Pucetas out to write winning story

Giants prospect brings impressive skill to blogging, pitching

Chris Haft
MLB.com

Identifying Kevin Pucetas' skills doesn't require reading between the lines.

Pucetas has enjoyed constant success in the Giants organization. The right-hander owns a 32-7 record with a 2.35 ERA in three Minor League seasons and was considered a possible candidate for the No. 5 starter's spot until San Francisco signed Randy Johnson to a one-year contract. He remains among the Giants' top pitching prospects.

Pucetas also maintained a blog during last year's Arizona Fall League season. That hardly makes him unique in today's society. But as an active player, Pucetas delivered more insight than the average denizen of baseball cyberspace.

So it's no surprise that Pucetas thinks like a pitcher and sounds like a writer.

"Playing that chess game at 90 miles an hour -- that's my favorite quote of all time," he said with relish, describing the art of pitching. Later, he characterized the understated advice he received from a fellow hurler as "nothing that totally jumps off the page."

Pucetas' statistics, however, merit boldface type. Besides his .821 winning percentage and low ERA, he has compiled a strikeout-to-walk ratio of nearly 4 to 1 and allowed just 15 home runs in 341 1/3 career innings. He has won enough awards to fill a warehouse, including Class A Starting Pitcher of the Year by MiLB.com in 2007 and California League Pitcher of the Year in 2008. Pucetas, 24, also threw a scoreless inning for the United States squad in last year's XM All-Star Futures Game.

After finishing 10-2 with a 3.02 ERA in the regular season for high-Class A San Jose last year, Pucetas went 4-1 with a 4.33 ERA in eight starts for Scottsdale in the AFL. That earned him All-Prospect Team honors.

San Jose manager Steve Decker knows Pucetas as well as anybody, having also managed him in 2006 at short-season Salem-Keizer.

"The one thing he's always had is impeccable control," Decker said. "For a tall guy [6-foot-4] with long levers, he has above-average command. A lot of these young guys, when you talk about stuff, they just don't know how to command it. As he develops a true 'out' pitch or swing-and-miss pitch, he has a lot of upside potential. ... He works very fast, so the defense behind him always seems like it's positioned well."

Pucetas, whose fastball touched 94 in the Fall League but typically throws his fastball between 88 and 92 mph, often uses his changeup in critical situations or against left-handed batters. Gaining consistency with breaking pitches to broaden his repertoire was among Pucetas' top priorities in the AFL.

Aware that 16 rookies made their Major League debuts with San Francisco last year, Pucetas is intent on using Spring Training as a proving ground in case the Giants frequently dip into the Minors again.

"I just want to make a good impression, a lasting impression," he said. "If we decide to make a move, hopefully I'll be one of those first people considered for a job."

Pitching professionally was inconceivable to Pucetas as he grew up in Spartanburg, S.C., and entered Limestone College in Gaffney, S.C.

"I was 5-10, a short, pudgy guy who threw 80 miles an hour," he said. Then Pucetas enjoyed a growth spurt during his junior year. "I grew about five inches, started throwing 93-94 and the rest is history," said Pucetas, whom the Giants selected in the 17th round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft.

Impressed by Pucetas' presence and personality, MLB.com writers Jonathan Mayo and Lisa Winston encouraged him to launch his AFL blog last season. He enthusiastically joined the small fraternity of scribing ballplayers that includes Curtis Granderson, the retired C.J. Nitkowski and ex-closer Todd Jones, who has written columns for The Sporting News.

"It was kind of like a form of therapy," said Pucetas, who graduated from Limestone with a major in sports management. "I could kind of reflect on everything that happened and it was really enjoyable. There were a lot of times I'd come home after a long day at the field and plug away on that computer."

In one entry, Pucetas demonstrated how baseball is rarely far from a player's mind, even on a scheduled off-day. He returned from a fishing trip and mused, albeit humorously, "I just hope all that line casting doesn't mess up the old pitching arm."

Pucetas wasn't afraid to express his opinion. "We probably just got done watching the least heralded World Series of all time," he wrote in another posting.

He also proved willing to chuckle at himself, as this passage from another off-day entry showed: "Sunday funday kicked off with me and a few of the guys attending a haven full of testosterone and bonding. Also known as Hooters."

Discussing the feedback he received from readers, Pucetas sounded more like a pitcher than a writer.

"For them to even bother clicking and bother reading, I won the battle right there," he said.