Yonder Alonso thriving in the outfield

You can hear the sheer joy in Yonder Alonso's voice when recalling his first major league hit. He rejoices in the detail.

The Cincinnati Reds prospect and current Louisville Bat had a pinch-hit double in St. Louis in September and later scored. He got high-fives from teammates as he entered the dugout.

His mother, father, sister and uncle were at Busch Stadium cheering. Alonso was 10 years old when the family fled Cuba.

“After the game ends is when it really sinks in,” said Alonso, 24. “I just got a hit at the big league level. It's everything that you've worked for, and it's the beginning of what I hope will be a long career.”

Alonso's not there yet.

The 2008 first-round draft choice (seventh overall) is back with the Reds' Triple-A affiliate. He's playing left field now instead of first base, and after a sluggish start, he's slugging again.

Alonso is batting .387 over his past 10 games to boost his average to .293. He is also tied for third on the team in home runs (three) and — most surprisingly — tied for first in stolen bases (four).

He said he isn't bothered by the position switch. After all, it's not like he's going to beat out Reds first baseman and reigning National League MVP Joey Votto.

He's just grateful to be playing baseball.

Many Cubans make a perilous exit from the communist country. Alonso's father arranged a plane to take Yonder, his mother and his sister to the United States. They didn't have any family here.

“It was tough,” he said. “My dad and my mom worked four, five jobs. We cleaned offices. My dad was an umpire for Little League. I was helping clean offices, and I was also playing baseball at the park. It was a tough life when I was younger.”

Baseball runs in the Alonso family. Father Luis Alonso was a catcher and first baseman for Cuba's famous Industriales club. Yonder starred at Coral Gables (Fla.) High School before helping lead the University of Miami to the College Worlds Series as a freshman.

After his junior season, Alonso signed a major league contract with the Reds worth $4.55 million, including a $2 million signing bonus.

Of the six players taken before him, only San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey has established himself as a future star. Posey was the 2010 NL Rookie of the Year, helping the Giants to the World Series title.

Alonso was rated as the Reds' top overall prospect by Baseball America in 2009, and this year he's No. 4. He's a career .291 batter in the minors and went 6 for 29 (.207) with the Reds last September.

Louisville manager Rick Sweet said Alonso's position change might have contributed to his slow start at the plate. To adjust to a new position, Sweet said, you have to put in extra time on defense. That sometimes can mean less time for batting practice.

“It would be nice if you could separate things, but it doesn't happen that way,” Sweet said. “When you're used to playing as a first baseman you go out and you don't have to think your way through the whole process. You can split (practice time) 50-50.”

Alonso denies that the move to left was a factor. He said the extra practice in the outfield has helped. (He hasn't been charged with an error.) The biggest improvement Alonso has made has been his base-running. He was 14 for 18 in stolen bases for his career. This season he's 4 of 6 and is on-pace to surpass his career high of nine steals set last season.

Sweet said Alonso is running smarter on the bases. Alonso isn't known for his speed.

“I'm trying to get into scoring position,” the 6-foot-2 215-pounder said. “I'm not the fastest guy. I have to be very smart, and things have to work out.”

Alonso said he doesn't spend much time thinking about when he'll be back in the majors. One of his mentors is Alex Rodriguez. They talk every few weeks.

“He's taught me so much,” Alonso said. “He taught me how to work, how to stay tough, how to grind it out when things are going rough. He's been a great friend to me.”



(courier-journal.com)