Through 24 games
95 AB
18 Runs
32 Hits
.337
2 Doubles
2 HR
15 RBI
This is not DISD Pitching.
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Coach Edelstein is in Vancouver this week and is watching Matty play a day game right now. Chris said that he went 2-4 last night including two seeds off Rangers first rounder Kasey Kiker.
Said it's 68 degrees right now at the game. Must be nice....
Said it's 68 degrees right now at the game. Must be nice....
I assumed he meant fahrenheit....
Did you read my PM?
I did. Back at ya.
SWAC 
AND
DBAT GM
they make cell phones.
AND
DBAT GM
they make cell phones.
quote:Originally posted by Ken Guthrie:
SWAC
AND
DBAT GM
they make cell phones.
That made me laugh Ken! Thanks.
I don't get it...????
JK lol
JK lol
Pitting a high schooler against college guys in a short-season league isn’t exactly a David vs. Goliath matchup, but Vancouver Canadians outfielder Matt Sulentic is definitely playing like he’s the next giant-killer.
Sulentic was batting .333/.373/.461 with 18 RBIs in his first 26 games with the Canadians, making him one of the top hitters in the Northwest League. He had a nine-game hitting streak early in the campaign, and he was looking to start another one.
“I think he’s done a terrific job for us to date,” Canadians manager Rick Magnante said. “He’s transitioned into a very fast A-league. Our scout (Blake Davis) was correct when he told us he could hit.”
Sulentic came to the Athletics as a third-round draft pick after earning second team High School All-America honors as a senior at Hillcrest High in Dallas. He signed with the A’s for $395,000 a couple of weeks after the draft and made his professional debut on June 24. But Oakland didn’t start him in the Rookie-level Arizona League, instead opting to send him to the more advanced Northwest League.
“I haven’t run into another high school player in this league that’s playing as an everyday player, and that’s a tribute to Matt,” Magnante said.
As surprising as Sulentic’s placement in the Northwest League may be, for some it may be even more surprising that the A’s used a third-round pick on a high school player. But one look at Sulentic’s stats and polished lefthanded bat is enough to see why the organization would be interested, in spite of its usual preference for college players.
“Obviously, the bat jumps out to you with Matt,” A’s scouting director Eric Kubota said.
Sulentic won the Dallas area triple crown this spring with an eye-popping .676 batting average, 19 home runs and 58 RBIs. That came after he hit .504 in 2005, good enough for second place in the Dallas area.
While in high school, Sulentic demonstrated his power to hit to all fields, and he has continued to show that power in the minors even though he’s playing in a pitcher’s park at Vancover. He had two home runs and seven doubles in his first 102 at-bats.
His success demonstrates how easily he’s adjusted from amateur ball to the pros. “He’s kind of an old soul,” Magnante said. “He hasn’t been in awe of anything that’s challenged him.”
Old-Fashioned Hard Work
Sulentic said working out at the Dallas Baseball Academy of Texas, a training facility, helped him perfect his batting skills.
“It was huge, absolutely huge,” he said. “Outside of my dad, it most helped me be the player I’ve become. The whole facility is tremendous. I’ve worked on my hitting there several times a week since I was 14.”
Still, Sulentic wasn’t a huge name on the Texas baseball scene coming into his senior season. He played at a small high school and didn’t work the showcase circuit as much as other players. But his strong bat helped him catch the attention of many scouts by the time the draft rolled around.
The A’s and Sulentic say it was the work of Davis, the area scout who recognized his potential earlier than most, that helped the team sign him. Kubota praised Davis for his commitment to building a relationship with Sulentic, as did the outfielder himself.
“I had a really good relationship with him,” Sulentic said. “He went to a bunch of my games, and he would contact me once or twice a week throughout the spring.”
Sulentic said while other scouts were in contact with him and got to know him well, Davis was one of the scouts he got to know the best.
Kubota said the scouting work the organization did on Sulentic represents the A’s commitment to finding the best available talent, regardless of whether the players are in high school or college. He said the team worried someone else might jump up and grab Sulentic before they had the opportunity to pick him in the third round.
“We were pleasantly surprised he was there,” he said. “We hoped he would get to us.”
Focusing On Moving Up
Sulentic said he just works hard every day to improve his game, and that his main adjustments have been with his mental approach against a higher level of competition rather than anything with his swing or other aspects of his game.
“The transition’s been good,” he said. “I haven’t had too many hard times. My teammates and coaches have been supportive. The people here are very helpful. I have a good host family, and that’s made the transition easier.”
While Sulentic is off to a great start, Kubota said the outfielder will likely stay with the Canadians for the rest of the season and get more experience. He said there aren’t many obvious issues the A’s need to address with Sulentic.
“Right now, it doesn’t seem like there are a lot of glaring weaknesses,” he said.
Coming into the draft, scouts noted Sulentic’s size (5-foot-10, 180 pounds) as his main drawback, but he has hit so well that those concerns are nonexistent right now. Magnante said the focus in Vancouver is just on polishing his abilities.
“With regards to his hitting, he’s taken to it like a duck to water,” he said. “We’re working on his baserunning and defense to make him more complete in his game.”
Sulentic had a chance to play in college, as he had signed with Texas A&M last fall. But he instead snatched the opportunity to fulfill his professional dream.
