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Gruver and Rohan have high hopes of surpassing Class A level
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Austintown Fitch graduate Steven Gruver pitches for the University of Tennessee. Gruver is a pitcher for a Minnesota Twins’ Class A team in Fort Myers, Fla.
By Joe Scalzo
For Steven Gruver, becoming a relief pitcher was just that — a relief.
In 2012, Gruver started 18 games for the Low-A Beloit (Wis.) Snappers before moving to the bullpen, a move that may have saved his professional career.
“Honestly, in that 2012 season, I was struggling mentally,” said Gruver, an Austintown Fitch High graduate. “I don’t know what it was, but after I moved to the pen, I started pitching a lot better.
“I found myself and I remembered how much I enjoyed baseball and got back to where I used to be.”
Two years and two promotions later, Gruver is pitching with the Advanced-A Fort Myers Miracle. He’s one of two Valley natives in the minor leagues, along with Ursuline’s Eddie Rohan, who is with the Low-A Savannah Sand Gnats.
Three other Mahoning County natives, Greg Rohan (Cubs), Andrew Turocy (Canfield) and Todd Kibby (Springfield), spent the last few years in the minors before getting released, either in the offseason or during spring training.
Gruver finished that 2012 season with a 7-8 record and a 3.61 ERA in 1142/3 innings. He spent most of last year with Class-A Cedar Rapids, going 5-2 with a 2.45 ERA in 24 games while making the Midwest League All-Star team.
He then got a late call-up to the Miracle, going 0-0 with a 3.98 ERA in nine appearances and has pitched 41/3 scoreless innings so far this season.
“Things are going great,” said Gruver, a seventh round pick of the Twins in 2011. “I’m just enjoying playing baseball for a living. Can’t really complain.”
Gruver made a couple starts for Cedar Rapids last season and also had three saves, but he said he’s comfortable in any role.
“As long as I’m pitching, I’m not real concerned” he said. “It’s up to them. They can use me where they see fit.”
Gruver loves Fort Myers — “The weather here is ridiculously beautiful,” he said — but said he loved pitching in Cedar Rapids, which drew 2,700 fans per game last year. (The Miracle averaged 1,900 fans last year, which is about average for the Florida State League.)
“At Cedar Rapids, the crowds really got into the game and really got behind us,” he said. “It was really easy to play there.
“In Fort Myers, the bad part is it gets really hot in the summer and people don’t want to come out to games, so maybe you lose some fans. But they’re both fun places to play.”
Gruver said he makes it back to Austintown a few times a year, usually for a few weeks at a time. While here, he works out with Jim Devine at the Diamond Nine sports complex in Austintown.
“He’s a great pitching coach and he really makes sure I’m where I need to be,” Gruver said. “He knows everything about pitching.”
Gruver turns 25 at the end of June, so he knows the clock is ticking on his major league chances. His goal is to get to Double-A by the season’s midpoint.
“I’m just trying to push myself up the organization any way I can,” he said. “My ultimate goal is to move up a level every year. If you prove yourself at Double-A, you’re close. If you put up good numbers, you’re just a step away.
“That’s the goal — get to Double-A and be able to hold my own, so I can prove I’m ready for that step.”
Rohan, a 50th-round pick by the Mets out of Winthrop in 2011, hasn’t seen as much playing time. He’s spent most of the last two years as a reserve catcher with the Brooklyn Cyclones of the New York-Penn League.
“It’s been fun, but it’s definitely been up and down,” he said of his career. “It’s just a grind. I’m trying to get better and trying to get some playing time, but it’s been a good challenge. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”
Rohan batted .269 in 67 at-bats last season for the Cyclones, appearing in a career-high 20 games (along with one game with the Advanced-A St. Lucie Mets).
“Last year in Brooklyn, I get a lot more at-bats than usual, which was fun,” said Rohan, whose season highlight was hitting a homer, a double and drawing a walk against Jamestown in front of 15-20 friends and family members. “We had a nice stadium, a lot of fans and that made it easier to go to the ballpark. Not that it’s really that hard anyway. That just makes it more fun than it already is.”
When asked how long he plans to keep playing, Rohan said, “I get asked that question quite a bit. We’ll see how these next couple months go. I’m getting a little older [he turns 26 in August], but I always feel like I have a chance.
“I’m just going to keep going until they rip the jersey off my back, then I guess I’ll have to go.”