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D'Antona adjusts to reinvent himself as a player, and prospect
By Baseball America Staff
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August 25, 2006 Print this article
ZEBULON, N.C.--In 2004, Jamie D'Antona was a member of "The Three Amigos," as the trio of D'Antona, Conor Jackson and Carlos Quentin mashed California League pitching at high Class A Lancaster.
The Amigos were all 2003 drafts from prominent Division I programs--D'Antona from Wake Forest, Jackson from California and Quentin out of Stanford. Jackson and Quentin went in the first round that year, while D'Antona was drafted in the second.
Since then, the Three Amigos have disbanded (as has the name at Jackson's request), and two have graduated to the big leagues while D'Antona has yet to even taste Triple-A. The 24-year-old struggled mightily in his first full season at Double-A in 2005 when he hit just .249/.322/.385 in 410 at-bats and was left behind by his former teammates.
Known for his light-tower power and his 70 arm on the 20-to-80 scouting scale, D'Antona hit just nine home runs in his first go-round in the Southern League. Needless to say, no matter how much he wants to check out the big league highlights every night these days, it's pretty tough to swallow.
"It sucks every time you turn on the TV and you see someone you played with," D'Antona said. "You like to see those guys, and you want to see them doing well. But it's still like, damn it, you wonder what could have been."
But what could have been quickly turned into the here and now through tons of extra work. No longer just a deep threat with an all-or-nothing swing, no longer known as just an average defensive third baseman with a killer arm, D'Antona has reinvented himself this season through versatility and a different approach at the plate that has him hitting .308/.378/.481 for Double-A Tennessee.
"Oh, he's back on the map all right," Tennessee manager Bill Plummer said. "And the main reason for that is how much work he's put into what he's done. The talent's always been there, but where he was swinging for the fences and striking out a lot last year, he's got a gap-to-gap, put-the-ball-in-play approach. He's become a more complete hitter, and that makes him more dangerous than when he was a straight-up power guy."
His new approach has allowed D'Antona to more consistently square up the ball, but not at the expense of his power. D'Antona strung together a 17-game hit streak in July with the Smokies, but still has 16 homers and 26 doubles in 423 at-bats.
"I've widened my stance. I can see a lot better now and everything's starting to slow down as a result," D'Antona said. "Last year when I started struggling, everything just got worse and worse. When you start to press like that, you start overswinging trying to hit that ball farther and farther and farther, and your swing gets slower and slower and slower.
"So this year I just widened out, stopped trying to hit home runs, stopped trying to overswing and hit the ball to the middle of the field. All of a sudden, now I'm starting to pull the ball, hit balls to the gap when I just miss them, and when I get them, they're going out."
Strictly a third baseman since signing, D'Antona started playing some first base (his college position as a freshman) last August, and started catching at the Diamondbacks' spring training facility in Tucson while he was rehabbing a shoulder injury after the 2004 season. He then caught bullpens whenever he could last year, caught more intrasquad games in instructional league last fall, and finally made his debut at catcher in a game on Aug. 1.
"In most situations, I'm just back there thinking what I'd like as a hitter, and I call something different," D'Antona said. "The memory thing of it, I really enjoy. I enjoy going over scouting reports and that kind of thing.
"I'm just worried about screwing up so badly that I hurt us on the field. Sometimes I don't like it because I do something stupid and it gets us in a hole. I hate that, because I want to help us with whatever I'm doing. I don't want to be a liability. But that's just something that drives me to get better."
And D'Antona will have plenty of time to get better. He is heading to the Arizona Fall League in October, where his primary focus will be honing his skills behind the plate for Scottsdale.
"I'm ecstatic about it if for nothing else, it gives me more of an opportunity to prove myself again," D'Antona said. "Last year, I took things for granted. I know I did, and it was stupid and it's something I will never do again. But it's something that helped me out in the long run, because I know what not to do now."
--CHRIS KLINE
QUICK HITS
• Diamondbacks righthander Steven Jackson was dominant in Tennessee's 6-2 win over Double-A Carolina on Thursday, tossing six shutout innings against the Mudcats. Jackson, a 10th-round pick in 2004 out of Clemson, allowed six hits, walked two and struck out 10. "He's impressive with that big, prototypical pitcher's body," Carolina pitching coach Rich Gale said. "He's got that heavy sinker and he just pounds it at you--as soon as he gets ahead, there's that splitter. It's a plus pitch. And sometimes, it might have even been plus-plus. We're talking a 70 (on the 20-80 scouting scale)."
• Tucson righthander Micah Owings won his ninth consecutive Triple-A start last night, tossing seven innings and giving up one run. He struck out 10, walked one and gave up six hits.
