It's finally time for the season to begin in Rick Zagone's eyes.
The 23-year-old left-handed pitcher will be on the mound when the Single-A Frederick Keys play Thursday night on the road against the Lynchburg Hillcats at 6:05 p.m.
"I'm excited to get out there," Zagone said as the team met with the media today at Harry Grove Stadium. "I've been waiting all of spring training for an actual game, so I just can't wait to get out on the field."Last season, Zagone seemed to take a step back after going 7-1 with a 2.89 ERA in 15 games (11 starts) during his professional debut with the short-season Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds in 2008.
"[It] was my first full season, and I went into a month-long slide in the middle," Zagone said. "I had a good start, made the [South Atlantic League] All-Star team and then had a little lull."
The Orioles' sixth-round pick in the 2008 MLB draft was 5-8 with a 4.89 ERA in 26 games (25 starts) while splitting time between the Keys and Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds during the 2009 season. He was 1-3 with a 5.10 ERA in 13 starts with the Keys to end the year after posting a 4-5 record and 4.66 ERA in 13 games (12 starts) for Delmarva.
"When I got here [to Frederick], I was kind of climbing out of it," Zagone said. "My last three or four starts were really good, and I just want to be able to build off that."
Is there going to be a key to his turnaround this season?
"I'm actually really excited about my changeup because I've been working on it a lot," Zagone said. "I have some confidence in it, and I'm excited to throw it this season."
Zagone knows he'll need to follow in the footsteps of last season's Keys rotation, which included Brian Matusz and Zach Britton, as he prepares for his Opening Day start.
"It was great being here last year, being behind Britton and a couple of those guys that are up in the system right now," Zagone said. "I'm just trying to pick up where they left off."