Looking to improve the second time around
(from Bill Hass with Bill on Baseball(Greensboro Grasshoppers) at www.gsohoppers.com)
Not every player succeeds in his first trip through a full-season league.
Young players, in particular, can find themselves overwhelmed and over-matched by the physical and emotional demands of a 140-game South Atlantic League schedule. For every success story at this level — Jose Fernandez, Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich — there are many more who struggle. And some are destined to return.
Two Hoppers who were full-time position players in 2015 are back to begin the new season, which starts Thursday at 7 p.m. in NewBridge Bank Park. Outfielder Zach Sullivan and second baseman Rony Cabrera, who were both 19 last year, will be looking to improve their performance enough to earn a promotion to Jupiter around mid-season. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Justin Twine, who is currently on the disabled list, return when he’s healthy.
Sullivan was projected as the fourth outfielder last year, but early injuries to Isael Soto and Casey Soltis increased his playing time. He appeared in 116 games and hit just .192 with 106 strikeouts. He stole 19 bases in 23 attempts. Sullivan absorbed everything he could from the experience and plans to translate those lessons into better production.
“I learned a lot of small things,” he said, “just being around the guys and taking every bit of information I could. (Things like) the approach to the plate and going up there with as much confidence as you can.
“I want to come out here and do everything I can to get moved up, but whatever happens is what the organization wants. I know I’m going to play well this year. The only thing you can control is how hard you work and how much effort you give.”
Cabrera played mostly second base but also saw time at shortstop, third base base and even first base. He got into 108 games and hit .248 with four homers, 26 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in 17 attempts. He’s likely to be the regular second baseman.
“Repeaters just have a good idea of what’s to come,” said manager Kevin Randel. “I’ve repeated levels before and your tools don’t get any better. You just know what to expect — those long bus rides, how to take care of yourself a little better, when to push yourself a little more. Sullivan is still a good player. He’s still young. I’ll throw him out there every day. Hopefully it starts to click for him right out of the gate.”
Soto, still only 19, hit just .125 in 17 games before tearing the meniscus in his knee. Randel expects him to be an exciting player who may struggle early but should improve.
Several other position players saw some time with the Hoppers last year. Catchers Rodrigo Vigil (.300 in 39 games) and Korey Dunbar and infielders Aaron Blanton and Taylor Munden are in that group. On the pitching staff, Gabriel Castellanos, Ben Holmes, Ben Meyer, C.J. Robinson and Scott Squier all wore the Greensboro uniform for various lengths of time.
If you consider Sullivan and Cabrera as veterans, there aren’t quite as many young players on this year’s roster. Shortstop Anfernee Seymour is 20. First baseman Josh Naylor is 18 and won’t turn 19 until June 22. He will be making the jump from the Gulf Coast League to Greensboro, bypassing Batavia, the stop in between. Sullivan did the same thing last season.
But the Marlins made Naylor their No. 1 draft pick last summer. They want him to play every day and will take the growing pains that come along with that. Randel looks forward to seeing him in the lineup.
“To me, Naylor comes across as a guy who wants to come out and play ball,” Randel said. “He gets in the batter’s box and he wants to hit, he wants to play the game. ‘Gimme the bat and let me take over.’
“It’s going to be new for him (at) 18 years old. There’s going to be some bumps in the road. He hits the ball hard. He’s very aggressive and his strike zone awareness is very good. He’s got plus power, big raw power, but he’s a hitter first. He doesn’t get a whole lot of strikeouts; he’s going to put the ball in play and put it in play with some authority.”