Joseph balances hitting, defense

Caleb Joseph enjoyed a solid career at Lipscomb University. He earned all-Atlantic Sun Conference honors as a sophomore and junior. He led his team in hitting in his final two seasons.

Joseph continues his success as a professional. The Frederick Keys' catcher is hitting .332 with six home runs, 35 RBI and has a Carolina League All-Star honor to show for his efforts.

"I feel great," Joseph said. "I feel like it's been a long season. At the same time, I've tried to work really hard and take it day by day and control the pitching staff."

Joseph plays the most physically demanding position in the field. He squats behind the plate, putting intense pressure on his legs. His job is to tell pitchers what to throw in certain counts, block balls and attempt to throw out would-be base stealers.

He worked to improve his skills in spring training by catching former Keys pitchers Jake Arrieta and Brandon Erbe, who play for Triple-A Norfolk and Double-A Bowie, respectively.

Playing in the Baltimore Orioles' instructional league last September helped as well.

"It helped me make the jump to High-A," Joseph said. "I did a lot of defensive work, a lot of footwork, throwing and trying to set up correctly. I worked on blocking the ball.

"Offensively, I was able to focus on getting individual reps. That, without a doubt, helped me out. It was one the best things I've ever done."

The Orioles selected Joseph in the seventh round of the 2008 draft and sent him to short-season Aberdeen. He hit .261 in the New York-Penn League with eight home runs and 34 RBI in 63 games.

He clearly has handled the jump past the Low-A South Atlantic League.

"It's pretty much the same game from what I experienced in Aberdeen," Joseph said. "I had confidence in my abilities. I didn't expect to hit .300.

"Making that jump was pretty easy. I had a lot of guys around me who've helped me. The coach-ing staff has helped me out a lot."

His knowledge of catching comes in handy when talking to his brother, Corban, an infielder at Low-A Charles-ton, a Yankees affiliate.

"I'll talk to him about what I would call in certain situations and help him get an idea of what we call, so he knows what pitch is coming," Caleb said.

A HOT START

Salem is 7-2 through nine second-half games. The Red Sox swept a three-game series with Kinston, posting back-to-back shutouts June 25 and 26. Salem scored 19 runs before winning the series finale 3-2 in 14 in-nings on June 27.

The Red Sox also held the Indians scoreless for the series' first 25 1/3 innings.

Right-handed pitcher Casey Kelly pitched 6 2/3 perfect innings against the Indians on June 27 before allow-ing Lonnie Chisenhall's seventh-inning single.

Kelly struck out four, allowed only Chisenhall's hit and did not receive a decision.

GETTING BY

Winston-Salem won its 18th one-run game this year by defeating Frederick 4-3 on June 26. Pinch-runner Kent Gerst scored the winning run on Tyler Kuhn's sacrifice fly.

The Dash lead the Carolina League with 28 one-run games played.

Staff writer Robert Daski can be reached at 703-878-8049.