When Dante Bichette Jr. was selected in the second
round (51st overall) in the 2011 draft, it was criticized. Keith Law called the selection an over-draft
and ignored his athletic ability, already relegating him to a corner outfield
position. If he was that connected, he would have known already that the scouts
contacting the Bichette family had him pegged for the 1st or 2nd
round. That’s what Law does though, he ignores facts. He didn’t pay any attention to the fact that
Dante was a highly skilled tennis player that had the ability to remain at
third-base. When Dante was raking in the
Gulf Coast League, Law said he was only doing so because the more advanced
pitchers hadn’t signed yet. When “D”, as
his mother calls him, didn’t stop smoking the ball to all fields, Law was
nowhere to be found. He then went on to
claim that Dante was an “all or nothing hitter” which is funny considering his
advanced approach at the plate for somebody so young. Look at the On-Base Percentage and his pitch
recognition ability, Law. It’s Okay to
admit that you were wrong.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s move on. Dante is in a slump right now but he is still
getting on-base. The overall stats might
say otherwise to those who only look at the box scores & form their
conclusions. When you look at the difference between his batting average and
the on-base percentage, you can tell that his approach at the plate remains the
same, and that is a good sign. His lack
of strikeouts shows that he is not being overwhelmed with South Atlantic League
pitching, he’s just in a bit of a slide right now. Considering his age, it’s perfectly normal
and he is going to bust out of it. It is
actually pretty good that a player who has seen success his whole life to
struggle because that shows the character of a person. When you struggle, that is when you learn
about yourself, and a high character person like Dante Bichette Jr. is going to
overcome anything that comes his way.
Whether he is on the field or off it, one thing that is certain and that
is he will always make a positive impact because he not only possesses the
skill, but the fire to want to improve.
Twitter: @trevwolff