SAL notes: Rome's Elander lets loose

When Josh Elander steps into the batter's box on the right side of the plate, he has the look of a natural hitter. Possessing a compact swing with the ability to keep his hands back until the last possible moment, the catcher-turned-left fielder has been pounding South Atlantic League pitchers at an impressive pace this season, resulting in hitting streaks of nine, eight and seven games over his first 49 outings.

"That's the area I always spent the most time with my dad, hitting off the tee after school and in the cage at night," Elander said. "Obviously, hitting is something I take a lot of pride in. It's my best tool, and I'm trying to find different ways to polish that. Right now it's just trying to find a good pitch to hit and having professional at-bats. The guys in front of me are doing a good job of giving me the opportunity to drive in runs."

Elander put together an impressive Memorial Day weekend, going 7-for-14 in a three-game stretch with three homers, six RBIs and four runs scored. That performance solidified his place among the league leaders in numerous offensive categories as he entered Wednesday's action ranked second in RBIs (41), total bases (107) and extra-base hits (tied, 27), fourth in slugging (.575) and hits (tied, 61) and sixth in batting average (.328).

"Getting off to a good start is important at any level," Elander said. "Once you get rolling, you tend to get more and more confident, which is a great thing as a hitter. There's going to be ups and downs, but you need to minimize the downs and maximize the ups while coming out here every day ready to play."

He has produced at the plate while making a change on defense. Drafted last June in the sixth round out of Texas Christian as a catcher, Elander caught during his professional debut at Rookie-level Danville. The Braves wanted to get a good look at Elander behind the plate, particularly considering the dearth of catching depth throughout the professional ranks, but realized his future in pro ball most likely resided at a corner position.

Elander caught as a junior and senior in high school but never focused solely on the position until his last two years at TCU. He played right field as a freshman with the Horned Frogs but developed to the point at catcher where he put together a strong summer with the U.S. national college team in 2011. Despite possessing above-average athleticism, scouts were concerned about Elander's hard hands and felt a change of scenery awaited at the next level.

Even though the angles are different in left field compared to right, Elander said in some ways the transition has been a matter of "knocking the dust off" his abilities.

"It's going well, but it's been an adjustment," Elander said. "The Braves gave me a good opportunity during instructional league to get about 20 games under my belt along with 30 to 40 fly balls a day. That obviously helped my confidence. Now it's just a matter of staying with the routine and getting as many balls as I can so I can stay comfortable out there."

Though Elander has displayed above-average arm strength in left and played the position well with only one error thus far, the Braves have maintained since drafting him that his bat will be his ticket to the big leagues. Elander generates excellent bat speed and drives the ball to all fields, which should allow him to hit 20-plus home runs annually as he continues to make adjustments at higher levels.

"Playing here at Rome is a professional atmosphere, and that's all you can ask for," Elander said. "It's a top-notch organization run by people who care about their players. I'm lucky to be in this organization, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make the most of my opportunity."

In brief

Chip off the old block: Lexington's Raul Mondesi, a 17-year-old shortstop and the son of the former Major Leaguer with the same name, hit for the cycle in the Legends' 7-4 victory over Kannapolis on May 27. Mondesi joined Jordan Parraz, who accomplished the feat on July 26, 2007, as the lone Legends to hit for the cycle by tripling in the first inning, homering in the third, knocking an infield single in the fifth and doubling down the left-field line in the sixth.

Power in West Virginia: West Virginia has been the league's hottest team of late, reeling off a seven-game winning streak from May 20-26. The Power are 18-10 in May, led by pitchers Joely Rodriguez (3-1, 0.90 ERA in five starts this month) and Orlando Castro (3-1, 2.51, five starts) and first baseman Stetson Allie, who is hitting .333/.436/.586 with five homers and 21 RBIs in 27 games in May.

What a difference: Rosell Herrera spent the first half of 2012 with Asheville and hit .202/.272/.271 in 63 contests before being demoted to Tri-City at midseason. Back full-time at shortstop after seeing time at third base last year, Herrera has blossomed into one of the league's best prospects. Through May 28, he was second in the SAL in hits (63), total bases (109) and on-base percentage (.432), fourth in batting average (.337), slugging percentage (.583) and home runs (tied, 10) and sixth in RBIs (38) while playing stellar defense.