Hays homers three times as Keys' leadoff man
Austin Hays batted leadoff for the first time in his professional career on Wednesday. That wouldn't end up being the only first of the day for the Orioles' No. 7 prospect.Hays hit three solo shots for the first home run hat trick in team history, but Class A Advanced Frederick
Hays hit three solo shots for the first home run hat trick in team history, but Class A Advanced Frederick dropped an 11-7 decision to Potomac in the opening game of a doubleheader. It also was his first career multi-homer game.
Box score
"This was the first game of the year that I'd hit leadoff and I think the first time since my pro debut, so I wasn't looking to change anything with my approach whatsoever," Hays said. "It didn't change anything that I do mentally at the plate."
Hays -- who took over at the top of the Keys lineup following
"I was feeling confident and very relaxed and trying to stay calm," Hays said. "It's creeping in the back of your mind each time, thinking about hitting another. I was just trying to not focus on that, get a good pitch to hit and put a quality swing on it."
Keys starter
"It's just the same as blowing a lead at any time, it wasn't really any different [because of my homers]," Hays said. "It always [stinks] when you have the momentum and a couple plays and pitches don't go your way and now the other team is in control."
Potomac didn't let Silvestre face Hays a fourth time, replacing him with
Hays' big day continued a strong full-season debut. He was hitting .329/.366/.565 before going 0-for-4 in the nightcap. The Jacksonville University product earned an offseason promotion from Class A Short Season Aberdeen, skipping Class A, after posting a .336/.386/.514 slash line with four homers in 38 games last summer.
"I was very excited to hear I was going to make that jump. That's what everybody's here to do, to move up to the next highest level until you reach the ultimate goal in the Majors," Hays said. "To hear that I was going to skip a level was very exciting for me, and I'm definitely not taking it for granted."
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound outfielder is tied with four others -- including teammate and Orioles No. 4 prospect
"I've always been the type of player that plays better when the competition around me is better," Hays said. "It heightens my game and allows me to compete that much harder, and that's something I've always thrived on. There are a lot of good hitters around me that I can learn from and good pitchers that are making me compete really hard at the plate, and it's bringing out the best in me."
Frederick also dropped Game 2 of the doubleheader, 7-4. Catcher
Nationals No. 28 prospect
Potomac's
Chris Tripodi is an editor for MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @christripodi.