Davis continues breakout stretch for Hooks

As J.D. Davis can attest, when one baseball player struggles, he has 24 other guys he can lean on for support.

"Part of it was just baseball and bad luck, and the other part of it was throwing away some at-bats out of frustration," Davis said of his early-season struggles at the plate. "In April, I was really pulling off the ball because in Corpus Christi the wind blows out to left. I got too pull-happy and tried to do too much. I give credit to my teammates; every time they saw me struggling they had my back and told me to keep chugging through."

Houston's No. 12 prospect continued his May surge by going 3-for-4 with a home run, a double and four RBIs in Double-A Corpus Christi's 8-5 win over San Antonio at Whataburger Field on Monday night.

After plating two runs with a two-out single to left field in the first inning, the 23-year-old third baseman hit a double to right to lead off the fourth. 

"In the beginning of the year, I was really pressing," Davis said. "I'm just trying to stay balanced and look for a pitch that I can put the ball in play and not go after the pitch that the pitcher wants me to [chase]. I feel really comfortable working with [Hooks hitting coach] Dan Radison. Nothing mechanical was really off, just my mentality and timing was a little wrong in the beginning of the season."

With two outs in the eighth and Corpus Christi up, 6-5, Davis hoped to just put a ball in play to bring Danry Vasquez in from second base. Not only did he do that, but the Cal State Fullerton product sent a 1-1 pitch 427 feet over the wall in dead center.

"I just put my bat down and started running because you never know in Corpus Christi," Davis said of his second homer in three games. "That at-bat, I just wanted to look for a pitch to hit back up the middle to make something happen and get that insurance run. I just happened to square it up and put it out to center field."

Davis has six hits -- including two homers -- and seven RBIs in his last three games. But initially the 2014 third-round pick said he had difficulty adjusting to the level of competition at Double-A. The California native spent all of 2015 with Class A Advanced Lancaster, and he hit 26 home runs in 120 games for the JetHawks.

"Pitchers have a lot better command of their fastball and secondary pitches here," Davis said. "Another thing is that the defense at this level is a big adjustment. Outfielders cover a lot of ground and infielders make a lot of outs that would be hits in the lower levels. The guys here can really move."

MLB.com's No. 19 overall prospect, Alex Bregman, also homered in the game, smacking his sixth of the year deep to left in the fifth.

"We all pick each other's brains," Davis said. "He's got a very short setup and a short swing, so he gets to the ball very quick. He'll hit for power and for average. When he goes up there, he knows what he's capable of doing."

San Diego's No. 5 prospect Jose Rondon lofted his first Double-A home run for San Antonio.