D'Antona adjusts to reinvent himself as a player, and prospect
By Baseball America Staff
E-mail this article
August 25, 2006 Print this article
ZEBULON, N.C.--In 2004, Jamie D'Antona was a member of "The Three Amigos," as the trio of D'Antona, Conor Jackson and Carlos Quentin mashed California League pitching at high Class A Lancaster.
The Amigos were all 2003 drafts from prominent Division I programs--D'Antona from Wake Forest, Jackson from California and Quentin out of Stanford. Jackson and Quentin went in the first round that year, while D'Antona was drafted in the second.
Since then, the Three Amigos have disbanded (as has the name at Jackson's request), and two have graduated to the big leagues while D'Antona has yet to even taste Triple-A. The 24-year-old struggled mightily in his first full season at Double-A in 2005 when he hit just .249/.322/.385 in 410 at-bats and was left behind by his former teammates.
Known for his light-tower power and his 70 arm on the 20-to-80 scouting scale, D'Antona hit just nine home runs in his first go-round in the Southern League. Needless to say, no matter how much he wants to check out the big league highlights every night these days, it's pretty tough to swallow.
"It sucks every time you turn on the TV and you see someone you played with," D'Antona said. "You like to see those guys, and you want to see them doing well. But it's still like, damn it, you wonder what could have been."
But what could have been quickly turned into the here and now through tons of extra work. No longer just a deep threat with an all-or-nothing swing, no longer known as just an average defensive third baseman with a killer arm, D'Antona has reinvented himself this season through versatility and a different approach at the plate that has him hitting .308/.378/.481 for Double-A Tennessee.
"Oh, he's back on the map all right," Tennessee manager Bill Plummer said. "And the main reason for that is how much work he's put into what he's done. The talent's always been there, but where he was swinging for the fences and striking out a lot last year, he's got a gap-to-gap, put-the-ball-in-play approach. He's become a more complete hitter, and that makes him more dangerous than when he was a straight-up power guy."
His new approach has allowed D'Antona to more consistently square up the ball, but not at the expense of his power. D'Antona strung together a 17-game hit streak in July with the Smokies, but still has 16 homers and 26 doubles in 423 at-bats.
"I've widened my stance. I can see a lot better now and everything's starting to slow down as a result," D'Antona said. "Last year when I started struggling, everything just got worse and worse. When you start to press like that, you start overswinging trying to hit that ball farther and farther and farther, and your swing gets slower and slower and slower.
"So this year I just widened out, stopped trying to hit home runs, stopped trying to overswing and hit the ball to the middle of the field. All of a sudden, now I'm starting to pull the ball, hit balls to the gap when I just miss them, and when I get them, they're going out."
Strictly a third baseman since signing, D'Antona started playing some first base (his college position as a freshman) last August, and started catching at the Diamondbacks' spring training facility in Tucson while he was rehabbing a shoulder injury after the 2004 season. He then caught bullpens whenever he could last year, caught more intrasquad games in instructional league last fall, and finally made his debut at catcher in a game on Aug. 1.
"In most situations, I'm just back there thinking what I'd like as a hitter, and I call something different," D'Antona said. "The memory thing of it, I really enjoy. I enjoy going over scouting reports and that kind of thing.
"I'm just worried about screwing up so badly that I hurt us on the field. Sometimes I don't like it because I do something stupid and it gets us in a hole. I hate that, because I want to help us with whatever I'm doing. I don't want to be a liability. But that's just something that drives me to get better."
And D'Antona will have plenty of time to get better. He is heading to the Arizona Fall League in October, where his primary focus will be honing his skills behind the plate for Scottsdale.
"I'm ecstatic about it if for nothing else, it gives me more of an opportunity to prove myself again," D'Antona said. "Last year, I took things for granted. I know I did, and it was stupid and it's something I will never do again. But it's something that helped me out in the long run, because I know what not to do now."
--CHRIS KLINE
QUICK HITS
• Diamondbacks righthander Steven Jackson was dominant in Tennessee's 6-2 win over Double-A Carolina on Thursday, tossing six shutout innings against the Mudcats. Jackson, a 10th-round pick in 2004 out of Clemson, allowed six hits, walked two and struck out 10. "He's impressive with that big, prototypical pitcher's body," Carolina pitching coach Rich Gale said. "He's got that heavy sinker and he just pounds it at you--as soon as he gets ahead, there's that splitter. It's a plus pitch. And sometimes, it might have even been plus-plus. We're talking a 70 (on the 20-80 scouting scale)."
• Tucson righthander Micah Owings won his ninth consecutive Triple-A start last night, tossing seven innings and giving up one run. He struck out 10, walked one and gave up six hits.
