Thaiss swinging hot bat for Inland Empire

In the hit column of Matt Thaiss' 2017 season, there weren't many crooked numbers. Not anymore.
The suddenly surging No. 2 Angels prospect recorded his third straight multi-hit game, delivering two singles and driving in a pair of runs on Wednesday as Class A Advanced Inland Empire fell to Modesto, 6-5.

Thaiss recorded five hits in his first four games of the season but slipped into a slump for the next two weeks, going 5-for-35 (.143) to drop his slash line to .164/.301/.279. But in his first full season in pro ball and first experience at the Class A Advanced level, an adjustment period was to be expected.
Box score
"The start of a year, moving from Spring Training, moving into competition, there's always an adjustment to things like that," he said. "We didn't start off the season how we wanted, but things are starting to click. The team's starting to click. We're playing a little bit better and things are about to start getting on a roll for us."
Thaiss went 4-for-5 in Sunday's series finale at Rancho Cucamonga and followed that with a 2-for-4 night that included two doubles and two RBIs. A day off on Tuesday didn't slow him down. Thaiss singled to center field twice on Wednesday, first to drive in two runs in the third inning and again in the seventh. The hits are starting to come in bunches, adding to Thaiss' confidence.
"It just helps you ride with it and stick with it," he said. "When you have a tough start and things like that, it helps you ride the roller coaster and level out a little bit."
The Angels took Thaiss with the 16th overall pick in last year's Draft, and he batted .292/.361/.462 between Rookie-level Orem and Class A Burlington in his debut season. The approach against him this season has been noticeably different.
"A lot of the guys out in short-season ball, it's their first time in pro ball and they're still trying to get a feel for what kind of pitcher they are and how they want to pitch," Thaiss said. "Guys in this league, in the California League, they're here because they know how to pitch and know where to pitch you. There are only eight teams in this league, so once you start playing teams over and over again, they start figuring out where they want to pitch you and how they want to pitch you. That's been the biggest thing as far as these pitchers."

The former University of Virginia backstop also has been adjusting in the field.
"I haven't caught since they drafted me, so I'm still trying to learn a new position at first base," Thaiss said. "I'm trying to take it step by step and let the game come to me."
Having gone 8-for-13 (.615) in his last three games, Thaiss has boosted his slash line to .243/.356/.405 nearing the end of the season's first month. And he can feel his teammates' bats heating up, too.
"Things are starting to come together," he said. "You've got guys like Zach Gibbons in the front of the lineup who's been getting on base a lot for us, guys in the back half of the lineup who've really been stepping up and finding ways to get on base. Things are starting to click. We lost tonight, but we had a good approach at the plate and things like that. Hopefully, we can get back on track tomorrow."
The 66ers fell, despite going 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position; the Nuts were 1-for-12.
Gianfranco Wawoe doubled and drove home two for Modesto. Joey Strain (2-0) allowed two hits and a walk while striking out two over three innings of scoreless relief for the win. Lukas Schiraldi worked two hitless frames for his first California League save.