Dave Middendorf, a pitcher for the Lake Erie Crushers of the independent Frontier League, has found success starting after struggling in relief roles in affiliated ball. At 6'4" and 225 lbs, he was too big for bus seats as a rookie but learned to be comfortable sleeping on the floor. Now 24, he mentors younger players on the Crushers and has turned into their best starter with a team-high 9 wins and a 2.61 ERA. Middendorf hopes another chance in affiliated ball could come if a team notices his improved performance in the Frontier League.

1. Dave Middendorf issobig thathe has to sleeponthe floorof the bus.
Well,he doesn’thave toanymore,butitworkedsowell forhim as a rookie in the KansasCityRoyals’
organization thathe’sjuststuckwithit.
Rookieshadto double upinseatson longbus trips.Atsix-feet-four-inches,and225 pounds,itwas
nearlyimpossible forMiddendorf togetcomfortable.Finallyhe laidhimselfdownonthe floor.He
learnedtobringa pillowandblanketforoptimal relaxation.
“I’m a bigdude,andI want to sleep,”Middendorf said.
He startedsleepingdownthere andstartedfeelingbetterafterwards.Now,he getshisownseat,buthe
still sleepsonthe floorforthe comfortfactor.
Perhapsthatis part of the reasonMiddendorf issocomfortable pitchingfor the Lake Erie Crushersin
the FrontierLeague,anindependentleague spanningbetweenWashington,PennsylvaniaandRiverCity,
Missouri.Independentleaguesare the floorof the busin the baseball world.
Some leagues extendinvitationstoformerbigleaguers,aswell asyoungerplayerstryingtogetscouts’
attention.The FrontierLeague isdifferent.Eachteamhasjust one rosterspotavailable toplayersolder
than 27. Noteammay rostera playerolderthan30, and there mustbe at least11 rookieson eachteam.
Thisstop throughthe rust beltismeantfor those playerstryingtoearntheirfirstcrack at affiliated
baseball.
That’s part of what makesMiddendorf sointriguing. The leagueisfull of playersfreshoutof college,21
or 22 years old.At24, Middendorf isanelderstatesman.He’salreadyhadhisfirstopportunityin
affiliatedball.Now,he’samentor.
“I’m learninghowtobe more of a leader,be arole model withthe guys.We’ve gotguyswhoare just
comingout of college askingme howIapproach the game and stuff,andthat’scool.”
It’sa large adjustmentforaguy whowas the fresh-facedrookie justtwoyearsago,a guy who still wants
to focuson gettinganall-tooelusive secondchance athisdream.
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Middendorf’sstature suggeststhathe shouldbe a startingpitcher.He’smore comfortable starting,and
he statedall four yearsof college atNorthernKentuckyUniversity. There he compiledarecordof 25-12
witha 2.53 ERA, goodenoughto be selectedinthe 22roundby the Royalsinthe 2011 MLB draft.But
the Royalssaw himas a lefty-specialistoutof the bullpen.Middendorfstruggledwiththe transition.
In seventeenrookie-ball gamesinhisfirstseason,he pitched25.2 innings.He accumulatedanERA of
8.06 bouncingbetweenthe BurlingtonRoyalsinNorthCarolina,andthe IdahoFallsChukars. He’dspend
one more seasoninthe organization,pitchingin22 games,41.2 innings, forthe Chukars in2012. He did
collectthree saves,butindoingsohad a 5.18 ERA.The organizationelected tonotbringhimback.

2. That’s howMiddendorf foundhimself withManagerJeff Isomandthe Lake Erie Crushers.
“Theyendedupmakinga decisiontorelease him,”Isomsaidof the situation.“Iguessthatwouldbe
fortunate forus.We endedupgettinghimand gettinghimina positionwhere he couldhave success.
“Not everybodyismade tobe a reliever.It’satoughadjustment.If youwere astarter yourwhole life
and all of the suddenyoucome ininrelief,youdon’tknow whenyou’re pitching;it’shardto getinany
kindof routine.He didn’tgetoff to a verygood start inprofessionalbaseball.”
