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Minor league notebook. Date published: 5/8/2005
Darrell Rasner wasn't surprised when Major League Baseball's 1999 First-Year Player Draft came and went without his name being called. As a senior at Carson City (Nev.) High School, Rasner broke his left (non-throwing) arm several months earlier during a freak weight room accident and knew he was damaged goods in the eyes of most scouts. He never realized how important the oversight would become. Instead of playing professionally, Rasner attended the University of Nevada and carved out a nice career for himself. He was a freshman All-American, and left school with records for innings pitched, victories and strikeouts. And along the way, he learned how to pitch. "I guess it was a blessing overall because it worked out pretty good for me," Rasner said. "It helped quite a bit because I learned how to pitch, learned how to deal with the crowds and just all the other things that go into baseball." Rasner wasn't overlooked three years later when he was drafted in the second round by the Montreal Expos, and has since spent his time making those that doubted him pay. He breezed through the first three levels of the Expos minor leagues and overcame a slow start at Double-A Harrisburg by logging a 0.69 ERA and 14 strikeouts in two starts a week ago. He was named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for the week ending May 1, and has compiled a 3.24 ERA in six games. He struggled in his first three starts, but when Harrisburg manager Keith Bodie and pitching coach Randy Tomlin sat him down for a talk, he heard the message he learned in college. "That really set me in the right direction," Rasner said. "They told me to pitch more and not worry about throwing so hard, change speeds and that kind of stuff." He had to learn that in college after blowing most hitters away in high school. His fastball topped out at 91 mph before he was injured, but dipped about 10 mph during the start of his senior season because of his injury. That was enough to scare away the scouts, but it never deterred Rasner, who is 6-foot-1 and utilizes a nasty 92 mph sinker.
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