A Leadoff State Of Mind For Alford

DUNEDIN, Fla.—At the beginning of the 2015 season, Kenny Graham sat top prospect Anthony Alford down for a chat. The Blue Jays wanted the uber-talented center fielder to bat leadoff, and Graham, then the hitting coach at low Class A Lansing, gave his pupil a full rundown of the job description.

“He was talking to me about the role of a leadoff hitter, what your job is and what your team expects of you,” said Alford, 21. “I took that into the season last year, kept that in my mind and continued to work the count my first at-bat (and) see what pitches they have.

“If they showed me all their pitches in my first at-bat, I felt like I had a really high chance to succeed the rest of the game.”

As it turned out, the 2012 third-rounder from Petal (Miss.) High did a lot of succeeding in 2015, hitting .298/.398/.421 in 107 games at Lansing and high Class A Dunedin. He stole 27 bases and drew 67 walks.

Given that Alford had batted just 110 times in the minors, plus 152 more times in Australia from 2012-14, while he played college football, his progress in 2015 was nothing short of remarkable.

“Beforehand I was more aggressive,” Alford said. “I was more of an ambush hitter. It was hit or miss for me, and I wasn’t really into working the count.

“I’ve always had good pitch recognition, and I’ve always been patient as far as waiting on my pitch, but I really focused on it and learned how to work the count and be a good leadoff hitter. Whatever my role was, I wanted to be the best doing that.”

The way in which Alford rapidly picked up and applied the lessons of 2015 is one reason he is now regarded as the organization’s top prospect. His approach at his second big league camp this year has been “listen a lot, talk less,” and it’s helped him make a positive impression.

JAYS CHATTER

• Righthander Conner Greene impressed with two shutout innings over two appearances in big league camp before being reassigned to the minor league side. He struck out three while allowing one hit and two walks. He should open the season at Double-A New Hampshire.

• Outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. scored the tying run on a wild pitch in the ninth inning of a March 2 game, but he felt his shoulder pop out of the socket on a head-first slide home. Toronto sent him to minor league camp shortly thereafter.