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Monday, June 06, 2005

Todd Jennings Gets Hot

Former Dirtbag Todd Jennings is on a roll. Thanks to reader Kurt for passing this piece along from Baseball America (no link, in the paid subscription area):

San Francisco Giants

Catching On At Third

SAN FRANCISCO--Todd Jennings is built like Craig Biggio and plays with the same hustle, intensity and intelligence. The 23-year-old even bears some facial resemblance to the Astros' franchise icon.

So it's no great shock that Jennings has moved from behind the plate to the infield. Drafted as a catcher, Jennings is starting at third base this season for high Class A San Jose.

Jennings' versatility and athleticism were among the reasons that the Giants took him with their second-round pick in the 2003 draft.

"Craig Biggio is an awfully nice guy to be compared to," said Joe Amalfitano, who joined the Giants as a roving infield coach this year. "Watching Biggio and watching this kid, they do seem to have a few things in common. This kid really wants it and that helps a lot. He's not going to shortchange himself, that's for sure."

The timing of the conversion was a little surprising if only because the Giants aren't stocked with catching prospects. But the organization decided Jennings could use a change after batting .186 in 45 games at San Jose last year. Shoulder problems and a concussion sustained in a homeplate collision made it a miserable year, but Jennings finished better during brief stints in the Rookie-level Arizona League and at short-season Salem-Keizer.

His shoulder is completely recovered now and catching remains an option in the future according to Bobby Evans, the Giants director of minor league operations. Jennings played both third base and catcher at Long Beach State, where he holds a share of the school record with a 28-game hitting streak.

Jennings isn't short on aptitude or desire, which was evident as he worked this spring with special assistant Jim Davenport and Amalfitano.

"From what I've seen, the time he put in is paying off," Amalfitano said. "He has the attributes to play third base. He has an accurate arm. He's really improved his footwork. He caught onto that quickly."

Jennings is still a work in progress. He had a team-high six errors through 31 games and was hitting .257-4-16.

BA also has this in the Daily Dish today:

It seems we are noting a hot bat almost daily from the Giants' affiliate at high Class A San Jose, and today it's Todd Jennings. The 2003 second-round pick hit just .186 for San Jose last year, but has put together a 16-game hitting streak to up his season totals to .298-4-32.

The 1st article is from May 20, so Todd's average has gone up 41 points in 17 days.

posted on 6/06/2005 by Jeff Agnew

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