Mike Yastrzemski: "I think it is important to play with a chip on your shoulder"

If he had any doubters, Orioles minor league outfielder Mike Yastrzemski must have proved a lot of them wrong last year.

He was not selected until round 14 in the 2013 First-Year Player Draf. There were 428 players selected before the Orioles drafted Yastrzemski, a senior from Vanderbilt.

But the grandson of Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski didn't play like a 14th-round pick in 2014, when he began the season at Single-A Delmarva and later moved to both Single-A Frederick and Double-A Bowie.

In 129 games at the three levels, he batted a combined .288 with 34 doubles, 16 triples, 14 homers, 96 runs, 18 steals and 75 RBIs. He had an OPS of .836 and recorded double-digit outfield assists. He led all of minor league baseball in triples.

The younger Yaz will begin this season as a starting outfielder for the Baysox as they opens a new season tonight at Richmond.

So is he motivated by the doubters?

"Always," Yastrzemski said. "You always have to find something to motivate you, whether it is to prove people wrong or to prove something to yourself. Or if you have an end goal to reach. All those are important motivational factors.

"I think it is important to play with a chip on your shoulder. There is always someone that can outwork you, or run faster or throw harder. You have to find a way to keep that going."

During the Winter Meetings in December, Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette cited Dariel Alvarez and Yastrzemski as two minor league outfielders that could impact the O's roster this year.

"Mike Yastrzemski had as good a year as anybody in our system," Duquette said. "He was up for our minor league Player of the Year. Showed extra-base power, could steal a base with excellent defense and a good arm."

Manager Buck Showalter got a good look at Yaz during spring training. He was brought over from minor league camp often and played in 16 games, going 2-for-17 at the plate.

"Having the experience to play in some major league games was great. See how they work and try to take the things they make look easy and try to make them look easy for me," Yastrzemski said.

Ranked as the No. 9 Orioles prospect by Baseball America, Yastrzemski's big 2014 season did end with his bat trailing off a bit. Maybe he tired during the long year as he hit .250 in 43 games with Bowie, including a .214 mark in August.

What was his offseason like?

"I was focusing on resting up a lot of the time and getting ready for the season," he said. "A lot of lifting, but I took some time off first for regrouping and making sure my body felt good first. All the hard work goes to waste if you can't get on the field. Have to get the mind ready for another 140 games this year."

Of Yastrzemski's 16 triples, he produced 10 in 63 games for Delmarva. He joked that he got that many because he simply refused to stop at second base.

But the three-baggers can also be symbolic for his game - always trying to push the envelope to get the most out of his talent and every opportunity.

"Exactly," he said. "If you are complacent with where you are, it is really hard to get better. Why settle for a double when you can take a triple? Obviously, there are situations where you are not going to force it or make the last out there, so there were situations where I could just put my head down and go. That is what I'm looking for."

Some scouts feel Yaz has tools that rate in the average range, but he looked anything but on the field and the stat sheet in 2014. Now he simply will try to do it all over again and move closer to making the Orioles roster.

How does he keep it going this year and take his game to an even higher level?

"Just learning more. There is a lot of the game that I still haven't learned. Last year, I tried to learn from my experiences and now it's a matter of trying to create new ones," he said.

Baseball talk at lunch today: I will be among the guest panelists later today at Sports Legends Museum for the annual baseball writers luncheon, which is set for noon. Tickets are $25 and that includes lunch. For details or to order tickets, call the museum at 410-727-1539, ext. 3033.