The New York Mets selected right-handed pitcher Andrew Church in the second round of the 2013 from Basic High School in Henderson, Nevada.

Church, 22, struggled in his first three years as a professional in the Mets system with an ERA over 4.50 each year as well as a WHIP over 1.40 from 2013-2015.

The 2016 season was a completely different story for Church. He made his season debut on May 24 with five great innings in which he allowed one unearned run on two hits and struck out nine for the Columbia Fireflies. All it took was one more good start before being promoted to the St. Lucie Mets.

Church made six starts for St. Lucie with his best being a complete game on June 23 in which he threw only 86 pitches. In those six starts in the Florida State League, he was 2-1 with a 3.60 ERA and 1.29 WHIP.

When Church was sent back down to Columbia he had the best start of his professional career when he threw a complete game one-hitter with ten strikeouts on 99 pitches. In nine starts for the Fireflies, he went 5-2 with a 2.22 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 8.3 K/9.

For his final outing of the season Church was rewarded with a promotion all the way up to Triple-A with the Las Vegas 51s. He was supposed to start the game but didn’t arrive at the park until the third inning. He pitched four innings and allowed three runs and struck out four.

Overall, Church went 7-4 with a 2.92 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and had 78 strikeouts compared to 25 walks in 95.2 innings.

Church is a quick worker that throws strikes with a fastball in the low 90’s and has a above average slider that is his swing and miss pitch.

MMN – First off, thanks for taking time to answer my questions and congrats on a great 2016 season. What was it like getting drafted in the 2nd round and what was the process like for you?

Andrew – No problem, thank you! I appreciate it. It was an amazing experience. Leading up to the day of the draft I was playing almost every day so it kept my mind off of it. I was actually at my High School playing catch when I got a call from my agent to go watch the TV. So I went into our clubhouse and watched them call my name with all of my teammates there. It was something I’ll never forget.

MMN – What were some of the struggles you battled in your first pro season?

Andrew –  I’d say staying healthy and letting my ego get in the way of pitching smart. On the health part it seemed like every start something didn’t feel right and so it was hard for me to have a repeatable delivery and now after I had the hip surgery following the season in Brooklyn I was able to repeat my delivery every pitch. And on the ego point I think I was so caught up on “Hey I can blow this guy away with a fastball” that I wasn’t looking for holes in his swing or his approach to beat him. This year I really watched hitters and saw different ways to attack and get outs.

MMN – Which brings me to my next question, what would you attribute the success you had this season to?

Andrew – I’d say just watching hitters and pitching smart and with conviction. It really opened my eyes when I started to really watch what the hitters are doing when they come to the plate or even taking their warm up swings. Also, seeing how they react to pitches will show you what they are looking to do so just taking advantage of that and having confidence in every pitch I was about to make. Knowing that if I throw it how I know I can, I will get outs.

MMN – Did having Fireflies games televised allow you to breakdown video of your own mechanics or any tendencies in certain hitters?

Andrew – Yes that did help, we had video that we could go back and look at and I usually looked at my mechanics between starts. As for hitters tendencies, I watched some video for that to get a base line of what their swing was like, but I prefer watching during games really at what they are doing on the on deck circle and in between pitches and how they look in the box.

MMN – For readers that haven’t seen you throw, can you describe your pitch arsenal and how you generally like to attack hitters.

Andrew – I throw a fastball, a slider, a curve and a change up. I like pounding down in the zone with my fastball and get ahead early. I have a good feel for throwing strikes with all my pitches, so it helps to keep them off balance. I don’t generally look for strikeouts because I prefer to keep my pitch count down to go deeper into games, but I’d say my slider would be my go to strikeout pitch.

MMN – And you proved the pitch count point to be true this year with two complete games this year which is has become pretty rare in baseball these days. When I’ve seen you it seems like you want to work very quickly and get into a groove if you can.

Andrew – Yes, every time I step on the mound I want to go 9 innings. I hate coming out after 5-6 because then I feel like I didn’t put my team in a good position to win. As a starter I want to be able to put my team in a good spot to come away every game with a win. Yes I’ve always liked working quick, I’m a high intensity guy so I want to keep up the tempo and put the pressure on the hitters. I’m comfortable figuring out what I need to do every pitch very quickly so if the hitter isn’t ready when they get in the box then I already have an advantage.

MMN – You got to pitch in Vegas which is right next to where you grew up, how did that feel and tell me about the crazy travel that made it happen.

Andrew – That was an awesome experience! We were actually on the road in El Paso so I didn’t get to have my family all out there but it was fun anyway! The travel was the most stressful experience I’ve ever had lol. My flight was supposed to actually land in El Paso at 1 p.m. so I’d have enough to to get ready to pitch. The plane ended up needing maintenance and then we had to wait for another plane to come in and it got pushed back to my plane landing at 7 p.m. The game was supposed to start at 7 so I rushed out of there, caught a taxi to the stadium, and jogged out to the bullpen to start throwing off the mound.

MMN – What have you been doing this offseason to prepare for 2017?

Andrew – I’ve been in the gym working out with other pro guys from Vegas. Me, Paul Sewald (Mets relief prospect) and everyone else are there at 5:30 am working out and preparing for the season. Then we go to the fields and throw. I’ve actually put on 10 pounds this offseason so I’m excited for this upcoming year.

MMN – What are some things you feel you need to work on to take the next step in your development?

Andrew – I need to get my changeup more consistent and I need to be able to stay healthy for a full season. If I can keep the ball down, mix in all my pitches for strikes, repeat my delivery, and be healthy every year, I believe I can be a dominant pitcher.

MMN – If you had to pick one ML pitcher you try to most emulate who would it be?

Andrew – I would say I try to most emulate Greg Maddux. Not mechanics or anything like that, just mind set. I like how focused he was and how in tune he was with the game. He could put any of his pitches where he wanted and he was as smart as they come when it comes to reading hitters.

MMN – Thanks for answering all my questions and good luck in 2017!

Andrew – No problem! Thank you!