Isomwantedto putMiddendorf backinhiscomfort zone.He was a qualitystarterforfouryears in
college,leavingNKUthe program’sall-time leaderinstrikeouts andinnings-pitched.He regardsthe two
recordsas hisbeston-fieldaccomplishments.
“His numberswere unbelievableasa starter,”Isomsaidof hiscollege career.“Itmade sense tobring
himin,see whathe can do.You don’tknow what you’re gonnagetwhenyoubringguysin. He was
slatedtobe our fifthstarter.”
He has turnedintomuchmore than justthe fifthstarter.On a pitchingstaff withoutatrue ace,different
pitchershave takentheirownturnsbeingthe mostdominant.Rightnow itisMiddendorf’sturn,andthe
bigleftyispayinghuge dividendstohiscurrentclub.
His nine winsare a teamhigh,andhis 2.61 ERA issecondamongthe team’sstarters.He alsoleadsthe
teamin inningspitched(110),andcomplete games(three).Middendorf’ssuperb seasonearnedhima
spoton the East Division’sall-starteam,andhasalsowon himthe respectof histeammates.
The thingthat allowsMiddendorf tobe successful andtobe a team leaderisthe ease he findsin
pitchinginthe FrontierLeague.
“I’m more comfortable here,honestly,thanIwasin affiliatedball,”he said.
He thinkshe couldtake that comfortback withhimto affiliatedball if he evergetsthe chance,buthe
doesn’twantto get tangledup lookingtoofarahead.
“I’ve caught myself looking inthe future backinthe day.It was like,oh,Icouldbe indouble-A,triple-A in
the a fewyears.Thatmighthave caught up to me and mighthave made me slackon the fieldalittle bit.
As faras now,I’mtakingitjust dayby day andjust hopingsome teamgivesme thatchance to playat
the nextlevel.”
That’s a wise attitude fromaman whohas alreadyexperiencedthe disappointmentof beingtoldhe’s
not goodenough.There wasbeingcutfromaffiliatedball,of course,butthatwasn’tthe firsttime
Middendorf hasbeentoldhe’snotquite there yet.
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3. A yearbefore he wasdraftedbythe Royals,Middendorf was pickedinthe 44roundbythe New York
Yankees. Itwasn’tso mucha selectionasa follow upprocess.The Yankeeswantedtosee whathe could
do duringthe summer.If theyweren’tsatisfied,thenthey’d“suggest”he’dgobackto school.
Ultimatelythey decidedthatthe late-roundpickwasn’tready.
“That was a kickin the stomacha little bit,sayingIwasn’treallygoodenoughforthem atthat time,”
Middendorf said.
So he wentback to college,anditturnedoutto be a good move forhim.He had a betteryearinhis
seniorseason,andwasdrafted22 roundshigherbythe Royals.Inhindsight,he seesitasa good thing
that he wentback to school forone more year.
“I’m definitelygladthatitdidn’tworkoutthe firstyear I got drafted,”he said.
It was forthe best.In hisseniorseasonMiddendorf wasateamcaptain.He finishedthe yearwitha9-3
record,and a sparkling1.73 ERA.He wouldn’thave beenable tosetthe school recordsininnings-
pitchedandstrikeoutsif itwasn’tforthe 109.1 inningsand127 strikeoutshe accumulatedthatseason.
Those numbersearnedhimasecondopportunityinthe draft.
Justas beingrejectedbythe Yankeesturnedouttobe a goodthing,itis probablybestforMiddendorf
that he had to take a perceivedstepbackintoindependentball.Withthe helpof Isomandpitching
coach ChrisMongiardo,he’sturnedhimself backintoastarter.More importantly,he’srecapturedthe
confidence he hasn’thadsince college.
Nowthat he’srediscoveredhimself,he’s bettersuitedtomake a careerfor himself inaffiliatedball.
Withthe seasonhe’shaving,itseemshe’sdue togetasecondchance,again.