Seth Rosin confident, looking forward to spring training challenge with Dodgers

LOS ANGELES -- On the morning of December 12, while Major League Baseball's Rule 5 draft was taking place at the winter meetings in Orlando, Phillies minor league right-handed pitcher Seth Rosin was too busy to pay attention.

Rosin was busy studying for his final exam in a literature class at the time. It was the final class Rosin needed to graduate from the University of Minnesota, where he was an All-Big Ten pitcher for the Gophers in both 2009 and 2010. Rosin got a call from his father, letting him know the pitcher was drafted by the Mets and subsequently traded to the Dodgers.

It was a call Rosin was expecting.

"In my heart I thought it was going to happen. Some people told me otherwise, but I have a lot of confidence in my ability," Rosin said during the Dodgers winter development camp. "I don't know what it is, I just believe in myself a lot."

It must be easy to feel confident when at 6'6", 250 pounds Rosin was the biggest man on campus this week during the Dodgers' winter development program. Though when describing his repertoire on the mound, Rosin downplayed his fastball — "I can throw hard if I need to," he said — and focused instead on his control.

"I throw strikes," Rosin said. "I attack hitters. I'm not afraid to pitch to anybody. I'll just throw the ball over the plate and see what happens."

There's that confidence again.

Rosin, 25, was 9-6 with a 4.33 ERA in 26 games, including 23 starts, with Double-A Reading in the Phillies system in 2013, with 96 strikeouts and 35 walks in 126⅔ innings.

"I'm very interested in seeing what he can bring. Great arm, very competitive, very sharp," general manager Ned Colletti said of Rosin. "He may be a power arm out of the pen, he may be somebody who could pitch multiple innings out of the pen, he could be a spot starter."

Rosin, whose last name is pronounced Ro-ZEEN, passed that final class and got his degree in business and marketing.

"It's kind of interesting that somebody who signed a professional contract would go back to school to continue to get better at what he does," Colletti said.

As a Rule 5 pick, the Dodgers can't send Rosin to the minors without first subjecting him to waivers then, if he clears, offering him back to Philadelphia for $25,000, half the cost of the Mets' selection. The Dodgers could also try to work out a trade with the Phillies to keep Rosin.

But with six relievers signed to major league deals - including the arbitration-eligible Kenley Jansen - and experienced pitchers Paco Rodriguez and Chris Withrow also on the 40-man roster, Rosin has a tough task to stick on the major league roster.

"On paper it's ridiculous, this team is an All-Star team," Rosin said. "It will be really fun to go to spring training, try to fit and be one of the guys, and get on the team somehow."

Rosin got a quick five-day indoctrination in Dodgers history and culture this week with the winter development program, which he estimated was roughly 25% on-field instruction and 75% off-field activities, from classroom seminars, charity visits and social events like Universal Studios, Jimmy Kimmel Live and a Clippers game.

"I've learned so much about the Dodgers in these last few days, I feel like I could write a short novella on the team," Rosin said. "Just learning about the rich history and the etiquette of baseball, it's going to help us when we get to the major leagues."

This won't be the first big league camp for Rosin, who opened in Giants' camp in 2012. He pitched in one big league game that spring, then later that summer he was dealt to Philadelphia in the Hunter Pence trade. San Francisco drafted Rosin out of Minnesota in the fourth round in 2010. The signing scout for the Giants was Lou Colletti, son of Ned.

But whatever happens with Rosin this spring, he heads to Camelback Ranch seeing an opportunity.

"I'm just going to try and open up as many eyes as possible, work hard and soak up all the knowledge that all these guys in the locker room possess," he said. "I'm going to try to squeeze my way onto the roster somehow. I know it's going to be tough to climb that mountain, but I have confidence in myself and my ability."

There's that confidence again.