He’s Become King of Swing at Hamilton : Preps: After being relegated to a reserve role as a junior, Leonard Weathersby became one of the best hitters in the City.

At the end of last season, Leonard Weathersby was a backup outfielder for Hamilton High.

But over the past three months, Weathersby became one of the City’s most dominating players, batting .556 with nine home runs, 40 runs batted in and 21 stolen bases.

Hamilton’s season ended Tuesday in a 3-1 loss to Huntington Park in a City Section 3-A Division playoff game.

Weathersby began the season with a 15-game hitting streak. After the streak ended, he hit home runs in six consecutive games.

Not bad for a player whose biggest role last season was as a pinch-hitter.

“I don’t think that anyone really expected this kind of season from me,” said Weathersby, who also has scored 32 runs, has 45 hits and 10 walks. “I mean, after all, I didn’t even start last year. I came off the bench.”

In backing up All-City center fielder Seth Cooper last season, Weathersby had a .426 average in 40 at-bats. Not bad numbers, but not good enough to indicate the quantum leap he would make this year.

What triggered Weathersby’s emergence was an off-season of playing with many of the area’s top players.

In a summer league, Weathersby had 37 hits in 64 at-bats for a .609 average.

He also attended a three-week training camp at Valley College.

After seeing above-average pitching throughout the summer, Weathersby’s batting improved dramatically.

“I started seeing the ball better,” he said. “Everything just started to come together.”

A major influence for Weathersby has been his uncle, Tony Smith.

“He became a hitter with good bat speed and hand-eye coordination,” Smith said. “But I think his best attribute is his arm. He’s an outstanding outfielder.”

Weathersby was a starting middle linebacker for Hamilton’s football team last fall, but a wrist injury ended his season after the second game.

“It kind of was like a blessing in that I was able to get ready for baseball,” Weathersby said.

Weathersby caught opponents and his teammates by surprise with his fast start and displayed the confidence of a veteran.

Hamilton Coach Dave Uyeshima was happy to see Weathersby improve, but told his standout center fielder to not let it go to his head.

“I felt that I would get a hit every game,” Weathersby said. “Then, once I stopped hitting, I settled down and didn’t swing so hard.”

Once that happened, home runs followed.

“It just became home-run derby for me,” Weathersby said. “It seemed like in every game I hit a homer.”

Weathersby set a school record with his home-run streak. His streak ended when Manual Arts, which he hit two home runs against in an earlier game, walked him three times before he singled in his fourth at-bat.

Weathersby’s season has not gone unnoticed by scouts. He already has been offered scholarships by Cal State Los Angeles and USC, which is something he never dreamed of last season.