Chukars' Isbel goes one better than cycle
Kyle Isbel came to the plate late Monday looking to cap a rare feat just 25 games into his professional career. The only problem was, he hit the ball too hard.Needing a triple for the cycle, the Royals' third-round pick in this year's First-Year Player Draft instead hit his second
Kyle Isbel came to the plate late Monday looking to cap a rare feat just 25 games into his professional career. The only problem was, he hit the ball too hard.
Needing a triple for the cycle, the Royals' third-round pick in this year's First-Year Player Draft instead hit his second homer of the game as Rookie-level Idaho Falls blanked Missoula, 9-0, at Melaleuca Field. Isbel finished 4-for-5 with four RBIs and three runs scored.
Gameday box score
"Both home runs tonight weren't a product of him trying to launch the ball," Chukars hitting coach Damon Hollins said. "They were both good, short swings. He is catching the ball out front of the plate and putting a good swing on it."
The University of Nevada-Las Vegas product came into the game batting .385/.467/.560 and had already had six games with at least three knocks, including a four-hit game 11 days ago.
He continued that roll Monday, batting out of the second spot in the lineup. The left-handed hitter doubled to right field with one out in the first inning and scored on a single by Nathan Eaton. In the third, Isbel lined a base hit to right to score Offerman Collado, who walked and advanced on a bunt.
Even Isbel's out was productive. In the fifth, he moved Collado to third base with a grounder to second. The Chukars blew the game open with six runs the next inning, and again Isbel was in the middle of it, blasting his third pro homer -- a drive to right that scored Tyler James.
Needing a three-bagger for the cycle, the 2016 co-Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year clubbed another ball that cleared the wall in right-center to cap the scoring.
"He definitely has balance," Hollins said, explaining one key for Isbel's success. "He has the ability to stay in his lower half and get his butt and legs into his swing. That short stride helps any hitter, let alone a hitter with his hand speed and ability to backspin the ball."
As a junior at UNLV, the 5-foot-11, 183-pound outfielder hit 14 long balls -- doubling his career output, but scouts were skeptical about whether the power would play in a pro setting. His three extra-base hits gave him 14 in 96 pro at-bats and he's slugged well over .500 in limited time.
"Just like any other hitter, if your swing is short and compact to the ball, and you stay connected to your lower half, you're going to put together some pretty good swings on the ball," said Hollins, a former big league outfielder. "... His approach is just trying to hit line drives. But he has a little bit of lift in his swing. I hate to say he'll be a gap-to-gap hitter, because he just hits the ball hard and sometimes it's going to get out."
Isbel had plenty of help on offense as Reed Rohlman rapped out four singles and scored once while Collado collected two hits, two walks, three RBIs and a run, Angel Medina added three singles and a run.
The beneficiary was left-hander J.C. Cloney (6-0). The 2017 ninth-round pick from the University of Arizona allowed four hits and one walk over six scoreless innings. He struck out two.
Vince Lara-Cinisomo is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @vincelara.
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