Phegley remains confident in catcher's competition

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The news that Tyler Flowers has the early edge for the starting catcher's job didn't seem to bother Josh Phegley.

"I'm just here to show them what I can do," said Phegley, who is joined by Adrian Nieto and Hector Gimenez in the White Sox catcher's competition. "They've seen me enough, but there is some competition for the job. That's what we all want."

Phegley arrived in the Majors last season after hitting .316 with 15 homers and 41 RBIs for Triple-A Charlotte. Phegley raised his International League average from .241 over 79 at-bats in 2011 to .266 during his first full season with the Knights in '12. His slugging percentage also jumped from .367 to .373 to .597 over those three years.

His hope is to see a similar big league jump in 2014 after hitting .206 with a .299 slugging percentage and .223 on-base percentage during this first Major League experience. The biggest gain Phegley took from last year's stint was the feeling he belongs as a big leaguer.

"I started off really well when they called me up. Then struggling, pressing, I tried to do too much," Phegley said. "With kind of the attitude surrounding the club last year and how negative it was, everyone was out there trying to do way more than they were capable of instead of just playing the game.

"So what I got out of last year was that I'm a big leaguer. I can play up there and just need to trust myself."