Young, No Longer Restless, Is Finally Coming of Age

Dmitri Young, who had gone from being a top prospect to a guy on the verge of eating and erring his way out of baseball, is back on the path to the major leagues.

Which, after all, is where players picked fourth in the draft ought to be.

“We had our doubts, but we are happy with how he’s developed,” said Mike Jorgensen, the St. Louis Cardinals’ minor league director. “We are very pleased with every aspect of his development.”

That’s a big change from a year ago, when the former Rio Mesa High standout could have been purchased for an all-time low.

Young, a first-round pick in 1991, had struggled with errors at all three positions he tried: first base, third base and outfield. He was having off-the-field problems, specifically an arrest for disturbing the peace in Shreveport, La., and fighting with a fan in Wichita, Kan. And his constant battles with his weight were frustrating the Cardinals.

Mike Ramsey, who last season managed Young with the double-A Arkansas Travelers, said in July that the Cardinals’ patience might be wearing thin.

But Young, just 22 even though he’s in his sixth pro season, has shown a new attitude in his first year with the triple-A Louisville Redbirds.

“I’ve seen a number of things written [questioning] if he’s over the hill, if it’s time to give up,” Jorgensen said. “I’ve always taken that with a grain of salt because of his age.

“You have to take for granted with a kid at his age that mistakes are going to be made. But he was impressive in camp with his bat, and his physical condition and defense have come along.”

Young refuses to talk about his weight, but Jorgensen estimates he has lost 20 to 25 pounds since the start of spring training. Jorgensen said Young has become good enough at first base that experiments with other positions are over.

“I think he’s seen that first base is his ticket to the big leagues and he’s worked very hard,” Jorgensen said.

Offensively, Young continues to blossom. He is among the American Assn. leaders with a .333 average. He has six home runs, only eight shy of his previous career best.

Young attributes the changes to spending the past off-season playing winter baseball, leading the Mexican Pacific League with a .356 average.

“It was an experience that I feel everybody who plays baseball and has the talent to go the next level ought to do,” Young said. “You get to work on your whole game.”

Jorgensen agreed Young changed over the winter.

“The young fella has matured quite a bit,” he said.

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The revival of outfielder Greg Shockey’s baseball career has been interrupted temporarily by a broken wrist.

Shockey, a former Cal State Northridge standout, began the season hitting .326 with the double-A Midland (Texas) Angels. But on May 8, he was injured diving for a ball in the outfield. Shockey is expected to be out about two or three weeks.

Until the injury, Shockey’s baseball career had made quite a turn. Two seasons ago, he was playing in the independent Northern League, a clearinghouse for baseball leftovers.

But all those leftovers became valuable commodities as replacement players last spring. Shockey, who had been in the systems of the Seattle Mariners and Minnesota Twins earlier in his career, signed with the Angels.

He says he intended to only play in exhibitions so his skills would be evaluated by the major league staff, and not to be a replacement player once the season began. Most major leaguers probably wouldn’t see it that way.

“All I know,” he said, “is when you are a minor leaguer and your boss asks you to do something and you don’t have the financial security not to, you do it.”

The strike ended before Shockey was forced to consider playing in regular-season games, but the Angels found a spot for him in their minor league system, and he flourished. Before moving up this year, he hit .327 with 20 home runs and 88 runs batted in for the Class-A Lake Elsinore Storm.

Shockey’s mobility in the Angel system seems limited, with major league outfielders Garret Anderson, Jim Edmonds and Tim Salmon each in his prime and Darin Erstad, the top pick in the 1995 draft, waiting in triple A.

“I’ll be a free agent at the end of the year,” Shockey said. “I like the Angels, but Greg Shockey’s not getting any younger.”

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Pitcher Derek Wallace, a Chatsworth High graduate, and third baseman Matt Franco, of Westlake High, have played well lately for the Norfolk (Va.) Tides, triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets.

Wallace had posted mostly mediocre numbers since leaving Pepperdine in 1992 and being the Chicago Cubs’ first-round pick. He was traded twice last season before winding up in the Mets’ system.

Pitching in short relief, he is 4-0 with an 0.81 earned-run average. In 22 1/3 innings, he has given up 13 hits, walked four and struck out 19.

“I think he’s close [to being ready for the majors],” said Bobby Valentine, Norfolk manager. “I’d like to see him a little while longer to really put this league behind him.”

Franco, who had been stuck in the Cub organization as a first baseman behind Mark Grace, was moved to third base last season. He was traded to the Mets in the spring and is hitting .288 with 15 RBIs at Norfolk.