There’s a price to pay when you turn pro.
And things paid off for “Pro” when he faced 2012 Cy Young winning pitcher David Price, now a Boston Red Sox, during spring training for the Salem Red Sox in late March in Florida.
“It was really cool to say I have faced a Cy Young-award winning pitcher and got a hit off him,” said Okotoks resident Jordan ‘Pro’ Procyshen. “It is something I will forever remember.”
Procyshen, 23, got a line-drive hit up the middle against Price. He readily admitted Price will pitch to Josh Donaldson a whole lot different in August than Jordan Procyshen in a spring training tune up.
It was all part of the learning process for Pro, when the catcher was drafted by the Red Sox in the 14th round in 2014, while he was playing for the Okotoks Dawgs.
Procyshen, a graduate of the Okotoks Junior Dawgs Academy, is returning to Salem, Virginia where he finished his first full-year of pro ball last fall. He started 2015 with the Class A league Greenville Drive, where he was an all-star catcher, before being called up to the Advanced A Salem.
He had a slump in Salem, hitting just .209 -- something the line-drive hitting Procyshen had never really experienced.
“It was definitely a struggle, I just wasn’t the same player -- I wasn’t confident and it showed,” the Holy Trinity Academy grad said. “My body started to break down, I had a few injuries, but it was a good experience for me. It allowed me to grow as a person.
“I am ready to start fresh.”
He admitted to getting tired in playing 140 games for the first time in his career last season.
“It’s definitely a grind,” Procyshen said. “The travel is a little less here (Salem) than it was in Greenville, but you’re still on buses, getting in at three or four in the morning and playing that night.”
He got off to a fresh start, going two-for-four in the Sox’s season-opener against the Carolina Mudcats with a pair of doubles on Thursday. He was hitting .400 in thee games.
He got a small taste in the spring of what it is like in the big leagues -- kind of like nibbling on a chive on a potato at a steak barbecue. Procyshen sat in the Boston Red Sox clubhouse during a preseason game in Florida.
“It was a great experience to take in the game,” Procyshen said. “I had the best seat in the house right on the bench.
“It was great to talk to the different coaches and learn from them.”
He had the chance to hang out with the Bosox catchers for a spell during spring training.
“We got to hang out with the Red Sox catchers a lot,” Procyshen said. “We got to hear about handling different pitchers in different situations.”
As a result, he feels much more prepared going into the long baseball season.
“I feel stronger back there and mentally it is just continuing to learn the game,” he said. “Being up there with the big leaguers I got to take in different aspects, what a catcher will call in certain situations.
“I feel mentally prepared in learning a staff. I’m ready to take it on.”
Procyshen came home to Okotoks for the offseason last winter.
He worked on his own game, while helping to coach the Junior Academy players, not far from his mom and dad’s home.
“I felt privileged to be part of the coaching staff there,” he said.
“Being there allowed me to further my game -- having those indoor facilities to work at and the coaches there to help me. It’s an unbelievable organization. Not only helping me get where I am today, but continuing to help me further my career.”
As for his future, he’s getting ready for Salem’s next game.
“Hopefully I can move up another level, but it’s easy to get caught up in that game,” Procyshen said. “My goal is to take it day by day, pitch by pitch and where ever it takes me, it will.”
