Cardinals prospect Bryce Denton leans on major-league advice early in pro career
As Bryce Denton prepared for batting practice ahead of a game last summer with the Johnson City Cardinals, he received a phone call from one of his mentors.
Inside the visitor’s locker room in Danville, Va., one teammate asked Denton, “Who’s calling you?” Denton looked at his phone — it was Chicago Cubs utility man Ben Zobrist reaching out with some advice. Denton had struggled against left-handed pitchers in his first two years of professional baseball and texted Zobrist that morning asking about his approach. The major league veteran called back ahead of Denton’s game against the Danville Braves. “You’re kidding me?” Denton’s teammate, Stephen Zavala, said.
“It’s just a testament to the guys they are, too,” Denton added. “I think they had a game that night in like five hours.”
Denton trains with Zobrist and other major league players during the offseason at Showtime Sports Academy in Tennessee, where he receives valuable feedback and prepares for the upcoming season. Denton is now playing for the State College Spikes, his latest stop in his third season in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. The 19-year-old outfielder is rated the Cardinals’ No. 25 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline on MLB.com, which notes that St. Louis drafted Denton in the second round in 2015 “largely because of his potential with the bat.”
After Denton hit .282 with four home runs with Rookie-level Johnson City last season, he started this season with Single-A Peoria. But the day after landing in Peoria, he had his appendix removed and spent two weeks recovering before getting back on the field. When he returned to Peoria, he said he tried to do more and got in a “funk” as he hit .157 in 19 games.
Denton was hitting .267 with a home run in four games with State College heading into Saturday night’s matchup at Mahoning Valley. He showed his potential with the bat Friday night, going 3 for 4 with a home run in the team’s win over Batavia.
“He’s a very aggressive player. He plays hard,” said State College teammate Erik Garcia, who also played with Denton in Johnson City. “Probably the hardest-swinging guy on the team, and just seeing that from Johnson City to here, it’s awesome how he can control that, how he can keep that energy — bad games, good games, hitting home runs.”
Denton started to develop his swing as a 3-year-old hitting Splash Balls with a back scratcher in the living room. He worked with Zobrist during his childhood, too, giving lessons to Denton and his older brother, Chase, at Showtime Sports Academy before he became a household name.
“I’ve never met a better guy than him, honestly,” Chase said. “A great role model to have. He’s one of those guys, I don’t think there’s anything he’s ever done wrong in his life.”
Chase said Zobrist kept his advice simple and added that the 2016 World Series MVP has helped Bryce with his mental approach and staying calm. Zobrist invited Bryce Denton to train with the group of pro players, and the Spikes outfielder has enjoyed working with them at the indoor facility with nine batting cages and two indoor soccer fields.
The workouts start with hitting at about 8:45 a.m. and include some defensive work. Denton trained alongside Zobrist, Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Logan Forsythe and New York Yankees third baseman Chase Headley, among others, and received pointers from the major leaguers. They noticed if his swing looked different and could tell if Denton was tiring himself out.
“They’ll ask the question of ‘Why?’ And then give their reason of why they think differently,” Denton said. “Not saying that you have to do it or you shouldn’t do it, but this is what they do. I mean they have all the experience, so I normally tend to listen to ’em.”
Denton learned the value of quality repetitions after talking with Forsythe after a round of batting practice. Forsythe told Denton to get out of the cage and build on six good swings instead of mishitting the next two pitches and becoming frustrated.
If Denton has a question or concern during the season, he’ll sometimes reach out to the major league players he trains with. He tries not to bother them as they deal with the stress and pressure that comes with their 162-game seasons, but when he does reach out, they’ve been great about getting back to him like Zobrist did last season.
“They’re just fantastic people,” Denton said. “They’re willing to help. They’re always willing to give their time.”
‘Little Big Mac’
Bryce Denton grew up as a diehard St. Louis Cardinals fan and wears No. 25 like his favorite player, Mark McGwire.
His father even called Bryce “Little Big Mac.”
“Bryce would always blast home runs everywhere when he was young on those small 200-foot fences,” said Chase, Bryce’s older brother. “That was really like Bryce’s idol when he was going through ... McGwire.”
In 2015, Bryce’s favorite team drafted him in the second round of the MLB draft. A little more than a year earlier, Denny Denton, his father, died in February 2014.
“He was having heart problems,” Chase said. “One day, it just gave out.”
Denny passed his love for the Cardinals down to his sons. He was a pilot for American Airlines and went to major league baseball games whenever he could during layovers. He enjoyed trips to St. Louis the most.
Chase said they’d go to 20-30 games each summer when they were young. Bryce remembers idolizing Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds and David Eckstein as a kid.
“That was like religion growing up almost,” Bryce said of the Cardinals.
This story was originally published June 24, 2017 at 9:58 PM with the headline "Cardinals prospect Bryce Denton leans on major-league advice early in pro career."