Orioles catching prospect Creed Willems earned South Atlantic League Player of the Month honors for April, hitting .299/.333/.642 with 11 extra-base hits during the month to power High-A Aberdeen’s offense.
The hot start came after Willems struggled during his time with the IronBirds a year ago, when he slashed .192/.267/.319 with 18 extra-base hits in 311 plate appearances. It’s not surprising the 20-year-old is finding more success in his second try at the High-A level, but his numbers are way up across the board, and he credits a shift in approach for the uptick in production.
“You kind of have to know the situation and understand the situation and know that not every time you need to go up there trying to hit a home run,” Willems said on Glenn Clark Radio May 10. “This year I’ve really tried to focus on that. You’re just trying to salvage every run you can get and try to put runs up on the board. I feel like a lot of the time in the past I get runners in scoring position I’m like, ‘I want to try to hit a home run.’ I think that’s where I really hurt myself, whereas this year it’s been, ‘All right, we’ve got runners on, let’s just put the ball in play and get those runs on the board.’ The mindset’s really been a big thing for me.”
Listed at 5-foot-11 and 225 pounds, Willems has been working to slim down since signing for $1 million as an eighth-round pick in 2021. The catcher struggled out of the gate in pro ball but has picked up the pace since then, with an emphasis on his body paying dividends at Low-A Delmarva a year ago.
This year, Willems has dropped 10 pounds since the start of spring training. He credits an improved diet for helping him out in that regard. He swims and rides a bike during the offseason as well.
“I think a lot of it I think just came from talking to our strength and conditioning staff and understanding the proper amounts of food and stuff like that and how to portion it out and not eat too much of it but eat enough of it where your body is being fueled. That was a big thing,” Willems said.
As was the case in previous years, Willems is getting a lot of work at first base in addition to behind the plate. He noted that the IronBirds don’t have an everyday first baseman, so a few players rotate through, including Matthew Etzel, Adam Retzbach and Willems.
“You have a couple of guys get promoted or get hurt or whatever it may be, it’s like, ‘All right, you’ve really got to play more first base just to stay in the lineup,'” Willems said. “That’s what I really care about. Wherever I play, I just want to be in the lineup. I don’t mind playing first base at all. You’re not in a squat all game, so it’s kind of a good rest day or whatever it may be and you get to still go out there and hit.”
If he continues to hit, Willems figures to get a shot at Double-A Bowie before long. But he’s trying his best not to look ahead and focus on the task at hand every day with the IronBirds.
“I think it’s one of those things that you can’t really try to force it. You’ve got to kind of just let it come to you,” Willems said. “I have experiences in the past, I try to force something and try to do more and that’s when things start to go downhill.”
For more from Willems, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Aberdeen IronBirds