Developing Stephen Drew has had less to do with powering up his natural talent than with the Arizona Diamondbacks pleasing his super agent.
Their 2004 first-round pick took nearly a year to sign. Drew, the younger brother of brother J.D. Drew, is also represented by agent Scott Boras.
Graduates of the Boras School of Player Negotiations know his M.O.: He will hold iron-clad to his compensation figures, then park the player in the indies to either wait out the club that drafted his client or get a better offer from another. J.D. and, most recently, Luke Hochevar played independent baseball rather than sign for less. Boras never agreed to a contract with the Phillies for J.D., who went back into the draft in 1998. The Cardinals signed him out of the first round. He reached the majors late that season.
Smelling Scott, many clubs dreaded Drew because they thought it would be difficult to sign him. The Boras factor had dropped Stephen to 15th in the first round. The analysis was right, but the D-Backs, like the Cardinals with brother J.D., could see a value to him for their club that was worth the time and trouble.
Drew was playing for the Camden Riversharks in the independent Atlantic League when Arizona signed him for five years and $7.5 million.
After signing in 2005, Stephen Drew batted .389 with 10 homers and 39 RBI in just 38 games at high Class A Lancaster. He slumped to .218 in 27 games after a promotion to Double-A Tennessee, where a right quadriceps injury bothered him.
Drew came back strong in the Arizona Fall League. He hit home runs in each of his first four games, then cooled somewhat to finish with six homers, 17 RBI and a .337 average in 23 games. Pitchers avoided Drew and walked him often enough that he was on base more than 50 per cent of the time.
The D-backs didn’t hesitate to assign Drew to the Triple-A (AAA) Tucson Sidewinders this spring.
“He benefited from playing in the minors last year and mastering playing every day,” said A.J. Hinch, the Diamondbacks’ manager of minor league operations.
Hinch was very familiar with the brothers Drew. A.J. who had been catching for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the Phillies’ organization, was a teammate of J.D. on the 1996 U.S. Olympic baseball team.
“From the first day I had him, he's been a professional baseball player,” said Drew’s manager at Tennessee, Tony Perezchica
Arizona made even bigger moves affecting Drew this spring. The Diamondbacks cleared the way for him by trading shortstop Sergio Santos, who had been ahead of him, to the Blue Jays’ organization.
Questions were raised about Stephen’s future a year ago that he would be as injury-prone as his older brother has been, and that he might not have the desire and work ethic needed to achieve in the majors.
That concern was magnified a bit when the Diamondbacks pulled the trigger on last year’s first overall draft pick, shortstop phenom Justin Upton, younger brother of D-Rays prospect BJ Upton (MLN FAB50 2005 No. 3)
Stephen answered those concerns by playing virtually every game and working effectively to improve his defense. Upton was moved from shortstop to center field. Drew was clearly the D-backs’ shortstop of the future.
Stephen followed in J.D.’s footsteps as an amateur, playing college ball at Florida State, where he batted .402 as a freshman in 2002.
Drew showed more power there than he has during his brief pro career, where the change in bats and the longer, daily schedule typically take their toll. In two seasons with the Seminoles, Stephen hit 44 homers and drove in 169 runs in just 168 games. His speed showed up in his 58 stolen bases at FSU.
The 23-year-old Drew, who bats lefty, tallied up .284 with 13 homers, 51 RBI and three stolen bases at Tucson this season. Veteran shortstop Craig Counsell went on the disabled list July 15 because of a fractured rib. There was little question that Drew, fresh off appearances in the Futures Game and Triple-A All-Star Game, was ready to step it up and step in.
“It was a quick decision to make. He was on track to be here at some point if he pushed his way in,” Hinch said. “The way he was playing, he was going to warrant a call-up anyway.”
That decision nearly had been made in March, when a right shoulder injury limited Counsell’s playing time in spring training.
Diamondbacks Manager Bob Melvin was very impressed with Drew, who batted .314 in the D-backs’ exhibition games.
“He's a natural, an absolute natural at his position," Melvin told Scout.com. "He has all the action down very well. You can see he has ball sense. He knows how to play guys, when guys are off a little too far. Instinctively, he gets over there.”
Melvin compares Drew’s offensive ability favorably to his third baseman, Chad Tracy.
“He's got one of those swings similar to Tracy in that it just plays anytime. Christmas Day or January 15th, he goes up there and tracks the ball very well. He doesn't panic. He doesn't get out on his right foot. It’s pretty impressive for a kid his age.”
At 6’1” and 195 pounds, Drew is not one of the new breed of bigger shortstops, but he can play the game just fine.
Hinch said, “Drew has become a more complete player. What’s gone unnoticed is that he’s a good defensive player with a very good upside.
“He’s a true shortstop who has shown he’s a strong offensive player. He always seems to be in the right place, and he’s pretty steady. He makes a lot of athletic plays, and the routine plays too.”
Drew’s own assessment demonstrates another asset that brother J.D. lacks: Humility
“I just come out here everyday and play hard. I want to win every time I put on a uniform. The Lord has given me the ability to play this game, and I've chosen it as my job now. That's the way I approach it. I come to work, I do the best I can and I try to get better every day. I take pride in my game, the offense, the defense. I just keep working. I can get better, and I will.”
We believe that Stephen Drew is the best shortstop to come out of the Diamondbacks farm system in recent years. He’s one of the best at the position to emerge from the minors in some time. His high value to the organization, his natural talent, and his work ethic make him the number one pick in the Minor League News MLN FAB50 Baseball 2006 rankings.
- Lary Bump
