Rice Finds Success in Red Sox System
Before ever throwing a pitch, the 5'10", 190 pound Pawtucket Red Sox reliever Jason Rice appears unassuming on the mound to most batters. The right-hander has an average build and doesn't dial up fastballs close to triple digits on the radar gun. But he often leaves batters scratching their heads walking back to their dugout after failing to put the ball in play against Rice who is in his first season with Pawtucket.
Rice's journey to Triple-A has spanned seven professional seasons beginning in 2005, but included two years prior to that at Chaffey College, a community college in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. His decision to attend a non-Division-I school was calculated with the intent of circumventing the MLB rule that prevents Division-I players from entering the draft for three years following high school graduation. "I was committed verbally to San Diego State, but the pitching coach I had in college was my pitching coach in high school," he said. "He was [at Chaffey CC] and he told me my best option to have a chance at playing pro ball and not going three years before being eligible in the draft was to go to junior college."
His performance in his second year with Chaffey earned him 2005 All-Foothill Conference honors with a 5-1 record and 1.42 ERA. He was selected in the 11th round of the 2005 first-year player draft by the Chicago White Sox and that came as a surprise to him. "I did a couple of workouts for a lot of different teams before the draft came around just trying to showcase myself, and just hoping for the best."
Rice grew up an Angels fan in southern California, and had played at Angels Stadium as part of the Angels Elite club team. Because of all the exposure to the Angels scouts he was hopeful the Angels would select him, but he was just happy the White Sox were willing to take a chance on him. "Growing up that was my biggest dream was to get drafted and signed with a team," the 24-year old said. "It didn't matter if it was the last place team or the first place team- I just wanted the chance."
In four seasons in the Chicago farm system between 2005 and 2008, Rice made 123 appearances, including 47 starts, and had a 4.48 ERA. He never made it above high-A ball with Chicago, and in 2008 was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the minor league portion of the Minor League Rule 5 Draft.
Rice admits that he didn't even know what the Rule 5 Draft was and needed to have someone explain to him why he would be having a change of scenery prior to his fifth big league season. "I came over here with an open mind, willing to learn, and going out here playing the same game I've been playing since I was a kid," he said. Rice has seen career has blossom since switching organizations in 2008. After plodding through four seasons with a 4.48 ERA in Single-A for Chicago, his ERA in two-and-a-half seasons with Boston is down nearly two full runs to 2.69. He is 1-2, with a 2.97 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 30.1 innings with Pawtucket through June 1.
The 2010 Eastern League All-Star with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs credits the structure of the coaching staff for his uptick in success. "It's from the pitching coordinator to the big league pitching coach on down through the whole system," he said. "They stress delivery and all that kind of stuff that they break down and start you a foundation before you can build anything."
That shift in mentality has helped Rice develop from a fresh-out-of-school talent in the White Sox organization to a more polished pitcher with the Red Sox. "In college I was a thrower and now I'm learning how to pitch and make adjustments when you see guys over and over because they're making adjustments on you," he said.
Rice, the owner of a career 9.8 K/9 ration doesn't want to be misunderstood as a guy who has converted to a disciple of finesse pitching. "I still want to get the strikeout," he said. "But now you have to pitch to the situation depending on if there is a strikeout needed... but you need to get strike one before you get strike three."
As he shuffles around the clubhouse prior to the game, Rice wears two Boston Red Sox Phiten necklaces and dreams of one day in the not-so-distant future making his major league debut. If that dream is realized, Rice would add his name to the list of notable Chaffey College alumni who have gone on to have successful major league careers- a list that includes three-time All Star starting pitcher Darryl Kile and Hall-of-Famer Rollie Fingers.
"I think about that day every day," Rice said of his first game in the big leagues. "That's my purpose to come to the field is to go up [to Boston] and hopefully stay there one day. But it's just one-day-at-a-time and I hope my debut is with the Red Sox because I love it here."