Travis Demeritte Impresses at Futures Game

Former Indians Second Baseman Finding His Footing at High Desert

July 21, 2016

Spokane, WA - The road through the minors hasn't always been smooth for former Spokane Indians second baseman Travis Demeritte (2015), but with the rough patches now in the rearview mirror, he's stepping on the gas and shifting into cruise control with a breakout year for the High Desert Mavericks (A+)

A first round pick out of high school in 2013, Demeritte had a strong debut campaign for the AZL Rangers before struggling in 2014 and 2015 with the Hickory Crawdads. His troubles extended beyond the field too, as he tested positive for a banned substance in 2015 and was slapped with an 80-game suspension. Demeritte returned from his suspension late in 2015 and spent five games with Spokane to finish out the season. Assigned to High Desert to start 2016, the 21-year-old has been making up for lost time in a hurry for the Mavericks.

"I feel like I've grown a lot just in the past year," said Demeritte, when discussing his difficult 2015 season. "I'm starting to understand what it takes to be successful in this game. I'm happy with where I'm at, but also I'm not content. I've got to keep working and grinding to be where I want to be."

Through the season's first half Demeritte is among the minor league leaders in home runs (20) while also adding 17 doubles and 11 stolen bases. He was rewarded for his bounce back year with a trip to the All-Star Futures Game in San Diego where he drew a seven-pitch walk and received rave reviews from scouts for his defense at second. Scouts aren't the only ones impressed with what they've seen from Demeritte this year.

"You can admit it, fix it and move on from it, and to Travis' credit it, he admitted it, fixed it and moved on from it," Texas Rangers farm director Mike Daly said. "You never want to see a player go through it, but it was a good learning experience for him and a good development moment as well."

Demeritte has learned from his mistakes, and as long he keeps punishing pitchers for theirs at such a high rate, the young second baseman will continue on his fast track to big leagues.

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