By TIM McDONOUGH

PEORIA, Ariz. -- With his first professional baseball season behind him, former Defiance High School pitching standout Justin Hancock didn't get much time to rest.

After making 11 appearances for the Arizona Rookie League Arizona Padres this summer, including eight starts, Hancock got right back to work after being invited to participate in Fall Instructional League in Peoria, Ariz.

Hancock, a ninth-round draft choice of the San Diego Padres in the 2011 First-Year Player Amateur Draft back in June, is currently in Arizona working on his game until Oct. 9, when his first professional season officially comes to a close.

"My first year was everything I expected and more," said Hancock, who was drafted out of Lincoln Trail Junior College. "There were a lot of games in a short period of time, which was a big change from college, plus there were a lot more games. Compared to college, of course I spent a lot more time working on the game of baseball and it was a lot more competitive."

Learning how to take care of his body and arm were important lessons for the right-hander, who went 0-3 with a 7.09 ERA in his 33 innings on the bump. Hancock finished the season with 30 strikeouts and 21 walks.

"You have so many days that you throw, that you have to take care of yourself, your arm and find the time to rest your arm as much as you can," Hancock said. "It's all about working hard and staying healthy."

Playing in the Arizona Rookie League, where temperatures were very hot during the summer was also an adjustment for Hancock.

"The first half of the season we played a lot of night games, which was better, but we played more morning games in the second half of the season," stated Hancock. "It was hot no matter when we played, but it was hotter for the morning games, sometimes as hot as 115 degrees.

"Playing different schedules like that was also an adjustment," continued Hancock. "When we played at night, I got to sleep in and I didn't get to the ballpark until the afternoon. When you play morning games, you have to get to the field very early. Staying hydrated was so important, but it was hard to stay hydrated when we were playing morning games."

It didn't Hancock long to learn that the hitters he was facing were there for the same reason he was, to try and reach the dream of getting to the major leagues.

"There were a lot of free-swingers in this league, but they were up there to hit the baseball," Hancock said. "I learned that all it takes is one mistake and someone is going to be hitting the ball very hard."

Hancock has been participating at Fall Instructional League for a few weeks, where the organization has him working on situational drills and on his pitches. His team is also playing games now as well.

"When we first got here, they had us working on situational drills, our mechanics, our pitches and the pitchers also had to shag fly balls for batting practice too," Hancock said. "The organization also wants me to work very hard on a slider, instead of having me throw a curveball. They feel it suits my pitching style because I throw hard.

"The good news for me is that they still want me to be a starter, which is what I prefer," added Hancock, who threw as hard as 96 miles per hour this season, but was consistently clocked around 92-94 mph.

Hancock knows that getting invited to Fall Instructional League is an opportunity he needs to take advantage of.

"I'm working hard because I want to show the organization that I'm ready to move forward," Hancock said. "It's a great honor to be here. I try to tell myself every day that a lot of people would love to be in my shoes ... I'm not about to take this opportunity for granted. I love to play baseball and it feels very good to be able to do this.

After Fall Instructional League ends, Hancock will return home to Defiance to take some time off, but not too long.

"When I get home I'm going to rest my arm for a month or so, but I'm going to continue to work out to stay in shape," concluded Hancock. "I'm thrilled to be here now, but I'm looking forward to relaxing for a while too."