Indeed, McPherson has been adapting and overcoming ever since the Anaheim Angels drafted him in the second round of the 2001 draft out of The Citadel.
In his first shot at pro ball, he dominated the Pioneer League, hitting .395 with a .605 slugging percentage for Provo.
He began to display his power in 2002, hitting .277 with 15 HR and 88 RBI for Cedar Rapids in the Midwest League.
Dallas moved up to high-A to start ’03 and was named a California League All-Star while hitting .308 with 18 homers and 59 RBI in 77 games for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.
After a late season promotion to Double-A Arkansas, McPherson maintained strong production, batting .314 with 5HR in 28 Texas League games. The organization took notice and named Dallas their 2003 Minor League Player of the Year.
Although McPherson has lived up to his billing as one of the best third base prospects in the game this season, his long-term place with the Angels still remains in doubt.
Troy Glaus is still on the roster and McPherson’s anticipated move to right field has been apparently nixed since a man named Vlad has become an Angel in the outfield.
He has been making tremendous strides with the glove and has a good arm, but Dallas still needs some defensive polishing. He also needs to keep working on improving his plate disciple and unimpressive strike out-to-walk ratio (currently 63K to 34BB).
Despite the shortcomings, his explosive power and superior bat speed may have already proven to be major league ready, just ask Randy Johnson.
Last season Dallas gained notoriety by homering off the Big Unit during a Johnson rehab start in the California League.
Further showing his gumption and fearlessness, McPherson stared at the 6’10 Johnson and proceeded to steal second after getting beaned later on in that game.
With the way he is swinging the bat these days and the fact that the injury bug has been contagious in Anaheim this season, Dallas McPherson could be getting a big league promotion soon.
