As late as Memorial Day, this week’s SotW honoree Greg Miclat was batting under .200 and sometimes looked lost at the plate.
But many times a player at this level “gets it” suddenly and the next time you check his batting average or pitching stats they look much better. This is the case with Greg, who’s hitting a torrid .500 in his last 6 games (14-for-28) and seen his average surge to a much more respectable .252 mark – a jump of 55 points in less than a week!
The switch-hitting 21 year old and 5th round pick last year by the Orioles out of the University of Virginia is essentially making his pro debut this year because he only played 17 games last season, mostly with Aberdeen. His total number of professional at-bats prior to 2009 was just 59, so the 155 at-bats thus far in 2009 have formed the bulk of his professional resume. He hit .305 in those 59 at-bats last season so the increase in his average may just be him catching up to ability.
While Miclat will probably never be a power threat – he has yet to hit a pro triple or home run – he seems like the type who can get on base and set the table for the thumpers plus steal a base on occasion. His 6 steals thus far are among the team leaders and of late he’s cut down on strikeouts (just 3 in his last 10 games compared to 29 in his initial 33 games this season), making him an ideal #2 hitter.
Hopefully as the season moves along Greg will be the guy who moves runners along and gets the occasional RBI, setting up those 3-4-5 hitters behind him to drive him home.
