EL notes: Hinojosa relishes Double-A return

Though a quad injury may have hampered the start of C.J Hinojosa's season, it's hardly slowed him down.
After missing the first month, the Richmond shortstop has put together his most consistent season yet, playing new positions and becoming an integral bat in the Flying Squirrels lineup during his second stint with the club.
"I worked hard every day just to get back," said the Giants' No. 16 prospect. "I struggled at the beginning, but to be at where I am at this point in the season, I feel good."

Hinojosa, an 11th-round pick of the Giants in the 2015 Draft, hit only .212 over his first nine games before finally collecting his first multi-hit game of the season on May 19. 
"I just wasn't producing," he said. "I'm not sure if that's because I hadn't seen pitching every day in a while, or it was just not having the right approach. I was aware of it and I took it to heart that I needed to turn it around, figure out what was going on. I spent a little more time in the cage and finally found what worked for me again."
He stuck with the same approach for each at-bat, which for the right-handed-hitting Hinojosa means "hit four line drives over the second baseman's head."
And if that's not the case, then he'll hit "four line drives right up the middle."
Hinojosa heated up to the tune of a .315 average in June and .354 through 20 games in July, helping him earn an Eastern League All-Star nod. At the All-Star Game in Manchester, New Hampshire, he was reunited with his No. 1 fan: his mother. 
"It was a blast," he said. "This year was a great experience. It was special to me because my mom hadn't seen me play since I had gotten drafted. So, she got to come out and spend a couple of days with me before my [23rd] birthday."

In conjunction with his bat, Hinojosa is also proving to be more valuable and flexible around the infield, seeing time at both second and third base for the first time in his pro career.
A three-year shortstop at the University of Texas, he had yet to commit an error in nine games at second and had only one in 21 games at third.
"It all comes out to the same thing -- you've got to field the ball and throw to first," said Hinojosa, who played third base in high school and began playing second during Spring Training. "You have to know the different positioning, and that's kind of where I got caught up. But it's been a great learning process. … I think it will all pay off in the end."
Though he struggled in Richmond last year following a midseason promotion from Class A Advanced San Jose, he honed the approach this year that has set him up for success.
Having learned how to bounce back from injury and struggles, Hinojosa is looking to maintain and finish strong in an effort to put together a complete season.
"Last year I had a great start, but I couldn't put it all together at the end," he said. "Becoming a big leaguer, a big part of it is learning how to finish. Everybody says it's not a sprint, it's a marathon. Knowing that I can put it all together with a good start, good middle and a good finish, that's really it."

In brief

Great Scott: The Tanner Scott experiment continues to yield strong results in Bowie. In an effort to provide some structure for the hard-throwing southpaw, Baltimore chose to use the reliever at the front end of games this season, starting and throwing three innings. Through 19 appearances, the Orioles' No. 6 prospect is 0-1 with a 1.94 ERA and 72 strikeouts over 55 2/3 innings. Scott has yielded just one home run and has held opponents to a .183 batting average.
Healthy gains:Artie Lewicki put together a 4-0 record over his last five starts with the SeaWolves. In four of those outings, the Tigers' No. 23 prospect lasted six or more innings, and in three of those starts he allowed just one run or less. During the stretch the right-hander, who is 8-3 with a 3.71 ERA, has held opponents to a .202 batting average while throwing 65 percent of his pitches for strikes. The eight wins by Lewicki, who has battled injury issues over the last few seasons, doubles the amount he had earned over his first three seasons since being drafted by Detroit in 2014.
Base path of some resistance: The Yard Goats are second in the league with 83 stolen bases, but it hasn't been easy. They've been thrown out a league-most 62 times, giving them a 59 percent success rate. Omar Carrizales and Drew Weeks have both been caught a league-high 11 times, while Max White has been gunned down nine times. Hartford was caught stealing a league-high 85 times last season, and their prior iteration, the New Britain Rock Cats, lead the league with 88 the year prior.