Learning a whole new game, Zach Fish making strides at catcher

Zach Fish doesn't really feel right at home.

Even if he is right behind it.

Fish, an 11th-round pick in the 2014 MLB Draft, was brought into the Chicago White Sox organization with idea in mind that he would eventually be a catcher after spending three years in the outfield at Oklahoma State.

"I knew that when the instructional league started (last fall), I would probably move and go back behind the plate," said Fish, who batted .250, with 22 RBIs, five home runs and 11 doubles while primarily playing the outfield with the Voyagers last season. "So the last few weeks of the (2014) season, I started working out in the bullpen and started catching the guys and started getting back into it."

Fish played in 20 games for the Kannapolis Intimidators, a Low-A affiliate of the White Sox, in 2015.

"I caught halfway through spring training and the entire time I was in Kannapolis, all I did was catch," Fish, the Kalamazoo, Mich., native, said. "… It's all about progress. You are just trying to do the best you possibly can. And for me, it's a big learning curve right now."

He has now returned to Great Falls, where he is batting .275 in 10 games while assuming position behind the plate.

"To never catch, and then go in and catch guys who are throwing 95 with movement or 88 with movement, specialty pitches," said pitcher Matt Ball. "And he has to figure out what's what, who likes what. And new guys coming out of the bullpen, you have to figure them out."

Ball says Fish is improving just like the rest of the roster. It's evident, he said, by Fish's stats and the way Centene Stadium welcomes him to the plate.

"They like what he's doing this year," Ball said.

And so does Ball.

"He's a big target to throw to," he said. "I've thrown to him enough, so he has kind of figured out what I want to do. He'll give me an honest answer when my stuff's not great or I need to do something else and improve. As far as inning to inning changes or batter to batter changes, he'll be straight up with me and let me know what I need to do."

Fish has received help switching from outfield to catcher from Kannapolis manager Tommy Thompson; John Orton, the organization's catching instructor and former Voyager manager; and Cole Armstrong, the current Voyagers skipper.

"The biggest thing was changing my arm slot, going from an outfielder to a catcher, that was pretty big," Fish, 22, said.

The transition has been rather smooth.

"It's going good," Fish said of the current season. "I think, for me, the biggest thing is making sure I come out here and I work hard every day. Work on my defensive skills, receiving and blocking. … For me, being one of the only guys that's returning in the lineup, you have to be that kind of calm presence because you've been here and you know how nerve-racking it can be at times. You are putting on a uniform for an organization. You are playing for a professional team."

In the 20 games with Kannapolis, Fish was just .125 from the plate. He has increased his production nearly two times that, and he credits hitting coach Justin Jirschele for most of it. He's also been getting more playing time, which helps him get in more of a rhythm, he said.

"A lot the changes that you make are not always going to be physical; they are going to be mental a lot of the time to help you get on the right page," he said. " … I feel like I'm in a good spot mentally."

And right now, that means taking life day-by-day.

"If you worry too much about moves that are going to happen, or should happen about going up and down (levels), it's very taxing mentally," Fish said. "You don't want to think about those kinds of things. You just want to go out there and play for your teammates and you want to play for the city that you're playing in. And Great Falls has been awesome to me. I absolutely love the state of Montana. It's a beautiful place."