SUGAR LAND, Texas — His strikeouts are down and his overall production is up, yet Shay Whitcomb is still in Triple-A.
We discovered Whitcomb, playing for the Houston Astros' affiliate in Sugar Land, has embraced a certain saying that helps him navigate this unpredictable world of professional baseball.
"When you look at your numbers and what you've been able to do, what are you most proud of?" KHOU 11 News' Jason Bristol recently asked Whitcomb. "I think probably, in contrast to years prior, just strikeout percentages (declining) and walk rates (increasing)."
When we talked with Whitcomb, he was among the Pacific Coast League leaders in nearly every offensive category: home runs (24), RBI (89), stolen bases (26), slugging percentage (.531) and batting average (.296), among others. In the field, he's played shortstop, third base and first base.
He's also a popular target among autograph seekers.
When the Astros have needed help at the big league level, though they've promoted other players and not him.
"All these guys, they're my friends," Whitcomb, who claims to not be bothered by any of it, said. "It's nothing just but pure joy and excitement for me."
He also credits his faith.
"I trust that the Lord's plan for my life is to be exactly where my feet are right now, in this moment, and this is where he's placed me. And if he's going to call me up to that next level, then he will in due time," he said.
That doesn't surprise Whitcomb's manager with the Space Cowboys, Mickey Storey.
"Shay's one of the best I've ever seen at separating the outside noise and what he needs to do on a daily basis," Storey said.
And the saying which Shay's taken to heart?
On his Instagram page, you'll find a lot of posts about his other passion: surfing.
"I was born on the West Coast," Whitcomb, from San Diego, said. "That's one of my activities that I really enjoy."
Bristol: "I got thinking about this in surfing, you just gotta ride the wave. And it seems like in minor league baseball, the grind, you just have to kind of ride the wave and just embrace all the ups and downs that the sport entails."
"Absolutely, it's funny that you say that, because one of one of our pitchers always tells me, he goes, 'Ride the wave,' like, 'ride the wave, Shay,'" Whitcomb said. "And I'm, like, 'Hey, I'm great at doing that.'"
Whitcomb now hopes that the next wave, one day, carries him to the big leagues.