Cory VanAllen was running in the outfield on one of the fields at the Nationals' sprawling spring training complex in Viera, Fla., in March when minor league pitching coordinator Spin Williams caught up with him and asked a question that, two months later, seems to have changed VanAllen's career.
"How do you feel about just bagging [the curve ball] and throwing the slider?" Williams asked.
VanAllen's response was exactly what you'd expect from a 23-year-old looking to move up from Single-A in his third professional season: "I'm willing to do whatever."
So began VanAllen's stunning rise among the Nationals' plentiful pool of pitching prospects. After a failed experiment with adding a curve to his repertoire, VanAllen has successfully developed a slider that, as his stats indicate, makes him exponentially more dangerous to hitters.
He will pitch tonight for Double-A Harrisburg with a 5-0 record and a microscopic 0.68 ERA, the lowest of any minor league pitcher with enough innings to qualify.
"It's been exciting," VanAllen said by phone this week. "I really felt like once I just had something that I could throw out there for another look, it would help my fastball and changeup. I feel like my fastball and changeup are good enough to where they can get the job done. Throwing the slider in there just makes it that much better."
VanAllen's fastball and changeup have always been good. The left-hander was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third round of the 2003 draft, but he didn't sign and went to Baylor University instead. Washington drafted him in the fifth round of 2006 with hopes that he could develop an effective breaking ball.
He tried to develop a curve over the last year, but he simply wasn't comfortable throwing it. When he threw it well, he would struggle to duplicate it. There were also problems with his arm slot. That contributed to his 5-14 record and 4.41 ERA in his first two minor league seasons.
"I think [the slider] goes along better with me because I like to work off my fastball and I can throw my slider hard," VanAllen said. "Whereas I felt with the curve ball that I had to kind of let up a little bit, and that mentally didn't work out for me."
Williams and Single-A Potomac pitching coach Randy Tomlin were instrumental in helping VanAllen hone the slider during spring training and in April, when VanAllen was at Potomac. Because VanAllen's fastball is so effective (he has good command, tops out at 93 mph and averages 90), the coaches believed he'd be most comfortable throwing a pitch that calls for his arm action to replicate that of his fastball.
It quickly became obvious to Tomlin that the slider made VanAllen much more confident on the mound.
"It becomes difficult to go through the lineup three times without a third pitch to give them a different look, and certainly for him, something he could get left-handed hitters out with," Tomlin said. "That has made a huge difference in that he has a third pitch now where they just can't sit on one or the other. And the fact that it has become a really good pitch for him has helped him a great deal against right-handed hitters, as well, because he can get swings and misses with it. It breaks really well and has a sharp break on it."
VanAllen went 3-0 for Potomac and gave up only two earned runs in 27 innings. He struck out 19 and walked seven. With those numbers, he was bound for a promotion.
"The development of that pitch earned his promotion to Double-A because he needed a third pitch to go there," Washington general manager Jim Bowden said.
VanAllen won his first two starts at Harrisburg after surrendered only one earned run in 12 innings. With that, he garnered Eastern League pitcher of the week honors.
His fast progression to begin the season is reminiscent of how Nationals left-hander John Lannan began last year at Potomac and ended up in Washington by July.
VanAllen is not counting on such a meteoric rise for himself, but he's aware of the path that was blazed last year.
"It's nice to know that we're in an organization that rewards consistency and success at the lower levels, and they're not afraid to do it quick," he said. "It's definitely on my mind, but it's kind of one of those things that's in the back. I know that if I focus and stay in the present and keep trying to do what I'm doing, everything will take care of the rest."
Rich Campbell: 540/735-1974
Email: rcampbell@freelancestar.com