Popkins named Player of Week

David Popkins

Washington outfielder David Popkins was named Monday the Frontier League Player of the Week.

Popkins hit safely in all six Wild Things games last week, helping them to a 4-2 road trip to Windy City and Rockford. He hit four home runs, two doubles and drove in five runs during the week.

A switch-hitter out of Cal-Davis, Popkins played three years in the St. Louis Cardinals system and made it to Class AA Springfield last year as an undrafted player. It's interesting that since Popkins had a conversation with another switch-hitter, a guy named Pete Rose, Popkins has gone 16-for-39 with eight home runs. Rose told Popkins that he should concentrate more on watching the spin on the pitch. Popkins said his approach had been see the ball, recognize what kind of pitch it is and then swing.

"I practiced all winter hitting off a pitching machine that throws those yellow balls that don't have seams," Popkins said. "I never really focused on watching the spin on the ball before. I saw the spin, but I didn't focus hard on it. You can't do that when you're hitting those yellow balls."