really gracious. I love the city and it really is a beautiful campus."

As for what went on for Putnam on the baseball diamond this year, he had a solid season. It didn't live up to what he probably hoped as after he was invited to big league camp in spring training and had a good showing he suffered through a back injury in May, but in the end he achieved his main goal of reaching Triple-A.

"It [was] great and unbelievable," Putnam said. "Obviously I had hopes to get up to Columbus and maybe beyond, but hopes are hopes. So to actually have it realized and come up to Columbus [was] great."

Putnam made what looks like a permanent transition to the bullpen in July. He has a deep mix of pitches, but his mentality and fastball-splitter combination may best be suited for short stints out of the bullpen in a backend bullpen role. He opened the season in the rotation to continue his development, but after returning from his injury he finished out the season in the bullpen. A place he will likely remain as long as he is an Indian.

"I made a few more starts than what was originally planned for me," Putnam said. "The back injury was just a fluke thing as I have never, ever in my life had problems with my back before. It started off as kind of a muscle knot, and with each outing it got progressively more painful, so we shut it down for a little bit. The back injury and stuff slowed things down some, but I think I hit my stride [late in the season] as far as feeling comfortable coming out of the bullpen and being in midseason form."

Putnam missed about three weeks with the back injury, mostly because the Indians took a very conservative approach with it, as they often do with all their prospects. Once he returned and was pitching in the bullpen full time he showcased his slider a lot more in order to try and develop it as a true third pitch in his arsenal.

"The only thing that I [did] different is I [was] throwing my slider a little bit more," Putnam said. "I have gotten the feel for it and it was effective for me in my outings [late in the season]. I think if you watched me pitch now versus earlier in the season you [would] see a lot more breaking stuff than before."

Putnam struggled at the outset of his callup to Columbus allowing seven earned runs and 15 base-runners in seven innings over his first five outings, but he settled in the rest of the way allowing just two earned runs and 12 base-runners in 17.1 innings covering 12 outings.

Putnam feels it just took awhile for him to adjust to a level filled with a lot of veteran players with big league experience.

"I had always heard that the biggest jump was from High-A to Double-A," Putnam said. "I made that jump, and to be honest with you I think the jump from Double-A to Triple-A is probably the most difficult, at least for my position. When I came out to Columbus the first couple of outings I got banged around a little bit and kind of got caught off guard with how good these guys are in Triple-A. They capitalize on mistakes more. You throw a good pitch that you think you are going to get a guy out with and he looks like he has seen it a 100 times. So it was a process of learning and adapting."

Now that the offseason is in full go, Putnam is using the time to rest his body after a short offseason last year because he spent a month and a half in the Arizona Fall League. He is enjoying spending time with family and friends and getting ready for a big 2011 season.

"I feel like I have to get better all around overall," Putnam said. "I think I just need to work on the breaking pitch and get it to the point where I feel like I can throw it in any count for a strike and get ahead, and even put guys away with it. I am just going to work out and come into camp in as good of shape as I can be."

Putnam is considered a big league option for the Indians bullpen at some point in 2011, but he very likely will find himself returning to Columbus in April at the beginning of the season.

A destination where the fans will be glad to see his talent return to the Clippers bullpen and help the team win, but so they can also continue to playfully heckle him about yet another Ohio State victory over his Wolverine football team.

Follow Tony and the Indians Prospect Insider on Twitter @TonyIPI.  His latest book the 2010 Cleveland Indians Top 100 Prospects & More is also available for purchase on his site for a special year end closeout sale of $10.00 (including shipping and handling stateside).

Posted in: Michigan Wolverines,Ohio State Buckeyes,Zach Putnam