Miguel Sime Jr. | Washington Nationals

Miguel Sime Jr. | Washington Nationals

First off, man, dude, I appreciate you coming on. Um, I know this is like one of the busiest times, especially in your career and probably been a crazy month, couple months. Um, I guess start with the present. We’ll kind of work back in your career a little bit. Um, can you kind of talk about what it’s been like down here? You said what? You’ve been down here for two weeks now. Um, been down here for probably a month now. Yeah. Um, I mean, it’s been pretty pretty sick, pretty amazing. Uh, you know, getting a start on my dream. Um and uh you know so one step closer to making to uh hopefully making it to the major leagues and um you know there’s a ton of information here. Ton of ex-pro guys, ex big leaguers. Um like all these coaches like know what they’re talking about and they they know exactly like you know what they see in your future and you know what what’s what’s like in your best interest to get you there. So yeah, this is amazing over here. Yeah, I think a lot of people don’t really kind of realize what goes in as you literally get drafted down here. Kind of take me like what the first week was like. I imagine there’s a lot of testing, a lot of probably coaches meetings trying to figure out where you can get to or where you should work on this, you know, little time of you have before the season’s over and going off season. Yeah. So, um, you know, like I got drafted, I think a week after, uh, five days after I was in Washington DC, you know, doing all these testings. I signed. I watched the game at their ballpark and um you know next morning I’m here in West Palm Beach and you know like getting straight getting straight to work uh getting right after and um you know just getting accustomed to everything and you know for pitchers and hitters it’s it’s different two different things but for like you know for my path for so far like you know they built up all the p all the pitchers and um there’s a couple bridge league games here so you know they’re trying to build up everyone so they can throw a couple innings here before the season’s over and um so yeah, you know I’m in kind of in in the middle of that right now and uh you know excited to get after it to get in a couple innings. Yeah. So, did you kind of know you’re going to spend the rest of the year down here at the spring training because a lot of like the guys out of high school especially they normally spend the time in rookie ball and stuff like that to develop versus like the college guys you know they try to move them up because they’re older. Did you kind of know you were going to spend time down here? Yeah, I mean uh like I said like pitches are different as well. So like high school and a high school arm they’re going to take super slow and um you know they don’t want to risk any injury. They want to make sure you get your feet wet wet correctly and they don’t want to throw you into the fire like that. You don’t have like that experience. Like there’s a ton of guys um I know like Ethan Petri he’s up there now. Loey he he played in the SEC so he’s an older guy. Tons tons of experience facing uh you know big league arms and um so I mean it’s two different worlds when it’s hitting and pitching and also like experience and age. So yeah because you were in the MLB draft week with you with Trenton the Thunder, right? Yeah. So, was that kind of like your first where you’d say real experience where you felt like it was like pro baseball, you know? It kind of gave me a glimpse of like, you know, this there’s levels to this, you know, it’s not like it’s not high school ball where guys, you know, chase a pitch out the zone and uh, you know, it was super fun. Like, you really have to start pitching. And I feel like that really brought out like it kind of opened my eyes, you know, like this is what it feels like to actually pitch and actually, you know, sometimes you got to pitch the contact, sometimes you got to pitch for a double play. And you can’t just rely on like your stuff to like, you know, get a get a ground ball. I mean, not not get a ground ball, to strike the guy out, strike three guys out in a row. Like that’s not as realistic anymore. And um, you know, it’s super super cool and uh gives me like it excites me for like what’s to come. Yeah. I think it’s interesting, too, cuz like I talk a lot about guys that, you know, college and they come down here, but you’re from high school. So, what was kind of the draft process like? Um, because I don’t know really how it works. Like can you talk to coaches or like how’s it kind of work like during you know your seasons then with the draft league as well? Um do you mean what what do you mean like what’s like the what was your kind of like process like going into the draft like what was like could you talk to coaches or how what was it kind of like like for you? Um yeah I mean I was pretty busy overall if I had to like sum it up. Yeah. Um you know tons of phone calls uh tons of you know chats with my family. um you know a lot of decisions had to come and uh uh you know I’m thankful that everything went right in my favor. Yeah. And you know I’m here today. So do you go to like um like ballparks and different