Getting to know Marlins reliever Kyle Barraclough
Not much was known about the minor leaguer the Miami Marlins received for former closer Steve Cishek prior to the trade deadline.
Right-hander Kyle Barraclough wasn't ranked among the St. Louis Cardinals' top prospects in a stacked farm system.
The 25-year-old reliever from Santa Clara, California, attended St. Mary's College of California. He was taken in the seventh round of the 2012 Draft and missed most of 2013 with shoulder injuries. Barraclough became a Double-A All-Star this season by recording 16 saves. After the deal with Miami, he appeared in just three outings for the Jacksonville Suns before the Marlins called him up.
Since making his debut on Aug. 7, he is 1-0 with a 0.75 ERA in 11 appearances. Over 12 innings, Barraclough -- pronounced "Bear claw" -- has given up just one run on four hits with 14 strikeouts and eight walks. His fastball regularly reaches the upper 90s.
FOXSportsFlorida.com's Christina De Nicola recently caught up with Barraclough to talk about his football past, whirlwind month and competitive nature...
FOX SPORTS FLORIDA: When did you first start playing baseball? What made you start?
KYLE BARRACLOUGH: Little league when I was probably 4 or 5. Parents sign you up to get you out of the house. Probably around then. Played tee-ball all through little league.
FSF: Anybody in the family play baseball?
BARRACLOUGH: My dad played a little bit, but he was more of a football player. It was more his father was a baseball player in the minor leagues for a couple of years for the Giants. Once he had my dad and his two brothers they needed some more money and went away from baseball.
FSF: What position did you play?
BARRACLOUGH: I was a wide receiver and cornerback. Little skinnier back in high school (he is now 6-foot-3, 225 pounds). Little wiry kid. (I was a) receiver that tended to stay away from all the contact and keep my arm safe.
FSF: You throw pretty fast. When did you realize that you could?
BARRACLOUGH: Probably high school. I was pretty good in little league and then size kept catching up, and as I hit high school my arm started getting stronger and (I could) throw harder. My senior year I was one of the harder throwers. Then (in) college, got in the weight room and that helped it even more. Realized it in high school, but didn't really take advantage of it until I got to college.
FSF: Did you have a nickname?
BARRACLOUGH: Nope, just "Bear claw." I mean, that serves as its own nickname.
FSF: With the nickname and then how fast you could throw, did that intimidate high school kids?
BARRACLOUGH: I don't know. I was 6-1, 6-2, 175 pounds, so I'm sure I wasn't that intimidating.
FSF: What's your favorite thing about playing baseball?
BARRACLOUGH: Just the competitiveness and everything. I'm a very competitive person in everything that I do. Kind of comes out in baseball. It's tough. You've got to keep your emotions and everything, but mostly just that.
FSF: You were a starter in college and then transitioned into a reliever. Aside from the obvious amount you pitch, what's the biggest difference? Probably can put more maximum effort.
BARRACLOUGH: Definitely. You don't have to keep anything in the tank. You're coming in for 1-2 innings and probably only facing a hitter once in that game. You don't really have to save anything for later in the game. You can just throw everything you have at him and let it all go.
FSF: How did your first big-league outing feel like? You got traded, didn't expect to be up that soon in the big leagues...
BARRACLOUGH: It was pretty surreal. I wasn't as nervous as I thought I was going to be. Once you get out there the lights are a little brighter, but it's the same game I've been playing since I was 6. It was definitely more of a surreal (feeling). I was numb more than anything.
FSF: Is it overwhelming with how quick everything happened to get to know people?
BARRACLOUGH: Kind of, but you just get used to that. Any team or any organization you get moved up or moved down. You've got to meet new people and be on a different team with a different group of guys, so it wasn't too bad. Definitely just more of the big-league factor coming into play and the shock of playing in bigger stadiums and guys have been here doing it at the highest level for multiple years.
FSF: Last thing. What's the most unique or fun fact about yourself?
BARRACLOUGH: I don't know if I have a good one. Mostly just go home, play some video games, hang out...
FSF: See, when you said competitive earlier the first thing I thought of was video games! What's your go-to one?
BARRACLOUGH: Probably Madden. More into the sports games than the shooting games.
FSF: What's the one team you have to play as? Favorite player?
BARRACLOUGH: The Niners. Always. (Note: He grew up outside of San Francisco). It was Patrick Willis, but he retired, so I mean -- Jerry Rice -- growing up. Joe Montana. Steve Young. Those guys.
You can follow Christina De Nicola on Twitter @CDeNicola13 or email her at cdenicola13@gmail.com.
