Jeffers keeps rolling for E-Twins

Ryan Jeffers sure is making pro ball look easy.
The Twins' second-round pick continued the hot start to his new career Friday by reaching base six times, collecting a pair of doubles, two singles, two walks and scoring three runs as Rookie-level Elizabethton rolled past Bristol, 19-5, at Boyce Cox Field.

Gameday box score
The University of North Carolina Wilmington product has 11 hits, including three doubles, in his first 15 at-bats as a professional, and he's struck out just once.
"It's fun," he said with a laugh. "It's weird. I pride myself more on defense [because] I have to work harder on defense. I want to be the best defensive catcher I can be. But offensively, that's been more the highlight for me."
As he's done in all four games as a pro, Jeffers started quickly against the Pirates. The Raleigh, North Carolina, native rang a double to left field to score Jared Akins in the first inning.
In the third, the right-handed hitter slashed a line drive to right for a single and scored on a wild pitch by Roger Santana (0-1). Jeffers dropped a fly ball into left for a single in the fifth and walked in the seventh. He capped his big night with a fly ball double to left in the ninth and came around to score when Chris Williams homered.
The 21-year-old had plenty of help as the E-Twins totaled 16 hits to go with nine walks. Akins, a 2017 13th-round pick out of Fresno State, had three singles, and Williams, Ricky de la Torre, Andrew Cosgrove and No. 29 prospectYunior Severino added two hits apiece.
Rickey Ramirez (1-0) got the win, striking out four in two hitless innings.
Jeffers' hitting exploits aren't a surprise. He compiled a .323/.445/.620 career slash line in college and was the 59th overall pick, signing for a below-slot $800,000. This season, he hit a career-high 16 homers, flashing the kind of power that had not registered previously.
"It's just more experience," Jeffers said of the uptick in power. "I have learned, more and more, that it's just about making hard contact. I don't even think about hitting home runs; I just think about getting the best barrel on the ball. I have a launch angle swing, per se, but it's harder to hit home runs when you're trying to."
Scouts have questions about whether he can stick behind the plate full-time, but his bat has shown up quickly against younger competition.
On Draft night, Twins scouting director Sean Johnson told the Pioneer Press that Jeffers' bat was a selling point but not to overlook his play behind the plate.
"Obviously, he had a nice offensive career, [but] he was one of the better catchers on our board," he told the newspaper. "He had a lot of [Twins prospect Mitch] Garver comps and a lot of good catching metrics. Also, his ability to catch and throw . . . he has a borderline 6 arm, plus arm. Obviously, he addresses a need in our system, but that wasn't our goal, it just worked out that way."
Jeffers said he'll continue to work on his defense and is determined to stay behind the plate.
"Just cleaning up little things like the transfer [from the catcher's mitt], little things like that, and as you advance more and more pitchers work the corners, so keep improving [my framing]," he said. "I want to be a Gold Glove catcher."