“Playing pro baseball has been a dream of mine since I was knee high,” he said. “It wasn’t an incredibly difficult decision. It was really exciting to go pro.
“I’m very positive about the Oakland A’s organization, and I’m excited to continue to work toward the goal of getting to the big leagues.”
Magnante said that goal looks like a definite possibility.
“I think Matt Sulentic made the right choice to decide to sign right after high school,” he said.
The A’s are feeling like they made the right choice as well.
Sulentic was batting .333/.373/.461 with 18 RBIs in his first 26 games with the Canadians, making him one of the top hitters in the Northwest League. He had a nine-game hitting streak early in the campaign, and he was looking to start another one.
“I think he’s done a terrific job for us to date,” Canadians manager Rick Magnante said. “He’s transitioned into a very fast A-league. Our scout (Blake Davis) was correct when he told us he could hit.”
Sulentic came to the Athletics as a third-round draft pick after earning second team High School All-America honors as a senior at Hillcrest High in Dallas. He signed with the A’s for $395,000 a couple of weeks after the draft and made his professional debut on June 24. But Oakland didn’t start him in the Rookie-level Arizona League, instead opting to send him to the more advanced Northwest League.
“I haven’t run into another high school player in this league that’s playing as an everyday player, and that’s a tribute to Matt,” Magnante said.
As surprising as Sulentic’s placement in the Northwest League may be, for some it may be even more surprising that the A’s used a third-round pick on a high school player. But one look at Sulentic’s stats and polished lefthanded bat is enough to see why the organization would be interested, in spite of its usual preference for college players.
“Obviously, the bat jumps out to you with Matt,” A’s scouting director Eric Kubota said.
Sulentic won the Dallas area triple crown this spring with an eye-popping .676 batting average, 19 home runs and 58 RBIs. That came after he hit .504 in 2005, good enough for second place in the Dallas area.
While in high school, Sulentic demonstrated his power to hit to all fields, and he has continued to show that power in the minors even though he’s playing in a pitcher’s park at Vancover. He had two home runs and seven doubles in his first 102 at-bats.
His success demonstrates how easily he’s adjusted from amateur ball to the pros. “He’s kind of an old soul,” Magnante said. “He hasn’t been in awe of anything that’s challenged him.”
Old-Fashioned Hard Work
Sulentic said working out at the Dallas Baseball Academy of Texas, a training facility, helped him perfect his batting skills.
“It was huge, absolutely huge,” he said. “Outside of my dad, it most helped me be the player I’ve become. The whole facility is tremendous. I’ve worked on my hitting there several times a week since I was 14.”
Still, Sulentic wasn’t a huge name on the Texas baseball scene coming into his senior season. He played at a small high school and didn’t work the showcase circuit as much as other players. But his strong bat helped him catch the attention of many scouts by the time the draft rolled around.
The A’s and Sulentic say it was the work of Davis, the area scout who recognized his potential earlier than most, that helped the team sign him. Kubota praised Davis for his commitment to building a relationship with Sulentic, as did the outfielder himself.
“I had a really good relationship with him,” Sulentic said. “He went to a bunch of my games, and he would contact me once or twice a week throughout the spring.”
Sulentic said while other scouts were in contact with him and got to know him well, Davis was one of the scouts he got to know the best.
Kubota said the scouting work the organization did on Sulentic represents the A’s commitment to finding the best available talent, regardless of whether the players are in high school or college. He said the team worried someone else might jump up and grab Sulentic before they had the opportunity to pick him in the third round.
“We were pleasantly surprised he was there,” he said. “We hoped he would get to us.”
Focusing On Moving Up
Sulentic said he just works hard every day to improve his game, and that his main adjustments have been with his mental approach against a higher level of competition rather than anything with his swing or other aspects of his game.
“The transition’s been good,” he said. “I haven’t had too many hard times. My teammates and coaches have been supportive. The people here are very helpful. I have a good host family, and that’s made the transition easier.”
While Sulentic is off to a great start, Kubota said the outfielder will likely stay with the Canadians for the rest of the season and get more experience. He said there aren’t many obvious issues the A’s need to address with Sulentic.
“Right now, it doesn’t seem like there are a lot of glaring weaknesses,” he said.
Coming into the draft, scouts noted Sulentic’s size (5-foot-10, 180 pounds) as his main drawback, but he has hit so well that those concerns are nonexistent right now. Magnante said the focus in Vancouver is just on polishing his abilities.
“With regards to his hitting, he’s taken to it like a duck to water,” he said. “We’re working on his baserunning and defense to make him more complete in his game.”
Sulentic had a chance to play in college, as he had signed with Texas A&M last fall. But he instead snatched the opportunity to fulfill his professional dream.
“Playing pro baseball has been a dream of mine since I was knee high,” he said. “It wasn’t an incredibly difficult decision. It was really exciting to go pro.
“I’m very positive about the Oakland A’s organization, and I’m excited to continue to work toward the goal of getting to the big leagues.”
Magnante said that goal looks like a definite possibility.
“I think Matt Sulentic made the right choice to decide to sign right after high school,” he said.
The A’s are feeling like they made the right choice as well.
quote:Originally posted by Old Pitcher:
Great article!!!! Congrats to the local boy turned hero! Keep up the great work!
What a joy to read about Matty's continued success. Thanks for sharing, Kermit.