teams like visit with teams or is it not kind of like that’s uh yeah some I mean some camps or like workout private workouts that they have or at their uh like their facilities or at their ballparks but I didn’t do any of that. Yeah. So take me kind of like draft day. I mean, every kid’s day. What was that like? And did you kind of have a feeling of like where you might go to the nationals that day or what’s it, you know, kind of like with that? Yeah. Um, I mean, mine was a little different cuz I I I had some family and friends come over the day, like day one of the draft, uh, cuz it was a chance I would go day one and, um, you know, so I spent some time with some family, some friends, uh, you know, a lot of important people, uh, in my life were there and, um, yeah, I mean, I had a couple calls, they didn’t like, um, you know, we could we couldn’t come to an agreement. day one. So, uh, you know, I just kind of kept my faith and, uh, you know, day two, I went into it, uh, pretty hopeful as well, got a call saying that the Nationals wanted me in the fifth round. And, um, I hopped into a game of the show cuz, you know, fifth round didn’t start like for another hour. But then he called me again. He’s like, you know, you’re getting picked right now in the fourth round. So, he caught me caught me a little bit off guard, but um, you know, super super blessed for that opportunity. Yeah, it’s awesome. I think a lot of people don’t even realize that, too, is because you have that set amount of money like for teams and stuff. So that’s kind of why it’s it’s very much interesting on like other sports where you know um in that case um we have a lot of like high school middle school athletes on you know I want to have aspirations of playing college sports. I know you were originally committed to LSU. So can you kind of talk about like what the high school process was like and when you kind of knew like college or professional baseball, you know could be a career path for you? Yeah, I mean uh it ultimately depends like you know what your future goal is. I mean I think everyone wants to be a professional baseball player. Um and you know you have you have to really understand that everyone has a different route. You know sometimes it’s jo to fouryear um to playing uh independent ball and bouncing around different leagues and then you finally get a chance um really all it is is just getting an opportunity to play. And I think the the the more time that you spend in the game, the higher the chance uh you know to like get your name seen and you know get seen as a as a baseball player and get to be given the opportunity to start your professional career. So I think um you know even if you think like I’m going Jo, but he’s going to Texas like you know like you might make it he doesn’t. So it always it’s all just work ethic. It’s all work ethic and uh everyone’s path is different. Yeah. Um, I don’t want to talk about it too much cuz like you obviously didn’t end up going there, but like when you were looking at a school, like what what were the big things for you and like what would you suggest other people kind of look for? Yeah. Um, for me it was kind of um, not just for a school to throw me an offer, just to like to really try to get to get get to know me and my family and um, I think like I I ultimately chose LSU cuz um, you know, they took their time recruiting me and uh, you know, they made it a statement to like really understand what type of player they were recruiting and not just for like you know my arm. Yeah. and uh they saw me as a person um more like not only as a player but as a person and you know it felt good to be appreciated by a school like that. So I think you should always look for a school that appreciates you and um you know values your what you’re going to bring to the table. Yeah. Um I’m kind of interested like especially you growing up you were you’re born in Massachusetts, right? And went to New York. So how’d you kind of get into baseball and did you play like other sports growing up or if you didn’t like would you suggest playing other sports for kids, you know? Yeah. Um, I mean that’s when I I was playing baseball like 3 years old. My dad played baseball growing up. Uh, he didn’t go too far. I think he um made got some offers to play professional, but he kind he he took that route like where he would wait for another offer. He didn’t get one. So, um, you know, like his dream kind of turned into my dream. You know, he instilled that into my brother and I and um, you know, I’ve been playing baseball since I was three. Uh, been all my life kind basically. And, um, it’s been pretty much like we live and bring baseball. So, uh, I know my brother plays basketball, basketball as well in high school and middle school. And, um, I played a little bit of basketball in middle school, but, um, nothing too crazy. You know, I mess around with basketball here and there, but um, I think I think you should always choose like that one sport that you really want to and kind of put in put in like the a good amount of work into that one sport instead of, you know, trying to balance two different sports. If you know, you like baseball, why mess around with football? Like, you know, god forbid you get hurt