Lavigne goes yard in third straight game
The Rockies may have struck gold in the second round with Grant Lavigne. The 42nd overall pick in this year's First-Year Player Draft homered in his third consecutive game, going 4-for-5 with five RBIs and three runs scored to power Rookie-level Grand Junction's 18-6 romp over Orem on Sunday at the
The Rockies may have struck gold in the second round with Grant Lavigne.
The 42nd overall pick in this year's First-Year Player Draft homered in his third consecutive game, going 4-for-5 with five RBIs and three runs scored to power Rookie-level Grand Junction's 18-6 romp over Orem on Sunday at the Home of the OWLZ.
Grand Junction hitting coach Zach Osbourne lauded Lavigne for displaying a mature approach despite being 18 years old
"The biggest thing with [Lavigne] is how impressive he is for his age," Osbourne said. "He's got a great approach up there and he doesn't really steer away from it at all. To watch that and see his success, it's really impressive right now.
"I think he keeps it simple for the most part. He knows the type of player he is, and with two strikes he'll battle and get off a good [at-bat]."
After lining a single to right field in his first at-bat, the first baseman demonstrated some of that maturity and deposited a 3-2 pitch from Angels No. 23 prospectCole Duensing over the fence in left field for his third homer of the season. He battled through a seven-pitch at-bat before taking Duensing deep.
"[Duensing] got ahead and I fouled off a couple pitches," Lavigne said. "I was looking for a fastball or just an off-speed pitch, and he happened to throw me [a fastball] up and away and I was just trying hit one up in the air and it just went. ... At 3-2, I'm not looking for any particular pitch, I'm just looking to protect and hopefully hit a mistake."
"A lot of younger guys would try and press and swing at balls out of the zone and he doesn't seem to do that," Osbourne added.
Lavigne flicked an RBI single to left off Jon Malmin in the fourth and was plunked by the southpaw in the fifth. Against Matt Eagle in the seventh, he lined a run-scoring double to right, then fouled out to third in his final at-bat.
"I feel really good at the plate," Lavigne said. "[I'm] just sticking with my approach at the plate and it's starting to work out really well."
In 32 at-bats for Grand Junction, Lavigne is hitting .424 with a 1.318 OPS and 13 RBIs.
"It gives me a lot of confidence to know that I can compete at this level," Lavigne said.
Gameday box score
The Bedford, New Hampshire, native passed up a commitment to Wake Forest to sign with the Rockies. He signed for a $2 million bonus, over the $1.7 million slot value.
Lavigne watched the Draft with family and friends and said he felt the first 41 picks went by in a painstakingly long amount of time.
"It felt like way more than three hours," he said. "But my family and friends were able to help me make that process feel a little faster."
He was delighted to see the Rockies select him, calling it "a dream match."
Before the homer streak, Lavigne posted three multi-hit games in his first five professional contests. His four hits on Sunday were a career best.
Not to be outdone, Coco Montes went 4-for-5 with three RBIs to extend his hitting streak to 13 games.
"It's awesome. That's incredible," Osbourne said. "A lot of times guys come in and play pro ball, they haven't really hit with a wood bat more than just summer ball in college. For him to come in and do what he's doing is really special."
Niko Decolati was 3-for-3 and scored five runs as the Rockies totaled a Pioneer League season-high 22 hits.
"That was a lot of fun to be a part of," Osbourne said. "The way this team has kind of meshed in the last couple of weeks is something real special. They're the type of team that it feels like they've been playing together for a long time and I feel like I have to remind myself, 'Oh, they just met each other three weeks ago now.'"
Erven Roper slugged a grand slam, his first homer of the season, for Orem.
Josh Horton is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @joshhortonMiLB
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