Player Journal: Fowler quickly finds his way

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Hey Everyone,

I'm coming to you this time from my summer home this season: Tulsa, Okla., home of Drillers, the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. A lot has happened since I talked to you last. We opened our season on April 3 against Corpus Christi away. We started off very sluggish, getting swept our first series.

Our Drillers team has a lot of slow starters, and that series we were carried by two guys -- Corey Wimberly and Daniel Carte. We definitely needed a little more offensive production. As our road trip continued we traveled to San Antonio, where our luck changed a bit. Our offensive started to come around a little. We ended up almost sweeping them, winning 2-of-3.

Then we traveled back for our home opener and got a chance to redeem ourselves on our first homestand. We played Corpus Christi again and won the first game before losing the next two. San Antonio came to us after Corpus again and we beat them 2-of-3.

So, a lot of ups and downs, but surprisingly we are at the top of our division with a 5-7 record. This week we are going to Springfield for four games, then we come back home for an eight-game homestand.

I want to thank everyone for their emails and support. I got a chance to answer a lot of them back personally. But here are a couple I wanted to share with you:

I'm currently in my second year of Babe Ruth baseball and have wanted to take advantage of the good things that come out of switch-hitting. I only started playing baseball about a year ago, but I've developed quickly and am usually batting in the third spot. I only have one year before high school and being a natural right-handed hitter, whenever I try to bat left-handed it looks like I'm trying to catch a butterfly with a net. My question for you is what would be the best time for me to try developing my left-handed swing, or is it just not worth it? --Jake Triton, 14

Believe it or not, all through high school I was a right-handed hitter. It wasn't until I got to pro ball when the Rockies developed me into being a switch-hitter. So to answer your question, if you're willing to put in the time and effort to do it, it definitely can pay dividends. It's really up to you in the long run. If you feel comfortable and are willing, by all means do it, but do it 150 percent.

As a tall, lanky, multi-talented player, some scouts have compared you to Dave Winfield -- another player I enjoyed watching for years. While it is never fair to ask a young prospect to compare himself with established Hall of Fame players, I am curious what Major Leaguer you most admire and why? --Doug Coward

I would have to say Ken Griffey Jr. in his younger days. Because he has a sweet swing and could do it all offensively and defensively!

Thanks again, everyone, and keep the emails coming!