DeVito's six RBIs are stuff of Legends

Chris DeVito prides himself on never getting too high or too low. The second-year pro knows to enjoy the good times as they come and minimize the slumps that will surely follow. For now, he's riding the crest of a tidal wave of offensive success.
DeVito hit a grand slam and a two-run homer for a career-high six RBIs on Friday as Class A Lexington rolled past Hagerstown, 16-4, at Whitaker Bank Ballpark. He also doubled and scored three runs.

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The 22-year-old has 12 RBIs in his last three games and leads all Minor Leaguers with 28. His seven home runs are tied for third in the Minors and top the South Atlantic League.
"Personally, I try and take it one at-bat at a time. It's a team philosophy but also my own personal philosophy," DeVito said. "You let go of the bad at-bats and bad games and remember the good ones. Personally, just one 'AB' at a time. There's good streaks and bad streaks. As hitters, we all go through them. I've learned the hard way, so when things are going bad, I try to minimize the negative and get back to the way things were when I was going good."
The University of New Mexico product started off with a bang on Friday, blasting his second grand slam of the season over the right-field wall. He batted twice in the Legends' seven-run third inning, producing a double to left and scoring on Emmanuel Rivera's triple. He popped out to end the frame.
DeVito went deep again the fifth, launching a two-run shot to right-center for his first career multi-homer game. He flied to left in his final plate appearance in the seventh.

"Honestly, I've been just putting some good swings on pitches," the first baseman said. "A lot of it has to do with my teammates getting on base in front and everybody being at the right place at the right time. I try to keep the same approach no matter the situation. I consider myself a guy that is supposed to produce runs, so I do my best to get them in whenever possible. But if nobody is on base, it's my job to get on so those guys behind me can do the job."
The Royals' eighth-round pick in last year's Draft enjoyed a solid debut with Rookie-level Burlington in 2016, batting .261/.346/.455 with nine homers and 50 RBIs in 60 games. Through his first 22 games in the South Atlantic League, DeVito is hitting .333/.362/.644 with 10 multi-hit efforts. He's driven in multiple runs in three straight games and has six roundtrippers and 15 RBIs in his last seven overall. Friday marked the third time he's driven in four runs in a game for the Legends.
"I wasn't too sure what to expect in my first offseason and Spring Training," DeVito said. "I lifted a lot, hit a lot and took a lot of ground balls. Basically, I was trying to prepare myself for playing a lot of games. Last year in August, I felt it after playing more baseball than I ever had in my life. I needed to really get in shape.
"As for my season, I'm not really a guy that's trying to do anything specific. I try to keep it as simple as it sounds -- one game at a time and just string them together as much as possible."
Royals No. 13 prospectKhalil Lee also hit a grand slam and drove in a career-high five runs. Gabriel Cancel went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and joined DeVito with a pair of homers for Lexington, which pounded out 16 hits.

Gerson Garabito (3-1), Kansas City's No. 28 prospect, surrendered three runs -- two earned -- on four hits with a walk and five strikeouts in six innings.
Nationals No. 29 prospectDaniel Johnson had a double and a two-run homer, his sixth of the year, for Hagerstown.