Peaking LaValley homers in third straight

Gavin LaValley hadn't hit more than 11 home runs in any of his first three professional seasons. He's at 13 and counting at the end of May.
The Reds' 26th-ranked prospect homered for the third consecutive game Wednesday before Class A Advanced Daytona dropped a 6-5, 13-inning decision at St. Lucie. He also doubled and scored twice.

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"I've just been trying to stay calm and stay in my zone, get my pitch and take advantage of it when I get it," LaValley said. "Trying to stay relaxed, not put too much pressure on myself and let my abilities do their thing."
LaValley nearly took advantage of a first-inning mistake from Nabil Crismatt, popping out to shortstop on a 2-2 pitch with runners on second and third and one out. He got revenge against the Mets starter in the fourth on another 2-2 offering, going deep to left for a solo shot that opened the scoring.
"I was just looking for a fastball and to be on time for the fastball," LaValley said. "In the first, he hung me a changeup and that's the one I popped up. And the next at-bat, he hung me a curveball and that's the one I hit out. He actually hung me a changeup the pitch before and I hit it out foul. And then he threw the changeup the next pitch."
The 2014 fourth-round pick doubled to center off Crismatt in the sixth and walked in the eighth against right-hander Johnny Magliozzi. LaValley struck out in both the 10th and 12th innings, a rarity for the slugger, who'd fanned once in his previous six games.
"I was taking really good swings. I fouled off a lot of pitches and the last one was a foul tip," he said. "I thought I put really good swings on them, they just didn't connect for me."
Connecting hasn't been an issue this year for LaValley, who came in with 21 homers in 281 Minor League games. His 13 long balls rank second in the Florida State League, one behind Bradenton's Logan Hill, but the 6-foot-3, 235-pound first baseman couldn't put his finger on a specific reason for his breakout, despite an increased comfort level at the plate.
"I don't know, I just worked really hard in the offseason," LaValley said. "I worked on a lot of stuff to get leverage on the ball. Instead of trying to muscle the ball out, I just trust my hands and my ability and let them do their thing. I found a stance I finally like and a position with my hands I could finally trust to get there on time, so I think that's a big part of it."
LaValley wasn't the only Tortugas infielder to go deep, with Reds No. 13 prospect Shed Long leading off the sixth by going the other way for his ninth homer. No. 9 prospect Alfredo Rodriguez and Nick Senzel, MLB.com's No. 21 overall prospect, fill out a loaded infield in Daytona.
"In Spring Training, they told us this was the infield they wanted to watch and they put a lot of pressure on us and high expectations," LaValley said. "We didn't put pressure on ourselves and went out and played the game as we know how. We get along really well, us four are kind of the leaders, but we take the whole team with us and make everyone better.
"We play every day and we know what we're thinking and have a lot of fun together on the field and in the clubhouse. We've gotten really close over the last two or three months of the season so far."

After Long's homer put Daytona ahead, 2-1, St. Lucie scored twice in the bottom of the frame on J.C. Rodriguez's triple and a sacrifice fly by Mets No. 20 prospect Jhoan Urena. Two innings later, Chad Tromp cleared the bases with a double to left to put the Tortugas back on top before Rodriguez singled in a run and scored on Urena's double in the bottom of the eighth.
Patrick Mazeika singled home John Mora in the 13th to give the Mets the walk-off win.