Jake Muyco was convinced he could hit. It was Spring Training 2008, and he was a catcher on Double-A Tennessee's roster.
The Cubs' coaching staff wasn't as convinced. They talked to Muyco about possibly switching from position player to pitcher.
"I was like, 'Oh, I can still play,'" Muyco said.
But he began 2008 batting .190 in eight games, going 4-for-21. Those four hits weren't enough. Muyco had a career Minor League average of .200. But he did have a good arm. Someone on the staff asked Muyco to throw in the bullpen.
"I threw it, and I was mad at first," Muyco said during a recent interview in Mesa, Ariz. "I was like, 'Oh, I can catch.' I went ahead and [threw] and decided to do it and hopefully, it's another path to the big leagues."
Muyco is testing his arm in the Arizona Fall League with the Mesa Solar Sox, and it's been a little rough. In five starts so far, he's given up 17 runs — including seven in 2 2/3 innings on Oct. 25 — on 29 hits and six walks over 16 2/3 innings. Teams were batting .408 off the right-hander.
During the season, he pitched in relief and compiled a 3.67 ERA in 40 games with eight saves for Double-A Tennessee and a 5.59 ERA in 14 games with Triple-A Iowa.
An eighth-round Draft pick in 2005 out of North Carolina State, Muyco, 26, isn't going to blow batters away.
"I don't throw as hard as a lot of guys," he said, "but I think it's good enough to get big league hitters out."
When he decided to go along with the conversion in 2008, Muyco was sent from Tennessee back to Arizona for extended spring camp. He stayed there two months, then went to Class A Boise, then moved up to Class A Peoria, where he finished the year. In 21 games with the Chiefs, he had a 1.80 ERA.
Maybe the Cubs' coaches were onto something.
After spending so much time squatting behind home plate, Muyco recalls that first game on the mound was a little weird.
"It was definitely different," he said. "[Home plate] looks farther away than it does when you're behind the plate."
He doesn't argue with his catchers, although Muyco admits he may have done so a few times that first year regarding pitch selection. Now?
"If I want to throw something different, I just shake my head," he said.
He totaled 56 1/3 innings at Tennessee and 19 1/3 innings at Iowa this year. The Cubs would like him to reach 100 innings for the season, which is why he's pitching in the AFL.
Chicago has had success converting position players to pitchers. Cubs closer Carlos Marmol and starter Randy Wells both were catchers. Muyco still looks like he could put the gear on and fit behind the plate.
"Now that I'm a pitcher, I wish I was [6-foot-4]," said Muyco, who is 6-foot.
The right-hander likes being a reliever and enjoys the competitiveness. Does he miss anything about catching?
"I just miss hitting [in batting practice] once in a while," he said. "I couldn't hit in a game, but hitting in BP was pretty fun. Pitching is not as tough as catching every day."