[Farm] Bonifacio balancing contact with power
By Jeffrey Flanagan / MLB.com | March 7th, 2016
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Royals outfielder Jorge Bonifacio has tried it both ways,
offensively.
Bonifacio, 21, has waited back on pitches, driven balls the other way and hit
for average -- .298 combined among three Minor League teams in 2013. But he
wasn't satisfied.
Bonifacio, the No. 16 Royals prospect according to MLB Pipeline, has spent
the last year trying to increase his pull power, pouncing on pitches that are
up and in and yanking them to left field. In 2015, he hit a career-high 17
homers and 30 doubles for Double-A Northwest Arkansas. But his average
suffered, as he hit .240.
Now, both Bonifacio, the younger brother of former Royals infielder Emilio
Bonifacio, and the Royals are hoping he can find a happy medium between power
and average.
"I want to work on both this season," Bonifacio said. "I think I can."
Royals assistant general manager J.J. Picollo sees this season as a chance
for Bonifacio to put it all together.
"He's still just 21, and he's still developing," Picollo said. "He was a guy
who when we first signed him [at age 16], he only drove the ball to right
field. He rarely pulled the ball.
"So we've actually tried to get him to jump on pitches a little more. We know
he has that pull power, and he showed it last year. Now we're hoping to get
something more in the middle."
Bonifacio, in his third Spring Training camp, is off to a good start, belting
a double and a homer in six at-bats.
"I like what I see of him," manager Ned Yost said. "He's got really nice
power. Good in the outfield. I've liked him for a couple of springs now.
"He seems to have filled out a little bit, too."
Bonifacio is listed at 6-feet-1, 195 pounds. But he looks bigger than that
this spring, perhaps in the 210-215 range.
"He's always been built in the upper body," Picollo said. "But now you're
seeing him get a little more bulk in his lower body. I think that will help
him."
Bonifacio, as of now, is still in the group of outfielders competing for one
or two backup spots behind Paulo Orlando in right field. Projected starter
Jarrod Dyson is out for five or so more weeks with an oblique strain.
Bonifacio isn't likely to break camp with the big league team, but he is
learning a great deal, he says, just being in the presence of the World
Champions.
"Oh, yeah, it's a great (group) of guys," Bonifacio said. "They teach me a
lot. I'm just trying to do whatever I can do to help."
邦尼弟加油~~!!
邦尼哥似乎又去勇士了~~
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