After his first two years of pro ball, Orioles catching prospect Creed Willems knew he had to make some changes.
Willems was an eighth-round pick in 2021 who received a $1 million signing bonus to forgo his commitment to TCU. He hit .167/.286/.208 in a small sample in the Florida Complex League shortly after being drafted in 2021, then he hit .190/.264/.321 in 68 games with Low-A Delmarva last summer.
Willems, who turns 20 next month, started with his body. Listed at 6-foot and 225 pounds, Willems lost 27 pounds this offseason. He got on a meal plan prescribed by the Orioles’ strength coaches and did cardio every day, whether that be running, swimming or riding a bike.
Willems was hitting .313/.444/.638 with 12 extra-base hits in 25 games with the Shorebirds prior to hitting the injured list on May 13.
“I feel more comfortable with myself, whether it’s catching, at first base, in the box, everything just feels so much better now,” Willems said on Glenn Clark Radio April 28. “It was one of those things that without our strength staff in the organization, it would have been a lot more difficult but they went about it in a great way and really helped me out a lot with that.”
Willems said he missed five weeks with an elbow injury last year, and the time off caused him to put on some weight. He told himself following the 2021 season that he needed to slim down, and so he did. Swimming in particular turned out to be a great exercise for Willems.
“I used to swim whenever I was younger and then I have some friends that were on the swim team, so I kind of got some insight from them,” Willems said. “But I think it was kind of a new thing for me because whenever I used to do it, it was for competitions and stuff, whereas now it’s more for exercise. … It was great, just because whenever you get out of the pool it’s not like your legs are sore from running. You just got a really good workout and it was full body, so I enjoy it a lot.”
Willems, a native of Aledo, Texas, was an off-the-radar selection by the Orioles in 2021 because he had a strong commitment to TCU. But the Orioles identified his talent and brought him to Camden Yards for a workout in June prior to the draft. He opened eyes during the workout, as the left-handed hitter launched home runs off the warehouse on a hop and into the bullpen.
When he got to spring training this year, Willems adopted a new approach and mindset in the batter’s box with the help of hitting coaches in the organization. And now, his confidence is back, leading to blasts like this one:
“I feel comfortable and so relaxed in the box,” Willems said. “Everything’s kind of just clicking right now.”
Willems uses a journal to recap all of his at-bats. The front of the journal reads, “The only important one is the next one,” a constant reminder to not get caught up in past at-bats.
“I think the big thing for me is just to continue to remember that the most important one’s the next one … and just being consistent with the work,” Willems said. “Challenging yourself in early work and stuff like that and just going about your business and taking care of what you need to take care of and kind of let the rest take care of itself.”
For more from Willems, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Joey Gardner