Beloit's Robertson snaps out of slump

When Daniel Robertson was stuck in a 6-for-45 slump during a two-week stretch last month, it was for a pretty simple reason.

The 19-year-old infielder had gotten impatient, drawing two walks in 11 games. He's drawn nine walks in his other 18 contests while hitting .368 (25-for-68).

When the A's No. 6 prospect is more patient, he's also more likely to find pitches to hit.

One night after drawing a season-high three walks, Robertson went 4-for-4 with a walk, a homer, two doubles and two RBIs on Saturday as Class A Beloit cruised to a 10-3 victory over Quad Cities.

"I'd caught a mini-slump maybe the last two, three weeks and hadn't been hitting the ball particularly as well as I'd like to, especially after my start," he said. "But that's baseball, it's a long season. A game like this puts you right back in a good feeling.

"Tonight I was getting into good counts, swinging at good pitches. That's what I felt I was missing the last couple weeks. I was chasing some stuff. Tonight I was swinging at strikes. I think the last couple games I have four or five walks."

Robertson batted .421 in his first nine games and has hit safely in eight of his last nine. That success has come when his patience allows him to work more walks and have more at-bats in which he finds the right pitch to swing at.

"When I'm chasing stuff and throwing at-bats away, that's when I find myself kind of going a little cool. And tonight, like I said, I felt good, I was seeing it well all night, staying in my zone and I was fortunate enough to put a couple good swings together," Robertson added.

The 34th overall pick in last year's Draft debuted with a bang in the Rookie-level Arizona League, hitting .297/.405/.554 in 29 games. He slumped in the short-season New York-Penn League, where he sported a .472 OPS in 26 games.

After Saturday's four-hit effort, he's batting .292/.357/.451 in 29 games with the Snappers. When he hits the occasional slump, like he did last year with Vermont or for a couple weeks this season, Robertson said it's best to just work out of it naturally.

"When things are not really going your way, I don't like to temper my swing or break it down -- just keep going in the cage," he said. "I don't like to think about my hands being here or am I doing this or am I dropping my back shoulder. I want to keep the same swing and go from there.

"You're always trying to learn as a hitter. Keep a simple approach, learn the game and get better every day. It's a long season, so I'm glad to be going in, making improvements every day and every night."

Second baseman Chris Bostick went 3-for-4, fell a triple shy of the cycle and drove in two runs for Beloit. Bruce Maxwell, Oakland's 14th-ranked prospect, chipped in two hits, walked and drove in a run.

A's No. 20 prospect Michael Ynoa started for the Snappers and gave up two runs on two hits and a walk with one strikeout over 4 1/3 innings.