Newport Beach's Oliver Is Yankees Prospect

William Oliver played soccer, baseball and water polo in high school, played baseball at Orange Coast College and was offered a scholarship to play soccer at Division I St. John's University in New York. Although he chose to pursue college baseball, he still ended up in the Big Apple, far away from his former home in Newport Beach.

"My parents convinced me this was a better route," said Oliver, 24.

Oliver was drafted by the New York Yankees in 2010 in the 35th round out of Palomar College in San Marcos. He pitched in 12 games last year between the Gulf Coast League and Staten Island and had an ERA of 4.58.

Oliver has been playing again this summer for the Staten Island Yankees, a farm team in the short-season New York-Penn League. While St. John's is in the borough of Queens, Oliver is now in another borough, a few miles from Yankee Stadium.

It's difficult for him to be far from home. "My family is tight. But you can't ask for more, to play for the Yankees. You have to go for it," he said, standing outside the Staten Island clubhouse during a recent series at Ripken Stadium near Baltimore.

Oliver lived in Newport Beach while attending and playing baseball for Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa. He says New York City has a different vibe.

"It is definitely a culture shock," he said. "But I like it.... We walk around all the time. It is nice. I like the city."

Even as a minor league player, he can feel the Yankee mystique. "Absolutely. I think so many people treat you differently if you are with the Yankees, Red Sox or Dodgers or a big-name club, even the Giants," said Oliver, who went to high school in the San Diego area. "I like the pressure. It is big shoes to fill. It is a grind, but it is worth it in the end."

In games through Aug. 25, he was tied for fifth in the league with five wins. A 6-foot-2 right-hander, Oliver was 5-2 with a respectable ERA of 3.56 in his first 13 games (12 starts) for Staten Island this season.

In a team-high 60 and two-thirds innings, he had allowed 62 hits and 24 walks with 55 strikeouts. "I am an aggressive pitcher," said Oliver, whose fast ball has been clocked around 94 mph. "I don't pitch around anyone."

Jose Rosado, the pitching coach for Staten Island, has been impressed with Oliver this season. "He has been aggressive. He gets ahead of the hitter," Rosado said.

The regular-season for Staten Island ended Sept. 4. This off-season,  Oliver plans to live in Arizona with a Staten Island teammate. The next goal for Oliver in 2012 is to make the roster of a full-season club such as the Charleston (SC) RiverDogs, who play in the South Atlantic League. What will it take to make The Show?

"I just need to work hard and try to keep doing what I am doing," he said.

Perhaps then he can follow in the footsteps of pitcher C.J. Wilson, who was born in Newport Beach in 1980 and now plays in the major leagues for the Texas Rangers.