Prospect Q&A: Seager's magical year

For anybody who grew up playing baseball in a baseball-loving family, it's hard to imagine a more exciting year than Corey Seager had in 2013. The Dodgers' second-ranked prospect had plenty to write home about.

Seager, the 18th overall pick in the 2012 Draft, enjoyed his first full professional season, which he's wrapping up in the Arizona Fall League. It began with Class A Great Lakes in the Midwest League, he batted .309, whacked 12 homers and had 33 extra-base hits while putting up a .918 OPS in 74 games. The 19-year-old joined Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga in the California League, where the Quakes went the distance in a first-round playoff series.

Shortly after the Cal League postseason ended, Seager reported to the prospect-packed AFL, where he's the regular shortstop for the Glendale Desert Dogs, and played in the Fall Stars Game on Saturday.

In addition to those accomplishments, Seager celebrated a remarkable season by his parent club and big news on the home front. His eldest brother, Kyle, led the Seattle Mariners with a .338 on-base percentage while playing in 160 games. He was second on the team in hits (160), doubles (32) and RBIs (69) and third in homers (22). His older brother, Justin, was picked by the Mariners in the 12th round of the Draft out of the UNC Charlotte and played 61 games with short-season Everett in the Northwest League.

Seager took a few minutes to talk to MiLB.com.

MiLB.com: It seems like this was a really big year for you on a lot of different levels, with you doing what you did in your first full pro season, with the Dodgers having the season they had and with the success of both of your brothers. Have you felt like it's all been kind of a magical stretch?

Corey Seager: Yeah, you know, it feels like it's been really crazy, actually. This was [Kyle's] second full year in the Majors and he was looking to have a good year like he did. For me, I didn't really have any expectations for myself other than to just play hard every day all season, and I ended up having a good year. I was just trying to get through the season. And it was awesome to see my middle brother get drafted and go to the Mariners and be in Kyle's organization.

MiLB.com: How much are you able to pay attention to what they're doing on any given night or week during the season?

Seager: I checked up on my eldest brother [Kyle] every night. We texted or talked every night or almost every night. I kept up with my middle brother [Justin] every week, usually on the weekend. When he was in school, it was hard to follow what he was doing when he had games in the middle of the week. But I've gotten really close to both my brothers over the last couple years. We've spent more time talking to each other and keeping up, and it's been really fun.

MiLB.com: And what about following what goes on at the big league level? Obviously, your job is to stay locked in on your game, but, for example, when the Dodgers went on a 42-8 run, how tuned into that were you?

Seager: Yeah, I definitely follow the Dodgers. I was checking the box score every night. My brother [Kyle] gave me the good advice not to ever look ahead. He told me, 'Make every level your Major Leagues. Don't push, stay in the moment.' That's really good advice. I definitely checked the box scores but not for any other reason to see what they were doing. I checked, but I didn't put much thought into what might be going on with them.

MiLB.com: Having so much going on on the periphery could be overwhelming for some players your age. Do you have to get into a certain mind-set to only take from that stuff the time and energy that will help you?

Seager: Yeah, for sure. You never want to root against anybody or anything like that, but you can't get caught up in somebody else's game. You root for everybody, but you really need to remember that the most important thing, by far, is to handle your own business.

MiLB.com: Since Justin joined the Mariners system, are you feeling a little outnumbered in the family? Are your parents going to root for Seattle harder than L.A.?

Seager: I'm pretty sure I'm going to get ganged up on during the holidays. That's probably going to happen. But I was really excited for [Justin] when he got drafted. And I'm really looking forward to working out with both of them during the offseason. That should be good.

MiLB.com: Have you guys ever been on different teams in the same league growing up or did the age differences keep that from happening?

Seager: I've never played against them. I played with my middle brother in high school for two years but never against either one of them. If that happens, it definitely will be weird.

MiLB.com: Speaking of high school, when you were drafted last summer, were you tempted at all to go the college route? Or after you went where you went in the first round, did you know you wanted to jump in and start working on improving your game full-time?

Seager: You know, I was really excited to go to [the University of] South Carolina and I had a good relationship with South Carolina. I told them ahead of time, if it happens that I'm drafted between this spot and this spot, I'm going to sign. It did happen that I got drafted in those spots and once it happened, I was really glad it wasn't [on the cusp of my limits], because that would have been a hard decision and I would have really had to think about it.

MiLB.com: Did you know what you wanted to study, if you were going to go to South Carolina?

Seager: Not really. That was something I was still kind of thinking about, still deciding.

MiLB.com: What you've been able to do as a pro shows you were ready. You had a pretty darn good first full season. Looking back, is there anything you would have liked to have done differently or any particular part of your game you wish you'd been able to develop more?

Seager: I had a pretty good year, fortunately. There's not one specific thing I can look at and say I wish I'd done much better. Obviously, you're always looking to improve on everything. I want to get faster on defense, get to some more balls and just kind of my overall game -- there's all kinds of things I want to improve on overall.

MiLB.com: Is that really what this experience in the AFL is all about for you?

Seager: Yeah, it's a little bit of a quicker game. I'm getting used to that and working on improving everything against better quality players.

MiLB.com: I've heard that the AFL can be especially tough on guys who haven't faced Double-A pitching before, because there are so many pitchers who can get younger batters to chase breaking pitches that start in the zone. Has that been kind of a challenge?

Seager: Yeah, for sure. Everybody here is a top guy in his organization. Every pitcher has good quality off-speed stuff and throws well and hits his spot. There's a real difference with the control they have over all their stuff. I'm always hoping to swing at a strike, and [facing this high-quality pitching] changes your approach a little bit. You've got to be a little quicker. And you've also got to be quicker on defense. I think this is really improving where I'm going defensively.

MiLB.com: Is it kind of weird to be down there playing right now? The World Series just ended and now you guys are kind of the only game in town, the only pro ballplayers still playing competitive games in the States.

Seager: Well, I don't know. It's just, my year hasn't ended. I'm grinding out the year. It's definitely a little weird, kind of a weird feeling.

MiLB.com: And for a guy who's just had his first full season -- you've been playing almost every day for about eight months now, right?

Seager: This is definitely the longest I've ever played consistently. Everybody here is a little bit nicked up or has a little bit of fatigue. We're all just trying to grind out at-bats and play the game right. A little fatigue is a part of it for everybody here.

MiLB.com: What's the most fun you've had with a team?

Seager: Probably making the playoffs [this season], after playing that long season and then to get there. That was really fun.

MiLB.com: Did you go to a lot of Minor League games in Kannapolis growing up?

Seager: I went to a few Intimidators games but not many, really. I was pretty busy all the time playing ball as a kid, plus both my brothers were playing, so we were pretty busy during the baseball season.

MiLB.com: Did you have a favorite Major Leaguer growing up?

Seager: Derek Jeter, probably. I'd have to say Derek Jeter.

MiLB.com: Yeah, for a shortstop, that's probably going to be the answer, right?

Seager: Well, yeah, he's a good guy and he's a good all-around player -- he does everything right on the field.

MiLB.com: And if you weren't a pro ballplayer, do you know what you'd want to be doing for a living?

Seager: Not really. No, I can't answer that question for you. Sorry.