Drabek aims to regain control

The son of former Cy Young Award winner Doug Drabek, Kyle Drabek has seemingly been on the fast track to the majors since he was born.

Acquired by the Blue Jays before last season in the trade that sent Roy Halladay to the Phillies, Drabek excelled at Double-A New Hampshire last year and bypassed the Triple-A level en route to the big leagues.

The right-hander, 23, made three starts in September and opened this season in impressive fashion for Toronto, going 3-0 with a 3.30 ERA in his first five starts.

But Drabek has struggled mightily since then, going 2-5 with a 7.38 ERA in nine outings. His 52 walks are the most in the majors (against 48 strikeouts) and he has the third-highest ERA at 5.70.

After Drabek surrendered a career-high eight runs to the Boston Red Sox on Sunday in a 14-1 loss, the Blue Jays sent him to Las Vegas on Tuesday to work out his control problems.

"There are some things I'm trying to refine in my game. I need to be able to throw more strikes," Drabek said Thursday after throwing a bullpen session before the 51s' 7-3 loss to the Colorado Springs Sky Sox at Cashman Field.

"Early on I was getting ahead of hitters and being able to stay ahead. But in my last three or four starts, it just seemed like I'd get behind them, or if I was ahead I'd let them right back into the count," he said. "That's what got me in trouble, walking people."

Drabek, Toronto's top prospect, is slated to make his first start for the 51s at home at 12:05 p.m. Sunday against the Reno Aces.

"I want to make sure I can get ahead of batters and stay there," he said.

51s pitching coach Tom Signore, who worked with Drabek last year at New Hampshire, said he just needs to stop trying to be perfect.

"He's trying to dot a bug's behind and he doesn't need to do that with his stuff," he said. "But he just threw a great (bullpen session) and did exactly what we're trying to get him to do.

"I don't expect him to be here long. He doesn't belong here. He belongs up in the big leagues."

While the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League isn't the ideal place for a pitcher to regain confidence, that's the main reason Toronto sent its prized prospect here instead of the Eastern League.

"I think the adversity that Las Vegas is going to present is what's needed," Blue Jays manager John Farrell said.

A two-time Texas high school player of the year, Drabek was a 2006 first-round draft pick by the Phillies. He threw a no-hitter last season for New Hampshire and went 14-9 with a 2.94 ERA en route to Eastern League Pitcher of the Year honors.

Drabek, who fittingly will make his Triple-A debut on Father's Day, said his famous father taught him virtually everything he knows about pitching and also offered advice on how to handle his demotion.

"He was telling me, 'You can't look at it as the worst thing in the world. Look at it as an opportunity to get better.' " he said. "And that's what I'm going to try to do, work as hard as I can to get back up there and be successful."

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.