Manatees' Coulter goes yard again

The wind tends to blow in from left field at Brevard County's Space Coast Stadium. If that breeze isn't going to hold back Clint Coulter's power, there probably isn't a park in the Florida State League that can keep him from going yard.

That theory held Sunday afternoon as Coulter belted a two-run homer onto the berm in left-center field at Lakeland's Joker Marchant Stadium to help the Manatees stomp the Flying Tigers, 14-4.

Coulter went 4-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs scored, completing the first four-hit game of his professional career. The Brewers' No. 4 prospect lifted his average to .338 and briefly moved into a four-way tie for the Minor League lead with six homers (Preston Tucker slugged his seventh for Triple-A Fresno). No. 14 prospect Victor Roache added his fifth, a three-run blast.

Through 17 games, Coulter has a .434 on-base percentage and .708 slugging percentage. The catcher-turned-outfielder is coming off a breakout campaign with Class A Wisconsin that earned him Milwaukee's Minor League Player of the Year award and a Brewers' Organization All-Star nod.

The 21-year-old has outstanding power, something that's shown as he's driven four balls out to left at Space Coast Stadium.

Playing in Brevard County, the wind blows in from left. "It takes a strong man, driving the ball through that wind," Manatees manager Joe Ayrault said. "He's done that a couple of times.

"He's coming off a great year in the Midwest League. He has a great eye at the plate. He's a very strong player with a quality approach at the plate, takes quality at-bats every time he's in there."

After contributing an RBI single in a five-run third inning, Coulter connected with two outs in the top of the fourth. By the end of the fifth, Brevard County was up, 10-4.

In an attempt to improve on a successful 2014 campaign, Coulter has been working daily with Minor League hitting coordinator Jeremy Reed and Manatees hitting coach Ned Yost IV.

"He has a good feel for his swing," Ayrault said. "He's a good communicator and he's working hand-in-hand with Jeremy and Ned. They're communicating every day, talking about his swing."

Coulter's also making progress transitioning to the outfield after spending his first three seasons behind the plate. The 2012 first-round pick (27th overall) has a strong arm, and the Manatees coaching staff has been teaching him how best to utilize it from the grass.

"A big thing for him is getting reps in, more experience, get games under his belt," Ayrault said. "He has a plus arm. It's very strong. It's just the little things. What base to throw to, throwing through the cutoff man. He has a strong arm and we're just hammering him on keeping the ball down, throwing through the cutoff man.

"He's making the improvements. He's one of those guys, he makes adjustments, learns from his mistakes. He's making a big improvement."

Coulter isn't alone there. Roache, who went yard in the ninth, has performed dramatically better in his return to the Florida State League. After hitting .226 with 18 homers as a Manatee last season, he's hitting .338 with five long balls in 17 games this year.

Offensively, the 2012 first-rounder (28th overall) has tried to adopt more of an all-fields approach. That's shown the past couple days, as the right-handed hitter homered to right-center field on Saturday and to right on Sunday.

Each of Roache's five homers have flown out right of center, a stark jump from a year ago, when he hit six opposite-field home runs all season.

"He's always had plus power," Ayrault said. "Now he's using the whole field. … He just has a good feel for his swing. He's driving the ball the other way. He did that at times last year, using the whole field."

Ayrault said Roache also is improving in the outfield, where MLB.com's Prospect Pipeline team rated him as below average heading into the season.

"His arm has gotten stronger," Ayrault said. "He's moving around a little better, too."

Brevard County piled on 18 hits in Sunday's blowout. Third baseman Taylor Brennan had three, lifting his average to .306. Catcher Paul Eshleman was 3-for-5 with a double and a triple and is batting .440 through six games.