FSL notes: Blandino heating up in Daytona

Shifting a player from shortstop to another position is hardly unusual. Alex Blandino, though, made the opposite switch.

A third baseman at Stanford University, the California native moved over to shortstop after being picked No. 29 overall in the 2014 Draft by Cincinnati.

Blandino was all for the switch.

"It was like coming home," said the former high school shortstop.

The Reds have been just as happy.

Blandino has proved more than adequate in the field with Class A Advanced Daytona, and his transition at the plate from college to professional baseball has been smooth as well.

The right-handed hitter reached Memorial Day sixth in the Florida State League batting race with a .320 average and, thanks to 22 walks, was fourth with a .411 on-base percentage.

"I'm just trying to do the same things I did in college," Blandino said. "Going 1-for-3 with a walk to me is a good day. That's always been my approach."

The 22-year-old had a four-hit game in April, but it's been May when he's really shined.

Blandino came into Memorial Day hitting .400 with six walks in his last 10 games, and his average for the month was .354.

The Reds' No. 7 prospect also has some pop, as shown by the 12 homers he hit last year as a junior at Stanford. That was more than the collective total of three Pac-12 schools.

Blandino won't have big home run numbers in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League, but he did have three homers to go with seven doubles and a triple while scoring 23 runs and driving in 18 over his first 42 games.

After reaching base safely in his final 31 college games, Blandino hasn't missed a beat since getting a bonus of nearly $1.8 million from the Reds. He hit .283 with eight homers in 63 games for Billings and Dayton at the Rookie level and Class A last season.

Daytona had top prospect after top prospect come through in recent years as an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs before switching to the Reds this season. Blandino didn't arrive with the hype of some of those Cubs players, but he has certainly put on a show for the fans at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

The Jack was the site of his four-hit game against Tampa on April 18, and he was batting .354 with a .471 on-base percentage in home games. Not coincidently, the Tortugas were 18-8 at Jackie Robinson Ballpark and led the North Division by a comfortable margin.

"Daytona is a great place to play," Blandino said. "The fans support us and you have all the history. There is nothing that comes close in this league."

Of course, the Sunken Diamond at Stanford is also one of a kind. Blandino thrived there as well, just not at the position he originally planned.

"I thought I'd play shortstop," said Blandino, who was drafted out of high school by Oakland. "But Stanford had veterans there and I played a little second base before settling in at third.

"Playing all around the infield and being versatile should only help me. It gives you more options to make the Major Leagues."

Whatever baseball holds, Blandino already has a prestigious college diploma. He went back to Stanford last fall and got his degree in communications.

"Coach [Mark] Marquess stresses taking extra classes so you can be ahead in getting your degree," he said. "So I only had one semester left."

Blandino has things organized, on and off the field, and he's back home again at shortstop. His rise through the Minors may be a quick one.

In brief

Still unbeaten: Right-hander Chih-Wei Hu returned to Fort Myers after making a fill-in start for Triple-A Rochester and limiting Durham to two hits and a run over six inning in a victory. That made his overall record 5-0, and the native of Taiwan had a 1.10 ERA. Hu, 21, had four walks to six strikeouts for Rochester, but fanned 36 while walking only six in 35 innings while going 4-0 with a 1.03 ERA for the Miracle. Hu, who throws a palmball, signed with Minnesota in 2012 for a bonus of $220,000. He is the Twins' No. 22 prospect.

Rough going: Bradenton right-hander Luis Heredia was held in camp by the Pittsburgh Pirates after reporting to Spring Training out of shape and struggled mightily in his first start after finally joining the Marauders rotation. Signed out of Mexico for $2.6 million in 2010, the 20-year-old gave up five runs on three hits and two walks while getting just two outs against Palm Beach on May 16. The Pirates' No. 15 prospect did better in his second outing, working four innings and giving up four hits and a run at Lakeland on May 21. The 6-foot-6 Heredia also battled weight issues in 2013 and missed two months last season because of shoulder soreness.

Moving up: Curt Powell, who leads the FSL with a .342 average in 33 games, was promoted from Lakeland to Double-A Erie by Detroit. The shortstop also had a league-best .428 on-base percentage and scored 24 runs for the Flying Tigers. Powell, 24, was 12-for-26 with four walks in his final seven games for Lakeland, going 4-for-4 against Dunedin on May 15. He was a 21st-round pick in the 2013 Draft by the Tigers out of the University of Georgia.