June 29, 2007

Moorpark's Paul working his way up Giants' organization
By Steve Ames Special to the Moorpark Acorn

Whether he's in a starting pitcher role or working as a reliever, left-hander Ryan Paul of Moorpark just wants the baseball in his hand.

"The thing about relieving is you get to be a part of every game," Paul said. "Your whole day revolves around maybe one inning, two innings, maybe even one batter. It's nice to be able to help the team every day if they need it.

"You kind of have to fall into a routine. As a starter you can go out and do 'whatever' days, I guess. The day before starting you've got to be locked in to doing your routine."

Paul is a 6-foot-6, 225-pound hurler who will be 23 in August. He graduated from Moorpark High in 2002, after a successful career with the Musketeers ballclub.

This season, Paul is pitching for the Advanced SingleA California League San Jose Giants, where he is holding his own on the mound.

Taken by the San Francisco Giants in the 10th round (296th overall) in 2006, he's the son of Mike and Michelle. His brother, Sean, played golf at Moorpark College, and his sister, Christine, is a senior at MHS.

Through Wednesday, Paul has a 4-1 record with a 3.25 ERA, 25 strikeouts and 11 walks in 27.2 innings pitched.

Another Ventura County member of his San Jose team this season is second baseman Brad Boyer, a 2002 graduate of Camarillo High.

Last season, while pitching for the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes Short-Season team, Paul helped the Volcanoes win the Northwest League championship.

He appeared in 12 games out of the bullpen, finishing with a 1-1 record and 6.08 ERA. He struck out 20 batters and walked eight in 13 1/3 innings. Paul completed the season pitching for San Jose, making one relief appearance.

Paul said he is happy to be with the Giants, a team that often shows tremendous commitment to young pitchers.

"The pitching staff this year is outstanding," he said. "The Giants put a premium on arms."

Pitching coach Jim Bennett said he doesn't coach right- and left-handers in a dissimilar way, but there are some variations.

"Anytime, if you are a lefthander and you have a left-handed guy, there are some things that are going to be different," Bennett said. "It may be what your fastball will do that's different than for righties."

Paul said being a left-hander definitely is a huge advantage against left-handed hitters.

"Overall it is an advantage because there aren't that many lefthanded pitchers," he said.

Bennett said this season he's been focused on trying to get Paul to repeat his pitching delivery.

"Ryan Paul has very good stuff," Bennett said. "Ryan's a guy that you look at when he pitches and you say, 'This guy could get a big leaguer out.'"

As a member of the Moorpark High baseball team and playing for head coach Scott Fullerton, Paul was able to develop his pitching skills early on.

"One of the biggest things I took out of that program was how to act and present yourself, the right way to play the game, just the respect," Paul said. "It wasn't so much the baseball side of it, but how to react and how to treat the game and the people around you." Bennett is impressed with Paul's character. "The first thing I think about him is he comes out to the field every day to try to figure something out," the coach said. "That's important. It shows somebody who says, 'I'm going to do whatever it takes to get to the big leagues.'" Paul said he wasn't ready to make the step to NCAA Division I out of high school, so he attended Los Angeles Pierce College. While playing for the Brahmas during the 2004 and 2005 seasons, he started 18 of the 21 games in which he pitched, had a 10-5 record with a 0.27 ERA, 146 strikeouts and 32 walks.

"I got to go play at Pierce College in Woodland Hills," Paul said. "That made a huge difference in my development as a pitcher. It gave me time to mature, put on a lot of weight and grow into my body."

While at Pierce, Paul said, he began "turning into a thrower, able to throw strikes."

His transfer to Cal State Fullerton was another positive move.

"That was the next step for a little bit of polishing, learning the game some more," he said.

In 2006, while pitching for Cal State Fullerton, Paul started one game and relieved in 19 others. He was 3-1 with a 1.01 ERA, 43 strikeouts and 13 walks.

Playing at San Jose Municipal Stadium 50 miles south of AT&T Park, the home of the San Francisco Giants, the Single-A Li'l Giants are hoping to repeat as the California League champions, with Paul as a major part of the team's success.

"He brings a good work ethic to a club, and he's a good guy to have on a team," Bennett said. "Then, to add to that, and I can say it because I am left-handed, he definitely has some lefthandedness in him, which is a beautiful thing for a club."