Shuckers’ Betancourt makes turnaround at plate
The month of July has treated Shuckers infielder Javier Betancourt much better than June.
The 21-year-old native of Venezuela struggled badly at the plate in June and he entered July with a batting average of .196, but his fortunes have changed dramatically over the last couple of weeks.
In the last nine games, Betancourt has hits in eight of those contests. He is 9-of-25 during that stretch, improving his batting average to .214.
Betancourt and hitting coach Sandy Guerrero have spent plenty of time together to make sure his swing got back on track.
“We've been working every day before a game, sometimes after the game,” Betancourt said last week. “During the all-star break, we were working because there was something wrong. We're trying to fix it and it's working out. I'm seeing the ball good. I'm just trying to keep it up.”
Betancourt has been on the upswing lately while many of his teammates have been dealing with some struggles in the early portion of the second half of the season.
It was Betancourt who provided the decisive hit Monday night to end a six-game losing streak for the Shuckers. The skid was the longest in the team's two-year history. He ripped a down down the left field line to score a pair of runs in the seventh inning to hand the Shuckers a 3-1 win at Pensacola.
Betancourt has proven steady with runners on base for much of the season and ranks third on the team with 31 RBIs.
Betancourt has also seen much more time at his more natural position, second base, after playing a lot of shortstop early in the season. He has a .980 fielding percent at second base, compared to .939 at shortstop.
A career first
When Johnny Davis stepped to the plate in the ninth inning of Sunday's 4-3 loss at Pensacola, he had yet to hit a home run as a pro. That all changed with a blast over the right field fence.
His first home run came as a pinch hitter.
The home run came in his 234th career game and 987th plate appearance.
Davis has added some speed to the Biloxi lineup since his promotion from Class-A Brevard County (Fla.). He is batting .258 with 12 runs scored and five stolen bases.
Big stage
Former Shuckers left-hander Josh Hader earned a spot in the 2016 Futures MLB All-Stars Futures Game this past Sunday. He managed to strike out the only batter he faced in the game.
Hader, who is now at Triple-A Colorado Springs, is 2-3 with a 2.56 ERA in 81 innings pitched this season. He has 104 strikeouts and 33 walks.
Strong impression
Right-hander Junior Rincon has been impressive out of the bullpen since he was promoted to Biloxi from Brevard County. Rincon has retired all 24 batters, including 12 by strikeouts in eight innings.
Rincon was 0-2 with a 3.50 ERA in 19 appearances for Brevard County this season.
This story was originally published July 12, 2016 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Shuckers’ Betancourt makes turnaround at plate."