Prospect Pad Retrospective: Royals 3B/1B Hunter Dozier

Image credit: Hunter Dozier at the 2016 BA Prospect Pad

As we prepare for the 2019 Baseball America Prospect Pad presented by Louisville Slugger, we are looking back at some of the interesting interviews from past years.

Today, we look back at Royals 3B/1B Hunter Dozier’s 2016 interview. At the time, Dozier was in the midst of a career resurgence. The year before, Dozier had hit .213/.281/.349 for Double-A Northwest Arkansas. That could have been a death knell for a prospect who relies on his bat.

But in 2016, Dozier found his stroke again and was in the midst of a comeback season. He found that the struggles of 2015 helped him figure out what he needed to improve.

“Last year I was at the lowest of lows. It was a tough year but definitely made me a better player. I put a lot of hard work in this offseason to get back to where I was,” Dozier said.

By then, Dozier could again envision getting to the majors. In fact he did so for the first time later that season. This year he’s hitting .314/.398/.589 for the Royals. Back then, he hoped to one day get to face off against one of the hardest-throwing pitchers in baseball.

“I’m good buddies with Syndergaard. We’ve worked out together… I would love to face him one day,” Dozier said.

He’s still waiting as Dozier has yet to face off against the Mets righthander.