Finnegan begins climb back to bright lights

Brandon Finnegan knows the meaning of a "big stage."

He dominated on the mound for Team USA on the international level, he battled eventual runner-up Virginia in the College World Series for Texas Christian University, and Finnegan made his Major League debut for the Royals in the middle of a playoff run -- all within 14 months.

Oh yeah, and then he pitched in the World Series.

"It was just fun," the Royals' No. 4 prospect said, trying to put the year into words. "Definitely something that was fun to experience; it was a dream come true, really."

The southpaw became the first pitcher to throw in the College World Series and the World Series in the same year -- an accomplishment that takes almost as much luck as it does skill.

"Being able to watch him go through that was definitely very cool," said No. 3 Reds prospect Nick Howard, who toed the rubber for Virginia against Finnegan's TCU in the CWS. "I'd be very hard-pressed to see that again in my lifetime. It was a very special story and very cool to see."

After 27 Minor League innings, Finnegan, who won't turn 22 until April, didn't have much trouble in the playoffs at the big league level -- aside from an inning in Game 4 of the World Series -- and pitched in what Scott Sharp, the Royals assistant general manager, said were the two most crucial innings of the playoffs.

"He doesn't throw the two innings in the Wild Card game the way that he pitched those two innings, we probably don't beat Oakland," he said. "We hadn't been to the playoffs in 29 years and we were roughly four outs away from being eliminated. To come back and for him to hold leads and to do the things that he did, hold the team without scoring, was really phenomenal."

MLB.com's No. 76 overall prospect limited opponents to one run on three hits over his next five outings as he etched his name in history books. Though the Royals ultimately went home without a ring, Finnegan's hat was sent to Cooperstown. After the historic rise ended, Finnegan and fans alike were left to reflect on what unfolded and wonder about what was yet to come for the young southpaw.

Focused on the sophomore campaign ahead, Finnegan stuck to his normal routine in the offseason. The Texas native went back to his roots and lived with a few former TCU teammates, including D-backs prospect Kevin Cron, in the Lone Star State.

"Brandon is one of my really good buddies. … We established that brotherly bond relationship that you don't really just have with anybody," Cron said. "We gave him some [guff] about a big league guy surrounded by all the college and Minor League guys, but it was definitely really cool to be able to watch what he was doing and know that two months ago, he was grinding it out with us, doing what we were doing."

When the offseason wound down, Finnegan received an invite to big league camp for his first Spring Training and was told he would go into it as a starter. Sharp as well as other Royals executives and coaches wanted to see how the young pitcher would feel after such a long season.

As the Cactus League began, speculation grew about whether Finnegan would start the season in the Majors as a reliever or go to the Minors as a starter.

"Of course I don't like [relieving] -- I've been a starter my whole life," he said before camp started. "But whatever they want me to do, that's what I'm going to have to do either way, so I'm going to make the most of it."

Finnegan took to the mound for four relief appearances this spring. He was back in a Major League jersey, with his TCU necklace loosely tucked into the collar -- just like five months ago -- but the results weren't as good.

Maybe it was a product of a nine-month-long season the year before or that it was his first camp. Perhaps it was the pressure of breaking camp cloaked by the small stage of Spring Training. Whatever it was -- though Sharp said it was not mechanical -- Finnegan's stats didn't show his potential.

After allowing seven runs -- six earned -- on nine hits while striking out four over 6 1/3 innings, the Royals decided it was time for the young pitcher to be reassigned to Double-A Northwest Arkansas.

"It's just such a small sample, but you just judge guys on where you think they're going to be throughout the course of the year and where they can help you the most and where it's best for anyone's particular career," Sharp said. "We as a group thought it was best for him to start in the Minor Leagues."

Although Finnegan has the advanced tools to be in "The Show" with his plus fastball and slider as well as a decent changeup, Sharp and Naturals manager Vance Wilson agree he just needs more seasoning in the Minors before he can truly be Major League-ready.

"I think the biggest thing with a kid like Brandon and the fact that he was in the Major Leagues, he kind of skipped some of the development and not from a pitching standpoint, on the mound, just fundamentals of baseball," the manager said. "Of course he's going to be a good player, and a pitcher of his caliber, you're happy to have him, [but] more than anything, I'm just glad that between my pitching coach, Jim Brower, and myself, he'll develop into a more well-rounded baseball player."

Finnegan pitched in eight games with the Naturals last season before making his debut with the Royals, and the club wants the 5-foot-11 hurler to continue to develop and tackle that level -- something Wilson said he is uniquely capable of doing.

"I just think the way he goes about every game is the same [is what makes him special]," Wilson said. "Whether it was the College World Series, Double-A, the World Series -- he's really able to live in the moment, stay in the moment, not get too high and not get too low."

Starting in the Minors, 2015 will prove to be more of a normal season for Finnegan, but not average by any means. In just his second season, the southpaw is expected to return to the bigs at some point. This time, he hopes to not only stick, but to claim the ring that eluded him last October.