Brandon Drury’s road to dominance
Brandon Drury has been given a chance to show what he can do at the Major League level this season. He has played in 21 of the Diamondbacks’ first 27 games thus far. There are multiple factors as to how and why this opportunity has been created.
The team suffered a huge loss when A.J. Pollock went down with an elbow injury. When Pollock went down, there was a void created in most every facet of baseball productivity. This reality left Chip Hale, as well as the front office, with a lot of tough decisions to make regarding the make-up of the roster without much notice.
After coming on strong as of late with five home runs and 10 RBIs in 13 games played since the second game in the three game set in San Diego on April 16th, Drury is starting to look like the obvious choice to fulfill this need.
Pollock going down is most likely the reason that Drury made the roster in the first place. The Diamondbacks view the 23-year-old as a potential All-Star, and the organization tends to make sure that such players are given an opportunity to play everyday while honing their skills. Without the unfortunate injury to Pollock, the predominately starting outfield would have consisted of A.J. in center, with Yasmany Tomas and David Peralta manning the corners.
Drury can play all over the diamond; he has recently shown ability to play in the outfield. Despite looking a little shaky in the outfield a few times, most notably while misreading a route and allowing a leadoff double in the ninth inning of the final game of a four game set at home against the Cardinals, comfort and route efficiency will improve as well with time at a new position. Playing multiple spots on the field gives Hale the luxury of sliding him into multiple positions during the week when giving starters a day off. Hale has taken advantage of this so far, with Brandon starting two games at second, six games at third, four games in left and three games in right.
His offensive output this season has only helped to solidify his spot in the mix for regular playing time. Despite the fact that he has walked only once, he has 23 hits in 21 games. Through 76 plate appearances, he has posted a slash line of .315/.329/.363, to go along with five home runs and 11 RBI.
The future looks bright for Drury, and the Diamondbacks can only benefit in the immediate future by giving him a nod as a potentially major contributor.