Interview with Jon Singleton

I was just looking at Jon Singleton's numbers again. He's been struggling lately at the plate, really struggling. Yet, he still manages to rank fifth in the formidable Texas League in OPS. At 20. Fifth. At 20. That does not suck. At all. (Apparently, my prose style has suddenly been infused with the spirit of Kurt Vonnegut. But I digress. A lot. And so it goes.) And he just got selected to participate in the All-Star Futures Game, which is a really big deal. And tonight, he will appear in the Texas League All-Star game, which also does not suck.

If you missed it, I did a ridiculously titled profile of Jon over at The Futurists. Also, I included his advice to the new draft class in this post. But I have yet to share the rest of our interview from earlier this month. Let us do so now. (I'll readily admit that I was immediately dazzled by his smile and his laid back attitude. Yes, I was a bit star struck. But give me a break. He was the first top prospect that I had ever met in person, much less interviewed. And look at that face!)

On how his season was going thus far: "Pretty well. I feel like every time I step out there, I'm trying to get better, trying to do things differently, trying to better my game, better myself, as an athlete, as a person so it's definitely coming along."

On what he needs to improve: "Hitting with two strikes is definitely difficult. You have to see the ball to hit it. That's what it all goes back to. Pitch recognition, stuff like that. You really have to concentrate, focus and see the ball really well. I think that's my biggest challenge."

On how he's hitting against lefties: "Not so great, but every now and then I feel pretty good when I'm in there. It's definitely coming along."

On Corpus Christi: "I love it. It's a great atmosphere. I'm from California, southern California, the Long Beach area, so I live pretty close to the water so it's definitely similar to what I'm used to."

On playing left field vs. playing first base: "I've played first all my life so it's definitely the spot I'm more comfortable at, but playing left field, being comfortable out there comes with time. The more I play out there, the more I feel comfortable so it's a time and experience thing."

On getting to the next level: "I definitely want to move [forward]. Good things happen when you hit the ball well and you're playing well. If I can exceed my expectations on the field, then I feel like I've done a good job. Things are coming along. I feel like I could do better. That's always the case, but you just have to take it for what it's worth."

On which Astros pitcher he would least like to face: " I'd say maybe [Brett] Oberholtzer. He's definitely pretty good. He's definitely got good stuff against left-handed hitters."

On something most people don't know about him: "I throw and hit with my left hand, but I do everything else with my right hand."

Good Luck tonight in the All-Star Game. Good Luck on the All-Star Futures Game. And please, please, please, keep that wonderful smile handy.