Skip to main content

Shortstop prospect Quinn has positive outlook after Achilles surgery

The following article originally appeared on ShoreSportsNetwork.com, your home for coastal New Jersey sports.

Roman Quinn, Image- Jay Floyd
After suffering his second major injury in a stretch of four months, 2013 Lakewood BlueClaws shortstop Roman Quinn is bouncing back both physically and mentally and hopes to be better than ever when he returns to the field this coming season.

Following recovery from a broken left wrist he suffered in mid-season when he was hit by a pitch, the Phillies shortstop prospect experienced the second considerable physical setback of 2013 when he ruptured his right Achilles tendon while running sprints during routine workouts earlier this off-season. After the second considerable blow to his health, Quinn found himself with a feeling of defeat and went through a period of seclusion.

The 20-year-old was the Phils' second round draft choice in 2011 and was the among the organization's top prospect, according to many outlets, heading into last season.

Surgery to repair the Achilles was completed nearly three months ago and Quinn is already ahead of schedule.

Praised for his fleet-footed efforts in beating out grounders for hits, swiping bags with ease and taking extra bases where others couldn't, Quinn doesn't feel as though his recent injury will impact the key weapon of his game, his speed.

"No worries at all. I did my research and all I gotta do is train hard and next year, I'll be back stronger," Quinn said in his first interview since undergoing surgery.

Initially, though, the realization that he'd be out of action for another lengthy stretch, with such a troublesome ailment, highly discouraged the Port St. Joe, FL native. It was discussions with another Phillies minor leaguer who had been through Achilles surgery that allowed Quinn to bounce back psychologically.

"It brought me down real low, man," Quinn explained. "It was just very discouraging until I talked with Albert Cartwright, actually. He had the same injury. I talked to him about his injury and everything and he was just telling me, 'Stay with it and just go hard in your rehab, man, and you can come back even faster, even stronger.' 'Cause that's exactly what he did and as soon as I heard that, it gave me all my confidence back."

Cartwright, who was originally a Houston draft pick and joined the Phillies in a trade prior to the 2011 season, became good friends with Quinn when Cartwright was making a comeback in the spring of 2012.  Cartwright, who was very happy to share details of his personal triumphs with the younger Quinn, was away from the diamond for six months and didn't play in a game for seven months, while he recovered from surgery on his right Achilles tendon in 2011.

The 26-year-old Cartwright says there's no lasting impact on his health, relating to his game play. 

"It's funny because people ask me about how my foot is doing, if it still gives me problems and I chuckle because I think I worry about my other foot more than the one I injured," Cartwright said.

Quinn, who was still adapting to a new position (he was mostly an outfielder in high school prior to turning pro) and working to develop his skills at switch-hitting (Quinn is a natural righty batter) last year, was far from satisfied with the efforts he put forth in 2013 with the BlueClaws. The youngster feels, though, that the struggles to this point will help him be tougher on the field and between his ears.

"I really think that this is going to help me out a lot," Quinn stated. "It could be a blessing in disguise. I think that anything to help me slow everything down again and getting everything figured out mentally, because mentally is, like, the biggest part of the game, I think it would make me a tougher player. Facing more adversity and overcoming that, man, it's gonna play out real well."

As a member of the BlueClaws last year, the five-foot-ten 170-pounder batted .238 with five home runs, 21 RBI and 32 stolen bases. Quinn made his professional debut with Class-A short-season Williamsport in 2012, posting a .281 batting average with a homer, 23 RBI and a league leading 30 steals in 66 contests. He was also tops in the New York-Penn League in triples with 11 and runs scored with 56 in his first year in the minors.

With a daily routine that includes 10 minutes of walking on a treadmill, 10 minutes on an exercise bike, loads of stretching and calf raises as well as a normal gym routine for the rest of his body, Quinn is pain-free and optimistic for a mid-season return in 2014. He is currently targeting late June or early July this year to participate in game action.

"I'm feeling great. My Achilles doesn't bother me at all. It just gets real tight some days and I have to stretch it out. It's feeling really good. I'm feeling really good about my recovery and coming back to play."

Quinn would likely see action in the rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies, who play in Clearwater, FL, where organizational training staff could continue to monitor and work with youngster, before he might make a return to Lakewood's FirstEnergy Park.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

2021 Phillies Top Prospects Countdown: #22 SS Casey Martin

Please visit Patreon.com/PhoulBallz in order to support my work, get access to material like this before anyone else and get access to interviews as well as other exclusive content you can't get anywhere else.   A third round draft pick last year, Arkansas junior Casey Martin was quickly signed by the Phillies and consideration as one of the organization's top infield prospects quickly began.  The team's confidence in his ceiling is likely evident in the signing bonus he got, which was reportedly $1.3 million, which was considerably more than slot money dictated by his 87th overall draft position ($685K). The right-handed batting Martin tallied a .311/.393/.545 slash line with 30 homers, 24 steals and 112 RBI in 143 games through his college career at Arkansas.  Reports had him falling in the draft as a result of an injury to the hamate bone in his left hand prior to his 2020 season.  Prior to the procedure, Baseball America projected Martin as a top ten draft pick.

Slick fielding Sam is the Champion of the (PhoulBallz) world!

Phillies Ball(z)girl Sam Arnone was kind enough to answer some questions for the PhoulBallz site and all of you. Sam will be entering her 3rd season as a Phillies ballgirl and is a junior at Drexel University. Sam hails from the great town of Mt. Ephram, NJ. 1- Since the Phillies are the World Champions of baseball teams, are the Phillies ballgirls the world champions of ballgirl teams? - Of Course!!! There are not that many teams that have Ballgirls, so the competition is a little scarce. I would definitely put my team up against any other Ballgirl team with full confidence! 2- What is your routine to prepare for a day of on-field duties? - Before a game, I am always a little nervous. Once I am ready to leave my house and head to the ballpark I triple check my bag to make sure I have my glove and then I check again. I always have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat because it keeps me full and gives me energy for the entire game. I guess I might have to find a new favorite sa

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal