D'Vo Part II -- Latest: Fantastic Hometown Article Details & Profile

[Mr Southpaw]

Anybody see d'Vo play down in Florida? He currently is batting .329 with almost no power. He was one of my favorites before he left for a year. I really don't know what happened to him, i think I remember someone saying he lost his passion. Anybody have any information?

[torts]

nope, but he seems to be getting on base alright for not playing all last year.

[DHonks]

I'm sure the power/slg will return, but it's encouraging to see him getting hits and some walks

[igor67]

It's still pretty hard to say, but he has hit 100 ABs with a .350 average in a pitcher's league. Given he always had the athletic tools I'll gladly take any kind of showing that he can hit for average.

[dacbrewers]

I have seen several games and he has raw speed. I saw him make a diving catch in the right center gap that might be one of the best I have ever seen by anyone professionals or minors. The guy is hitting the ball for average and takes an approach with 2 strikes that more of the manatees hitters should take....put it in play and don't swing for the fences. He just came back to the game and from what I saw...this guy if going to be around awhile. The manatees pitchers can be thankful that this guy came back. He has had a few miscues...like getting picked off first several times but that is to be expected with the long layoff. He should be a top 25 prospect as should some of the manatees pitchers...check out the pitchers stats....very good. Last thing...Mark Dewey is doing a great job with the manatees pitching staff.

[Mr Southpaw]

Thanls for the insight, DB! I hope he keeps it up. We have a number of great outfield prospects.

[Mr Southpaw]

.336 average as of 8/10, not striking out much and taking a few walks. At 25, do we move him to AA yet this year? Or maybe start AA next year and see if he can jump to AAA at mid season?

[igor67]

I doubt he'd get a lot out of 3 weeks of AA. You want him to feel successful probably at this point, so I'd keep him at A+ and if he continues to outpeform his previous lines try and get him into the Fall league for a challenge.

[HiAndTight]

Thanls for the insight, DB! I hope he keeps it up. We have a number of great outfield prospects.

 

Yeah, I really think in 3-4 years from now we're going to have a very nice crop of either top prospects(top 100 types, maybe a couple really excel and we'll see them in the top 25) and or young guys starting to make their mark in the big leagues.

 

Coulter and Roache both have big time power potential. I know there is this....almost cult following to have Coulter moved from catcher, but the guy is extremely athletic and extremely agile and has all the skills to develop into a catcher. Roache reminds me a bit of Cruz. Arcia may be ready just in time to move Segura to 2nd or look at moving him.

 

And D'vo is just one of those guys who's completely up in the air obviously. It's awesome to see that batting average and those 4-5 type games. Next year at AA will be really interesting.

 

Now if we just have more than a few pitchers in AA/AAA.......

[HiAndTight]

I doubt he'd get a lot out of 3 weeks of AA. You want him to feel successful probably at this point, so I'd keep him at A+ and if he continues to outpeform his previous lines try and get him into the Fall league for a challenge.

 

 

Totally agree. Let him go into the off-season, perhaps the AZ fall league with the confidence of very high BA and hot and then start him in AA next year. I don't see much rush. We have Aoki(at least for now) along with Braun, Gomez, Schafer and Kh Davis in the OF(and Gindl who everytime I see him I think he's one of those older ballboys that come teams have, but who's produced). Let him get comfortable and let the aforementioned group figure it out.

 

I also like Kentrail Davis. I still think he has the tools and the talent to be a impact big leaguer.

[Mass Haas]

If you're not excited about D'Vo's return after reading this, please reconsider

 

***

 

Welcome back, sir

by Danny Aller, Albany (GA) Herald

 

MELBOURNE, Fla. — Brevard County Manatees manager Joe Ayrault likes to have a daily conversation with center fielder D’Vontrey Richardson.

 

And usually, it’s pretty one-sided.

 

“There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t walk by him and tell him how much I enjoy watching him play,” Ayrault said. “He’s just that exciting to watch, and I know I speak for the Brewers when I say we’re glad he’s back.”

 

So is Richardson.

 

Arguably the most highly touted athlete to play for Lee County High School outside of San Francisco Giants catcher and 2012 NL MVP Buster Posey, Richardson carried a heavy burden when he arrived at Florida State in 2006 as one of the top recruits for both programs. The Seminoles’ football team wanted him to play the demanding job of quarterback, while the baseball team badly needed his MLB-caliber speed, bat and arm.

 

For Richardson, balancing both was too much. So he quit football to focus on baseball in 2008. Then he quit school altogether to turn pro in 2009.

 

Not long after, he gave up on that dream, too.

 

“Sometimes, you just have to give it up whenever it’s not as fun as it used to be,” Richardson told The Herald in an exclusive interview almost exactly a year ago when it was learned he told the Brewers, who drafted him in the fifth round in 2009, he was going home to Leesburg and would not be returning. “It’s a game we’ve played our whole life, and we should just be able to go out and have fun doing it. Practice was fun, the games were fun, but all the traveling and being away from my family and friends (took its toll).”

 

Then Ayrault got a call three months ago. The news? D’Vo was coming back.

 

“Our farm director told me there was a good possibility he would coming back to our club very soon whenever he was ready, and I was very pleased to hear that,” Ayrault said. “I mean, he’s such an unbelievable athlete. The tools he possesses are off the chart. I’m real glad he’s back with us and doing a great job.”

 

Make that a phenomenal job.

 

Richardson, who said he started thinking about giving pro baseball one final shot while finishing his degree late last year in Atlanta, didn’t rejoin the team until midway through the high-Class A Manatees’ season in mid-June once he decided to pick up the phone and ask to come back. And despite being the new guy with plenty of rust still to knock off, a month and a half after he returned, he’s now an everyday starter in center field, hitting .355 — tops on the team — with an on-base percentage of .402, which also leads the Manatees.

 

“I was just missing it, man,” Richardson said in a telephone interview Friday. “There I was in school, in class, day-dreaming about playing again. I just didn’t want to wake up one day and be 40 years old and wonder, ‘What if?’ You never want to have any regrets in life, and I love baseball so much, I think it took me being away from it to finally realize that.

 

“More than anything, I’m a competitor. I always have been. And I missed competing so much. That was the turning point.”

 

After some anxious, butterflies-in-the-stomach moments when dialing the Brewers’ front office — then pressing “end” on his cellphone a couple of times as he continued to try to gather the courage to ask for another chance — Richardson finally pressed “send.”

 

The response on the other end was nothing short of total reassurance.

 

“I was nervous, honestly. I thought maybe the door was closed,” Richardson said. “But they invited me right back and told me they were thankful I’d changed my mind. And I told them how thankful I was for that.”

 

Richardson rejoined the organization in May and was first sent to the Brewers’ instructional league in Arizona — a typical first stop for a new player. And while he was expected to stay for around two months, scouts quickly saw that wasn’t necessary.

 

“He came right in after less than a month in Arizona, hit the ground running and made an impact for us everywhere,” Ayrault said. “I can’t even pick one moment (that typifies) how good he’s been since he got back — hitting, stealing bases, making diving catches in the outfield. You name it. He does something every day that just impresses me more and more.”

 

Starting with his very first at-bat for the Manatees.

 

“I got a hit,” Richardson recalled excitedly, adding that his teammates gave him a raucous cheer from the dugout once he reached base. “Right up the middle. I was worried about being rusty and not doing well, but I singled my first time up. That helped the nerves kind of go away.”

 

Since then, Richardson has delivered a game-winning hit, several go-ahead RBIs and a handful of highlight-reel catches in the outfield.

 

“His tools …” began Ayrault, before shifting thoughts. “Let’s just put it this way: I don’t think I’ve had an opposing manager or scout who, once they see him for the first time, hasn’t asked about him. They’ll say, ‘Who’s this center fielder? This kid can really play.’ He has off-the-chart quickness, has great bat speed and good pitch-recognition. He’s running down balls in the outfield, running the bases very well and not just relying on his speed, but working on his breaks and leads. Before his career is over, he could very well become an elite base-stealer.”

 

In just 31 games, Richardson already has eight steals, which is tied for third on the team with left fielder Ben McMahan — who needed 56 games to steal eight. Fellow outfielder Chadwin Stang leads the Manatees with 11 stolen bags, and it took him 68 games to reach that mark.

 

Richardson, however, isn’t about to call himself the next coming of Rickey Henderson, the majors’ all-time steals leader. He knows there’s plenty of room for improvement. Lots, in fact.

 

“I’m still not as fast running the bases as I want. I’ve made a few mistakes already,” said the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Richardson, who ran a 4.5, 40-yard dash during his freshman season at FSU. “Sometimes I think I’m being too anxious. I just need to calm down and let it come to me rather than force it.”

 

Steve Glover, Richardon’s legal guardian, said that by the time Richardson is done working his way through the Brewers’ minor league system, he could become Milwaukee’s version of Atlanta Braves breakout star Evan Gattis. Gattis, like Richardson, walked away from baseball for a period of time, only to return and start crushing the ball this year, becoming one of the most talked-about story lines of the 2013 season.

 

“The similarities to Gattis will be drawn to D’Vo at some point,” Glover said. “They’re both freaks on the baseball field. Gattis has the power and D’Vo has the speed. One way or another, you can’t hide a guy like that in the minors very long.”

 

The Manatees’ three-game winning streak ended Saturday, despite Richardson’s monster night going 4-for-5 with two doubles.

 

“He’s into it,” Ayrault said when asked about Richardson’s demeanor since his return after admitting last year he was burned out. “He’s out at the field every day early, staying late. He brings one of the most positive attitudes of anyone on the team every day. He gets after it. Like I said before, I really, really enjoy watching him play.”

 

And now that he’s finally back pursuing his dream, Richardson — who will next head to the Brewers’ winter league after the season and, he hopes, spring training in March — has no intention of walking away. After hopping off the bus to the majors once, this time he plans to ride it until the wheels fall off.

 

“I’m enjoying it again, I really am. I’ve never been happier,” he said. “I’m going all out, working my butt off and just living every day like it could be my last on the diamond. I made a mistake giving it up once, and I can’t thank the Brewers enough for welcoming me back in. I hope I can show them it was worth it.”

 

Former Lee County and Florida State two-sport star D'Vontrey Richardson watches a double leave the infield during a recent game with the Brevard County Manatees, who Richardson recently rejoined after walking away from his dream of being a pro baseball player almost a year ago. Since returning, Richardson leads the team in batting and on-base percentage. (Dennis Greenblatt/Hawkeye Sports Photography)

 

http://scni.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/gps/uploads/38399/web1_DVO1_t670.JPG?b3f6a5d7692ccc373d56e40cf708e3fa67d9af9d

[igor67]

Let's all indulge the thought of a Gomez, Taylor, D'vo OF in a couple of years.

[craigharmann]

Let's all indulge the thought of a Gomez, Taylor, D'vo OF in a couple of years.

 

Or those 3 on the basepaths!!!

[narwhalattack]

Let's all indulge the thought of a Gomez, Taylor, D'vo OF in a couple of years.

 

Then where would Roache be? I would love to an at-bat in which Roache is batting and Gomez, Taylor, and/or D'vo on the basepaths. I can imagine the pitcher being paranoid about stolen bases and then end up throwing a mistake pitch that Roache crushes. That would be what I would like to see.

[TheCrew07]

That would be plenty of athleticism, maybe the most athletic OF in MLB but I don't see Gomez and other of those guys playing in the same OF.

 

We still have Braun and Davis for the OF, and if Davis keeps hitting Braun is going to end up in RF.

