Drive's Casas homers in third straight

Triston Casas once led the United States 18-and-under team in homers at age 16. And again at 17. He became the 26th pick in last summer's Draft and made his Minors debut at 18.
"But to come out here on a consistent basis and try to put up good numbers and play for something bigger than yourself, it's intimidating at first. Not going to lie," the now-19-year-old said. "But as you come out here, you build a routine, you get comfortable with your group of guys and you come out here with the same approach trying to just put together good at-bats, find barrels. You get the hang of it."
On Thursday, Boston's top prospect homered in his third straight game, but Class A Greenville fell to Delmarva, 10-2, at Fluor Field. Casas lifted his home run total to 10 and his OPS to .879 in 166 South Atlantic League at-bats.

The 26th overall pick in the 2018 Draft's latest dinger came off No. 27 Orioles prospect Drew Rom in the fourth inning, a 2-1 pitch that Casas pulled well beyond the right-field wall. It was his second home run against a left-handed pitcher this season and the only run allowed by Rom (4-0) over five innings.
Two strikeouts -- one looking against Rom in the second and one swinging against right-hander Jhon Peluffo in the sixth -- rounded out the first baseman's 1-for-3 night. He also walked in the eighth, bringing his season slash line to .271/.349/.530.
After batting .208 with a .648 OPS in April, the 6-foot-4, 238-pound Florida native has hit .326 with a 1.076 OPS in May. The difference, he said, has been pitch selection.
"I knew coming into this year it was going to be a challenge," Casas said. "But I knew I had to be patient. Give myself time to adjust and just find the barrel of the bat and put it on the ball. I know I'm big, I'm strong. I have power, and if I find the barrel of the bat and hit the right part of the ball, it's going to go by itself. I feel like to be considered to be a power hitter, you don't have to swing for power. You just swing."
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Casas didn't have the time for that in his debut last year because it lasted four at-bats. He tore a ligament in his right thumb while diving for a ball at third base in his second game in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League.
The injury -- a byproduct of an effort play -- did not disappoint Casas. It fueled him. Without a chance to merit his Draft slot, his 60-grade raw power and the more than $2.5 million for which he signed, he spent the offseason feeling he still had plenty to prove.
"I feel like there's something in every baseball player that separates one another," he said. "It's more than hard work. It's more than getting in the weight room and lifting."
When Boston assigned him to the Drive -- who draw nearly 5,000 fans per game -- to start his first full season, the stage at which Casas tried to prove himself was too much. He admitted he overdid things, was "jumpy" and his eyes would "get really big." That didn't help him see pitches. Learning to slow everything down has.
"I just try to take every pitch individually," Casas said. "Just try to make every pitch as if it's its own. Just try to win every pitch."

The latest evidence of that approach landed somewhere in the shrubbery beyond his team's bullpen, but the Shorebirds kept the Drive in check beyond Casas' solo shot. Greenville added its only other run -- which was unearned -- via an RBI single by Grant Williams in the seventh. Rom allowed three hits and one walk while fanning six in the victory.
Peluffo and Matthew Hammonds combined to surrender one hit and three walks over the final four frames.
No. 13 Orioles prospect JC Encarnacion led Delmarva's offense, going 3-for-5 with two homers and three RBIs. Fourteenth-ranked Adam Hall and No. 16 Cadyn Grenier plated three runs apiece with Hall finishing 3-for-5 to up his average to .323 this season.