2005 Arizona Fall League Notebook: Stephen Drew

By Jack Magruder
October 10, 2005

PHOENIX--In his final game with the independent Camden Riversharks on May 30, Stephen Drew hit a mammoth grand slam home run in the third inning that cleared the 30-foot high right-field bleachers in Lancaster, Pa., before bouncing to a stop against a red brick building behind the sparkling new park.

In the previous inning, Drew went deep into the hole at shortstop to field a ground ball headed toward left field and turned it into a close play at first base, likely an out had a major leaguer been on the other end of the throw.

That night, Drew signed a five-year major league contract with Arizona worth $5.5 million, with a $4 million signing bonus, beating the clock before he’d have to re-enter the draft by five minutes. Incentives make the contract top out at $7.5 million, and the 2004 first-round pick out of Florida State can opt out if he is arbitration eligible after the fourth year.

For a player with a target on his back this season, Drew has managed to dodge the slings and arrows.

Drew was the high Class A California League player of the week three times during his six healthy weeks at Lancaster, and after a injury-induced blip after a promotion to Double-A Tennessee, he continued his productive work for Phoenix of the Arizona Fall League, where he had a home run on Opening Day and three homers in his first four games.

"There is so much pressure on him,'' Diamondbacks scouting director Mike Rizzo said while watching Drew in the first week of the Fall League. "It was a long year for him. It was a very stressful, emotional six months. I know how emotional and stressed I was, and I was just negotiating. I wasn't playing. He was playing through that roller coaster.

"Everyone knows who he is. Everyone knows who his brother (Dodgers outfielder J.D. Drew) is. They want him. Every pitcher bears down on him when they face him. Everybody wants to get a notch on his belt. 'He was 0 for 2 against me.'

"He's got his head on straight. He's a level-headed kid. He's not bothered by anything. He's not going to be one of those wide-eyed kids. He's going to fit in the Fall League, just like he's going to fit into the major leagues some day.''

Dispatched to Lancaster two weeks after signing, Drew hit .389-10-39 with 26 walks, his on-base (.486) and slugging (.738) percentages off the charts. He missed time because of a hamstring injury, then was sidelined because of the same problem after being sent to Tennessee to replace the injured Jerry Gil.

Drew endured a 1-for-20 stretch with the Smokies but finished .218-4-13, making his cumulative numbers .320-14-52 in about two months of active duty.

"One of the essential things about him is, he knows the pitches he can handle and the ones he can't,'' Rizzo said. "Even if they (ones he does not like) are in the strike zone he will not offer, unless he is behind in the count.

"He's got power. He can hit for average. He's got instincts. He has all the defensive tools to play an outstanding shortstop. He is one of the most instinctual players for his age that I've ever seen. He is always in the right place, and that is something you can't teach.”

Some scouts believe Drew might be only a half-year away from the major leagues, but the Diamondbacks are planning to proceed cautiously.

"We've got five weeks to check him out in the Fall League right in our backyard,'' Rizzo said. "We'll see how he plays. We're going to do what is best for Stephen Drew and what is best for the Diamondbacks. We'll let his ability dictate where he will play'' in 2006.

A few criticized Drew's seemingly laid-back style while at Florida State, but Rizzo said he has seen none of that. Quite the opposite. Drew begged his way into the lineup despite his injuries this summer after being asked if he needed time off.

"He cares, and he wants to help his team win,'' Rizzo said. "You see him go hard into second base, hard and clean. He is not going to swear at the umpire or throw his helmet, but it's there. He is going to take his 0-for-4s and his 4-for-4s the same way, and you have to do that in the big leagues.''

FALL GUYS

• AFL rosters continued to shuffle. The Royals pulled first baseman Justin Huber out of the league and had yet to name a replacement, while the Pirates removed righthander Ian Snell and replaced him with lefthander Mike Connolly.

• Surprise shortstop Brandon Wood (Angels), the only prospect ranked higher than Drew in the Cal League after a monster offensive season at Rancho Cucamonga, homered on Opening Day Oct. 4 and had three home runs in his first four games. A first-round pick in 2003, Wood hit .321-43-115 with 51 doubles and a .672 slugging percentage at Rancho. His Surprise and Rancho Cucamonga teammate, second baseman Howie Kendrick, was 3 for 5 in the first two games of the season and had a two-hit game in the fourth.

• Mesa catcher Justin Knoedler and right fielder Dan Ortmeier, who started the regular-season finale for the parent Giants against the Diamondbacks, each homered on Opening Day. Ortmeier also stole a base, as he did in the final game of the major league season.

• A pair of touted third basemen got off to strong starts. The Javelinas’ Ian Stewart (Rockies) had two homers and nine RBIs in the first three games of the season. Grand Canyon’s Eric Duncan (Yankees) had a two-homer game Oct. 8, driving in four, a day after a four-hit game.

• Surprise righthander Jered Weaver (Angels), who signed for a $4 million bonus at the same time Drew did on May 30, struck out six of the seven batters he faced in his first appearance Oct. 5, giving up one hit.