Robertson Rebuilding Status At Durham

DURHAM, N.C.—Daniel Robertson tried to not put pressure on himself. As hard as he tried, though, he could not avoid it.

The 34th overall pick in 2012 came to Tampa Bay from Oakland as the centerpiece of the trade for Ben Zobrist in 2015, and in his haste to make a good impression found himself struggling more than ever.

Now, a year removed from being a BA Top 100 prospect and free of the weight of expectations, Robertson is finally starting to feel like himself.

“I knew obviously the magnitude of the trade and tried to make everything happen quicker than it was supposed to,” Robertson said. “I was trying to do way too much, was looking too far ahead. Now I’m just trying to stay in the moment and not think about the next level. I can honestly, truly say I’m having a lot more fun and am way more comfortable.”

Robertson, the Rays’ preseason No. 10 prospect, showed it was more than empty words by going 4-for-4 with a double and an RBI to lead Triple-A Durham to a 5-2 victory over Toledo (Tigers) on Wednesday night. The effort boosted his average to .259 and his on-base percentage to .344 on the year.

While the overall numbers aren’t eye-popping, the quality of Robertson’s swings and his play in the field is nonetheless making an impression on his coaches.

“I was telling our boss today he’s been the biggest surprise to me because last year he struggled so much,” Durham hitting coach Ozzie Timmons said. “Last year he was just putting a ton of pressure on himself that wasn’t needed. He was trying to prove everybody he was worthy of the trade.

“Now he’s more relaxed and just going to play and it’s paid off for him.”

Robertson showed how far he’s come with his first two at-bats against MudHens righthander Warwick Saupold, who was on the Tigers’ roster until earlier this month.

Robertson laced an inside fastball at the knees into left field with a lightning quick swing for a single in his first at-bat, and followed up with a sharp liner to the wall in left for a double in his second plate appearance of the night.

In both cases, Robertson showed the ability to take a mid-90s fastball, turn on it and drive it with authority, something he wasn’t showing previously.

“It’s night and day from this point now to last year and it reflects how you play in the field,” said Robertson, who was also hampered by a broken hammate bone that put him on the disabled list for two months last season. “I’m seeing a lot of guys who have big league time, that takes some time to adjust to, but I definitely feel like as the season’s progressed I’ve definitely gotten better.”

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound California native was Oakland’s No. 1 prospect at the time the A’s traded him and two others to Tampa Bay for Zobrist, with plaudits for his quick swing and mature approach at the plate and steady hands and quick release in the field.

All of that disappeared last year at Double-A Montgomery in his first year in the Rays system, to the point coaches pulled him aside to try and build him back up.

“I just told him ‘we traded for you, we like you, somebody really likes you,’” recalled Timmons, who was the hitting coach at Montgomery last season. “We told him just relax and have fun and the chips will fall for you the way they are supposed to.”

The message finally got through to Robertson, who shook off a slow opening month this year to hit .291 in May and .281 in June.

Beyond that, he’s also shown well defensively at second and third base in addition to his natural position at shortstop. He started at second base on Wednesday and converted all six of his chances, keeping him errorless in 139 innings there this season.

Now that he’s relaxed, Robertson is finally beginning to rediscover the form that made him a top prospect in the first place.

“I’m still not quite where I want to be,” he said, “but hopefully I can turn a corner this last month and a half and take off and see what happens.”

NEWS AND NOTES

Durham starter Jaime Schultz, the Rays’ preseason No. 23 prospect, gave up four hits and one run in 5 1/3 innings with four walks and seven strikeouts.

The 5-foot-10, 200-pound righthander sat 92-95 mph with his fastball, reaching 95 consistently in the middle innings, and pounded it in the lower half of the zone on the corners to get a large share of swings and misses. Six of his seven punchouts were swinging, including strikeouts on late swings from former major leaguers Casey McGehee, John Hicks and a rehabbing J.D. Martinez.

He complemented it with an upper 80s two-seam fastball with movement inside and under the hands of righthanders, and an 80-83 mph slider he commanded better as the game went on.

The 2013 14th-round selection out of High Point is now 5-4, 3.33 with 121 strikeouts in 102 1/3 innings with Durham. He has posted a sub-3.70 ERA with an average of at least eight strikeouts per nine innings at every stop in his pro career.

Toledo center fielder JaCoby Jones, the Tigers’ No. 5 midseason prospect, went 1-for-4 with three strikeouts. He froze multiple times on sliders from Schultz in the strike zone and was late on his fastballs. Jones, 24, is now hitting .231 with 60 strikeouts in 48 games since his promotion to Triple-A.

Toledo shortstop Dixon Machado, the Tigers’ No. 10 midseason prospect, went 0-for-2 with a strikeout and was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the sixth. Defensively he showed strong range to his left in particular and arm strength from all spots on the diamond.