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gskweres9 · 03-31-2019, 02:44 PM

The fireworks lasted all July for Travis Everett. Well, it was a suboptimal ending, going 0-for-5 against the Houston Astros, the team he grew up rooting for, but he finished the month slashing .418/.467/509 with a couple of steals. Combined with his hot June, Travis was hitting .456/.507/.574, which leads to a whopping 1.080 OPS. He had four steals and hadn't been caught stealing yet. The part Travis was most proud of, however, was his strikeout-to-walk ratio. In 77 plate appearances, Travis had six walks compared to just four strikeouts.

All signs showed this 23-year-old outfielder was ready for the next level, but as of August 1st, he hadn't gotten the call yet. Travis was an analytical thinker. He tried to do what people say is right, keep his head down and not look towards the future, but it was so tough for him to do that. He took a look at the Bluefield Blue Jays roster, which would be the next step forward for him. They were also a Rookie level team, but they played in the Appalachian League, which is more prestigious than the Gulf Coast League.

A look at Bluefield's outfield made Travis understand why he hadn't gotten a call-up yet. The left fielder was named Jared Hart. A fellow Houstonian, the 21-year-old was selected in the 9th round in 2019. He was batting .301/.360/.434. While Hart didn't have any homers, he had eight doubles and five triples in his 136 at-bats. The center-fielder was a 20-year-old international signee out of Venezuela named Jhon Solarte. The toolsy outfielder also had solid stats, batting .280/.407/.398 with two homers and seven steals in 25 games played. The question with Solarte wasn't talent, but mental fortitude. He was known to have a temper, and his rise up the organizational ladder would depend on whether or not he could learn to keep that temper in check. Bluefield's right fielder was also a 23-year-old outfielder. Dwain Ormon was a 6th round pick in 2020. Canadian born, Ormon played collegiately at Ohio State. Ormon was hitting .296/.355/.456 with five homers in 33 games.

The stats of the guys in front of him reassured Travis, but it ruffled his feathers at the same time. Aside from Ormon, those guys were younger than him, and Ormon was a Canadian in a Canadian team's system that played at a power 5 D1. What team is going to give a real shot to a 23-year-old D2 graduate? If batting over .400 and having an on-base over .500 through two months wasn't enough, what would be?

The key for Travis would be to keep his speculation to a minimum and keep performing on game days. As so many coaches had told him in the past, control your controllables.

03-31-2019, 02:44 PM	#8
gskweres9 Major Leagues Join Date: May 2015 Location: Houston Posts: 439	Flying High in July The fireworks lasted all July for Travis Everett. Well, it was a suboptimal ending, going 0-for-5 against the Houston Astros, the team he grew up rooting for, but he finished the month slashing .418/.467/509 with a couple of steals. Combined with his hot June, Travis was hitting .456/.507/.574, which leads to a whopping 1.080 OPS. He had four steals and hadn't been caught stealing yet. The part Travis was most proud of, however, was his strikeout-to-walk ratio. In 77 plate appearances, Travis had six walks compared to just four strikeouts. All signs showed this 23-year-old outfielder was ready for the next level, but as of August 1st, he hadn't gotten the call yet. Travis was an analytical thinker. He tried to do what people say is right, keep his head down and not look towards the future, but it was so tough for him to do that. He took a look at the Bluefield Blue Jays roster, which would be the next step forward for him. They were also a Rookie level team, but they played in the Appalachian League, which is more prestigious than the Gulf Coast League. A look at Bluefield's outfield made Travis understand why he hadn't gotten a call-up yet. The left fielder was named Jared Hart. A fellow Houstonian, the 21-year-old was selected in the 9th round in 2019. He was batting .301/.360/.434. While Hart didn't have any homers, he had eight doubles and five triples in his 136 at-bats. The center-fielder was a 20-year-old international signee out of Venezuela named Jhon Solarte. The toolsy outfielder also had solid stats, batting .280/.407/.398 with two homers and seven steals in 25 games played. The question with Solarte wasn't talent, but mental fortitude. He was known to have a temper, and his rise up the organizational ladder would depend on whether or not he could learn to keep that temper in check. Bluefield's right fielder was also a 23-year-old outfielder. Dwain Ormon was a 6th round pick in 2020. Canadian born, Ormon played collegiately at Ohio State. Ormon was hitting .296/.355/.456 with five homers in 33 games. The stats of the guys in front of him reassured Travis, but it ruffled his feathers at the same time. Aside from Ormon, those guys were younger than him, and Ormon was a Canadian in a Canadian team's system that played at a power 5 D1. What team is going to give a real shot to a 23-year-old D2 graduate? If batting over .400 and having an on-base over .500 through two months wasn't enough, what would be? The key for Travis would be to keep his speculation to a minimum and keep performing on game days. As so many coaches had told him in the past, control your controllables.