in that one. Yeah. But um I think you know just staying athletic. Uh some people find that in different ways like you know you want you might want to play some like in the winter you might wrestle like you you know there’s so many like different things you can do but I think just stay athletic and stay active. Yeah. Um I’m kind of like I feel like a lot of kids nowadays they’re learning pitches early and you know they get injured or different things and you see even in the pros when was kind of the time for you to learn certain pitches or do you kind of always like were kind of consciously aware about that? uh bad pitches like yeah like learn because some people like learn like a curveball too early and they hurt like stuff like that. I mean that should Yeah. I mean I don’t think uh you know is such thing as learning curve ball too early. I think um it’s a matter of like controlling the amount of pitches that you throw. Like obviously like when I was 12 as well like you know I threw a ton of pitches. Yeah. Um you know there’s pros and cons to that. Um obviously you know there’s wear and tear in your arm. like your arm only has a certain amount of bullets. And um you know the pros is like you can’t you can’t really learn something in a weight room that you can you know getting thrown into a game into that atmosphere and competing. So you know being out there competing really like uh starts to carve you into like a really a competitive player and you know that competitiveness can go into the classroom and go into any all these different aspects. So, I think um like playing young and learning the how to play the game correctly is super important. And um uh with pitch grips, I think, you know, time will tell. And um you know, there’s some college guys right now like trying to figure out a second pitch, a third pitch. So, it doesn’t really matter as long as you have um ultimately you’re going to you want to have three good pitches that you can command in the zone. But, um you know, everyone’s path is different like I said. So, you might have one good pitch, two good pitches, but you know, try um try to perfect one pitch at a time. instead of having three mediocre, you’re going to have one two great pitches. So, so what’s your kind of mindset when you’re like down in counts and working your way back up? Because I don’t want to say like necessarily it’s a mistake, but like you don’t want to make a mistake a bigger mistake by giving up something kind of what’s your mindset with that? Yeah, I mean um you know before like before even getting into that situation, you always want to stay ahead and uh strike one is the best pitching game in the game. So, um I think the earlier you can get strike one, uh the faster you can get in the driver’s seat and the faster you can get the batter out of there. Yeah. And um if you I mean if you do find yourself in that situation, I think you always got to put your best stuff forward and um you know, believe that your stuff is better than the hitter swing. So, um if it’s two, three 0, you got to believe like, you know, this pitch is going to be by him or this curve ball is going to make him do a bad swing. I might get a 20 ground out here. Um, you got to understand what type of pitcher you are and you know what, just pitch to like your strengths. Yeah. Can you kind of talk about like the mental because the sports we played, I mean, it’s one-on-one, you and the batter. I It’s like tennis oneonone. Yeah. What’s kind of your mentality? Because there’s a lot of things that go through your head where you’re focused on there. Like, what do you do like work on the middle game as well? Yeah. Um, I mean, as long as you’re like confident in yourself and confident in your ability to get the batter out and get, you know, the rest of his teammates out, but ultimately, you know, like you you said one-on-one, so like you and the batter. Um, but you also got to remember that it’s you and the catcher. Yeah. And you got your your, you know, your friends, your guys behind you. Um, they’re also going to, uh, you know, hopefully going to try their best to get that out as well. Um, yeah. Yeah. I mean, just being confident and um not, you know, not letting up for the hitter to see a weakness. Yeah. I mean, it’s also, it’s kind of funny because you’re like, you know, you’re really at the start of your career now and you’re you have that end goal of, you know, obviously pitching and then it’ll be a one day, but to get there, there’s a lot of minor goals. What are some of those minor goals to, you know, reach your end goal? Yeah. I mean, um, for me, like I always want to become a complete pitcher. Yeah. Um, I think I have a pretty good fast ball. So, I want to, you know, add other pitches to my repertoire and, you know, sharpen up everything my pitch ability and also I think availability is, you know, is the best ability one says. So, you know, always being available and always having your best self available. uh you know I want to keep that like to like for the rest of my career and um you know little end goals is I mean little minor goals uh just kind of you know just get better better and better every day and you know don’t cheat yourself because you know you’re not cheating your coach by