 

Taylor is probably 3 full years away, maybe 2 depending on how he hits next season, he could go A+/AA in 2014 and AAA in 2015, or jump one level at a time. I would think D'Vo is 2 full years away as well, I don't think there's anyway that Taylor jumps past D'Vo so Taylor will only move up when D'Vo does.

 

It's extremely encouraging that D'Vo finished his degree and found himself missing baseball, I was worried that someone brow beat him into coming back and his heart wasn't in it, but thankfully I was way off the mark. He's been fantastic in the field not to mention his hit tools have been excellent since his return. I was extremely high on his potential before he walked away and I've been making an concerted effort to reign in my enthusiasm for his return. If his power stroke comes around he could be special but like with all players next season at AA will give us our best insight into what we have.

 

We should have pretty decent OFs at all of the affiliates next year from AA through A.

[igor67]

Stepping back from the indulgence there does seem to be a decent chance that 1 of these various OFers will end up playing first base. Perhaps not, but most of the ways you slice it we have a lot guys athletic enough to play a high quality CF. There is a strong appeal to stacking the OF with plus defenders who can also hit. Realistically probably only 2/3 I listed ever play together and Braun, Davis, or Roache probably grab the other spot leaving someone to move on and someone to get shifted to 1st. Though there's probalby only a 1/3 chance of all of that happening with injuries, trades, development and a number of other prospects to consider. Still that's not exactly a wildly optimistic scenario either.

[CheezWizHed]

There is a strong appeal to stacking the OF with plus defenders who can also hit.

 

I'm pretty sure this is the understatement of the year. But the problem is that we don't really have many (if any) of those.

 

At LF, you really want to target guys that can reach 950 and maybe minimum 850 OPS (I'm just spit-balling ideal target numbers here; Much lower than that you probably want to replace if possible).

 

At RF, you normally need a bit better defender, so looking at 900 and minimum 800 OPS.

 

At CF, its much more difficult, so you look for 800 and deal with 700.

 

At 1B, you look for a 850-1000 OPS type bat

 

Braun - typical 900-950 OPS, servicable defender.

Gomez - at 850 this year in a career year, GG defender

Aoki - at 750 in 1.5 years. Seems like a good defender.

Gindl - Perhaps 750-800 OPS, decent defender in LF/RF. Could be Aoki type player in RF.

Kh Davis - Perhaps 750-950 OPS, serviceable LFer only.

Schafer - Perhaps 650-750 OPS, good defender

D'Vo - Hard to tell, but probably maxed out at 800-850 with excellent defense.

Roache - Could be a Braunlike (hitting and defending) in LF (or maybe Adam Dunn).

Taylor - A long way away, but seems like he could be 850-900 OPS and excellent defense.

 

So of those guys, really only Braun, Davis and Roache could hit well enough to stick at 1B.

 

Braun, Davis, Roache, and maybe Gindl fit well at the corner OFers (yes, at this point, Aoki is replaceable).

 

D'Vo and Taylor's bats might play at RF, but probably would be a waste of their defense rather than playing CF.

 

I'll also add that my goal here is to field an above average team, not compare each player to the league average at that position. Thus my targets are "above average" to "elite" ranges. A RF might be average at 780 OPS (or whatever it is this year), but I want to be better than that.

[paul253]

3 more hits tonight. How much longer does the 25 year old DVO need to spend in High A before he sees Huntsville?

[igor67]

The batting average is fantastic, and this is clearly the best slash line year D'Vo has ever had, but that is also a big part of the danger with promoting him. Even for a CF if his batting average dropped down to a respectable .280 after promotion his secondary stats are pretty weak and his line would look pretty uninspiring. I'd hope that he could keep working on developing those parts of his game for the rest of the season, get that little breather and see how it translates in the Fall League.

[sveumrules]

At the time of this posting D'Vo has a triple slash of 347/385/419 through 181 plate appearances. I was thinking of how weird of a line that is and searched for MLB comparables. The closest MLB season I could find was Willard Hershberger for the 1939 Cincinnati Reds who put up a 345/384/420 in 195 plate appearances. Two interesting names, two interesting stories.