Lady’s Choice: Player Pick for May

June 1st, 2009

June 01, 2009 — Anyone else out there having a tough time keeping up with all the pitching changes and batting lineups? Despite the confusion, it does seem as though this month’s Lady’s Choice has to be a hitter rather than a pitcher. Of course, I have noticed the pretty numbers being accumulated by setup man Francisco Rodriguez and closer Jeremy Hill.  Hill, BTW, is tied for second in the league in saves with 10 SV. Nice! That said, however, the Salt Lake hitters are at #1 or #2 on the PCL stats board in a number of batting categories—303 R, 282 RBI, 68 HR, 806 TB and 0.824 OPS.

So, a hitter it is then. And this month’s pick is Terry Evans. A bit of history is in order for the tall right-fielder from Dublin, GA. Evans was originally drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 47th round (No. 1,409 overall) in 2001. Midseason of 2006, the Angels acquired Evans in exchange for Jeff Weaver, who went on to win a World Series ring with the Redbirds that year. Jewelry aside, hindsight omniscience makes the Angels front office look pretty smart. (Love this quote from the former Angels G.M.) Evans was immediately assigned to the Arkansas Travelers, where he proceeded to tear up the Texas League—in the box and on the basepaths—finishing the season by becoming only the 13th ballplayer in minor league history to join the 30-30 club. Post-season, in the Arizona Fall League, Evans slugged and ran his way onto the AFL Rising Stars Showcase team. Certainly he’d made the right impression with the new organization, and was added to the 40-man roster in November.

In 2007, Evans was promoted to Triple-A Salt Lake and proceeded to produce more of the same. It didn’t take long for the front office to notice his steady progress. Michael Terry Evans was called up to the big leagues in early June as a fill-in for the injured Garrett Anderson, providing a rather memorable Father’s Day present for Michael, Sr. During his first MLB start, the younger Evans got his first MLB hit, “a towering two-run homer over the left-field wall.”

Click here to watch the video clip

Evans stayed long enough to appear in eight MLB games, and was returned to Salt Lake just in time to be selected to the 2007 PCL All-Star Team.

The future looked bright in 2008.  Evans started the season with a .316 BA as part of the Amazing April in which the Bees made minor-league history with a win-loss record of 23-2.  Then came the fateful game against Fresno, April 26. Late in the game, Evans slid hard into 2B trying to break up a double play and tweaked his shoulder. He tried to keep playing, although it turned out he’d torn his labrum. Evans went on the DL and spent most of the season rehabbing in extended spring training, not to return to Salt Lake until nearly the close of the season.

Evans was still on the 40-man roster in 2009, although his playing time at spring training camp was limited while the Angels’ development staff took a long look at 25-year-old outfield prospect Chris Pettit, who likewise had missed a good part of his 2008 season, due to a broken foot. Assigned to Salt Lake for 2009, Evans struggled at the plate to begin the season. Thankfully, his other tools remained intact. Possessor of one of the best outfield eyes and arms in the PCL, Evans showed no lingering effects from last season’s injury. And he flashed speed, 12 for 13 in stolen bases thus far in the season.

Evans was hardly alone in his inability to solve the round-ball-hit-square puzzle. As the freezing nights of April warmed up into the promise of May, and with the usual leadoff hitters struggling, Manager Bobby Mitchell tried something new for the batting order. On May 14th, he wrote Evans in the #1 spot. It clicked, and Evans produced a phenomenal 25 hits in 57 at-bats, .439 BA during the “leadoff experiment,” which ended on May 26. Moved to 3rd in the batting order, Evans’ bat stayed hot through the rest of the month.

The last 10 days of May were nothing less than sweet, slugging heaven. On May 21st, facing former Bees Giancarlo Alvarado, the third pitch of the game was the charm and Evans launched a solo homer over the left field wall. May 23rd, Evans hit his eighth homerun of the season against rehabbing MLB pitcher Jason Schmidt in Albuquerque. The following evening, May 24th, he got dinger #9 for the season, his third in four days, and extended his hitting streak to 10 games. The next night, May 25th, homerun #10, fourth in five days, streak to 11 games. May 26th, one hit, streak to 12 games. May 27th, no homers, although Evans went 3-4, scored the only Bees runs and extended his streak to 13 games.

Evans went 0-4 on May 28th, ending the hitting streak at 13 games. On May 3oth, during game #1 of a double-header, Evans went 1-3, a triple, and stole a base, bringing his season total to 12 SB, second highest on the Bees and tied for eighth in the PCL. In the second game, Evans went 2-4; both hits were run-scoring, game-tying doubles that helped the Bees stay within striking distance of Reno for the dramatic walk-off grand slam by Adam Pavkovich. Summarizing the month of May: .330 BA, 27 R, 38 H, 11 2B, 2 3B, 7 HR, 20 RBI, 13 BB, 33 SO, 8 SB.

Still, it’s only June. And my fave outfielder gets tantalized a bit too often by those late-breaking, outside pitches. (I’d sure love to see his SO:BB ratio drop to something less than 2.) As the old saying goes, it’s a long season and anything can happen. Nonetheless, yours truly is hoping to for a break-through season for #24, B-R/T-R. Why? Well, per usual, this isn’t a story about mere numbers alone. How about those intangibles, an inner spark that catches my eye? Or my ear, as on a particular Easter Sunday. Need I say more? Didn’t think so …Your friend in baseball.

Terry Evans, Spring Training 2009

Entry Filed under: Arkansas Travelers,Lady's Choice,Major League Baseball,Minor Leagues,Salt Lake Bees