missing something out like you’re cheating yourself so you know always staying true to myself and uh you know remembering that whatever I do is going to help me. Yeah. Yeah, I hate saying this at the college level because anybody can go pro at any level, but when you’re like starting now to like the MLB, what’s like the biggest thing you notice that makes a guy, you know, that falls out at double A or falls out at single A, you know, his career versus a guy who actually makes it? Yeah. Um, I think some guys tend to get satisfied. Uh, you know, oh, I’m in double A now. You know, I can lay back, but I think you always got to stay sharp and stay on your toes. And, you know, you might have a a minor setback or major setback, but that just always leads to if if you do, if you plan it correctly, it can lead to a major comeback as well. So, um, um, I think some guys tend to just fall out and, you know, let the game get too fast. Yeah. and you know there’s always someone coming for your spot so you got to you always got to keep moving forward. Yeah. Last few questions. I don’t want to take up too much of your time but I am interested like the diet side of things. Um what’s kind of like your diet and what’s like something you’d like suggest for like kids trying to like ramp up like high school kids going into you know college different things like that. Yeah. I mean obviously everyone’s build is different. Yeah. Um I think um you shouldn’t you know if you’re too skinny you you got to you got to put on some weight. Um, you can’t throw hard, you can’t hit hard, you can’t move fast. Uh, I think to be able to, you know, do all those things, you got to be at a good weight and you got to be pretty strong. So, you know, you got to get in the gym as soon as possible. Um, start working out, start eating healthy. Um, have you noticed the training is a little bit different down here for your little time here? Yeah. I mean um you know once you get here is more about maintaining and you know staying healthy then getting here you know you got you got to build up mass you got to build up strength you know to be to get seen to get there. So um you know you got to I feel like the sooner you can start eating healthy sooner you can start taking creatine protein all these all these different things um you know the better off you’ll be. Yeah. And then something like I feel like in the offseason too it’s like where you’re at I imagine there’s a lot of like catchers and everything like I know pitchers that have trouble finding somebody to catch or where they different things. What’s kind of like your offseason like plan because this is your first time going into an offseason as a professional you know baseball player. Yeah. Um you know for me I’m getting I’m getting straight to work uh you know with my trainer and um uh I think any time loss is going to hurt me. So, I think the sooner, of course, I’m going to enjoy family when I get back, but the sooner I can get to work and sooner I can start sharpening my pitches, sharpening the command, sharpening, you know, my body, um, everything like that, uh, the better, the more in shape and the stronger I’ll become spring training. So, yeah, I a lot I actually had two more. So, the one thing I always ask is like, what’s the best piece of advice you ever heard um in your career or it could just be life? Yeah. Um, I think it’s tough to put. talked about I know when I first got here we talked we had a meeting and we talked about uh small wins you know those add up um instead of like you know like I said like you have a good fast ball you want to add a curveball don’t try adding a curveball and a change up in two months instead try try putting all your try putting all your marbles into that one bucket which is a curveball and try you know try to get that curveball as good as possible before you work on the change up don’t look too far ahead yeah you know try doing one thing at a time And you know, small wins add up and you know at the end you’re going to look back and you you know all those small wins did lead up to me and look I’m in the major league. So yeah. Yeah. So this one’s always funny cuz I’ve had you know guys I love doing like when you guys are like in rookie down here was one of my buddies now he’s playing the OB and he’s come on we saw the gap in three years from this question. So you’re just starting your career as you know but when your career is over down the line how do you want to be remembered? Um a great teammate and uh you know fun to play with. on the field and um you know a great competitor and you know aggressive on the mound but uh super calm and collected and funny on off the field and uh in the dugout. Yeah. Well, I appreciate you again for your time, dude. Hope to keep in touch and see you on the gun. [Music]

I sat down with Washington Nationals prospect Miguel Sime Jr. to talk about his journey in baseball, his training routine, and what it takes to perform at the highest level. From his early days developing his game to his goals for the future, Miguel shares an inside look at life on and off the field as a rising player in the Nationals organization. #trending #memes #fyp #baseball #mlb #sports #interview #gaming #games #national #mlbdraft #dc #nfl #nba