Under-the-radar prospect Fletcher opens eyes with D-backs
PHOENIX — Up-and-coming outfielders have been a giant subject of dialogue for the D-backs. First there was Daulton Varsho after which Alek Thomas, and naturally Corbin Carroll after which Jake McCarthy.
They all obtained their share of consideration over the previous couple of seasons.
One who hasn’t been practically as talked or written about, although, is Dominic Fletcher, who’s within the course of of fixing that with a formidable first two weeks within the massive leagues.
Fletcher smacked a three-run homer — his first since being promoted on April 30 — and drove residence 4 runs Friday within the D-backs’ 7-5 win over the Giants at Chase Field.
“He’s been great,” veteran first baseman Christian Walker stated of Fletcher. “Quiet, hard worker, has a feel for the game, plays with a lot of energy and intensity. And he’s a great player. He just keeps putting together competitive at-bats. Every pitch, even if it’s a take, it’s competitive. He’s on it. He feels dangerous at the plate, and it’s exciting.”
In 39 plate appearances since being known as up from Triple-A Reno, Fletcher is hitting .457/.486/.629.
With the D-backs down 3-0 on Friday, his homer within the second off Ross Stripling tied issues up.
“I was looking for something over the middle and he hung a slider a little bit and I caught it out front,” Fletcher stated.
The ball landed within the pool space simply past the wall in right-center, and the fan who retrieved the ball gave it again to Fletcher. After the sport, it was resting in a field behind his locker.
“Someone said it landed in the guacamole,” Fletcher joked. “We’ll have to see what it looks like.”
Fletcher, who’s ranked as the Fifteenth-best prospect within the Arizona system by MLB Pipeline, is the youthful brother of Angels infielder David Fletcher. He was chosen within the Competitive Balance Round B (seventy fifth total) by the D-backs within the 2019 MLB Draft.
That was a choose the D-backs acquired as a part of the return from the Cardinals within the commerce that despatched Paul Goldschmidt to St. Louis in December 2018.
“He’s been able to put together some terrific at-bats,” stated D-backs bench coach Jeff Banister, who served as interim supervisor whereas Torey Lovullo attended his son’s faculty commencement. “Very calm in the batter’s box, has a really good plan. In my opinion, he doesn’t really get too overwhelmed with the situation. I think sometimes when you’re facing pitchers for the first time, you see young hitters that it can get a little sideways for them. He doesn’t seem to have that in him. He has the ability to hit both left-handers and right-handers. He looks very hitter-ish in the box, that old adage, and he puts together quality at-bats for us pretty much every night he’s in there.”
Because Fletcher’s brother is a Major League participant, he’s been across the sport for some time, in order that most likely helped him really feel comfy so shortly within the Majors.
But one more reason is that he has come up via the farm system taking part in with Carroll and Thomas, so being reunited with them on the massive league degree feels proper to him. The trio had been generally known as the “Three Musketeers” throughout their time collectively on the group’s Alternate Training Site in 2020.
“Seeing them again and getting to hang out with them again, it’s been special for sure,” Fletcher stated.
When he acquired known as up, his brother David advised him that the sport was the identical and that he simply wanted to maintain doing what he has been doing his entire professional profession.
“Having him as a tool has really helped me throughout my career,” Fletcher stated. “Whenever I need something, he’s there. We talk all the time, almost every day. And just having him going through every level before I did, and having experienced everything before I did really was a big help for me.”
