Selective Service

Howie Kendrick was spraying balls across minor league diamonds last year and tearing a path through the Angels’ farm system when the comparisons began in earnest.

Within a short period, scouts likened him to Kirby Puckett and Paul Molitor and even characterized him as a right-handed Tony Gwynn.

The name association with some of the game’s legends was quite a burden to place on a 23-year-old rookie from a tiny Florida town who was not drafted out of high school or even offered a college scholarship.

But in his second tour of the big leagues, Kendrick is showing why Angels General Manager Bill Stoneman labeled him untouchable in trade talks, even when the negotiations revolved around the likes of Alfonso Soriano and Miguel Tejada.

“It’s an honor to be compared to those great players,” said Kendrick, who is batting .348 since the All-Star break. “To do what they’ve done would be awesome, but every day, I’m just trying to learn something new.”

In three minor league seasons, Kendrick hit .368, .367 and .384, flashing an upright stance and quick wrists while peppering the ball to all fields.

“Howie was a guy we were watching closely because his development with the bat was incredible,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “I think he has the abilities inherent in a lot of good hitters in the way that he squares the ball.”

It didn’t show during Kendrick’s first call to the majors, which came in late April. In 10 games, he hit .115 with one run batted in.

He suffered through the cliche: rookie scorches minor leagues, rookie comes to the majors, rookie flails at one too many off-speed pitches, rookie is demoted.

But back at triple-A Salt Lake he refocused and worked on his pitch selection, gaining a better understanding on how major league pitchers would come after him. He returned to the Angels in mid-July after pitcher Kelvim Escobar went on the disabled list.

“I feel more confident now,” said Kendrick, who had a 16-game hit streak from July 16-Aug. 6. “My pitch selection is better and I’m going up there thinking and having an idea in my head.”

Angels hitting coach Mickey Hatcher likens Kendrick to a young Gary Sheffield who will develop power as his career progresses.

“He uses all the fields,” Hatcher said. “He has a good idea of how pitchers are trying to pitch him and he is handling everything right now.”

Despite his initial struggle, the Angels never had doubts about Kendrick’s bat. Finding a position to get that bat in the lineup was the team’s problem.

Kendrick came up playing second base, dabbled with some third and is now settled at first -- this season marking the first time he has ever played the position.

He borrowed a first baseman’s mitt from bullpen coach Orlando Mercado and purchased his own glove for the position only a couple weeks ago and is still breaking it in.

It has been a shaky transition with the occasional lumps. He made two errors in three games shortly after becoming a starter at first, and a mental lapse in a game against Oakland may have cost the Angels a run when he looked for an umpire’s call instead of throwing to the plate.

“It’s tough to ask a kid to go out and play a new position when he gets to the majors, but he’s looking more relaxed and he doesn’t play surprised or scared,” said first base coach Alfredo Griffin, who has worked extensively with Kendrick on his defense.

The assignment is a sign of faith from the Angels, entrusting Kendrick with a foreign position during the stretch run of a pennant chase.

“Wherever they want to play me, I’m fine,” said Kendrick, who probably will replace Adam Kennedy at second next year. “I’m just trying to get at-bats and help this team win.”

Anywhere on the Angels’ diamond is a long way from Callahan, Fla., a tiny Jacksonville suburb where Kendrick grew up. The city’s population is about 900, and there are only a couple of stoplights in the town.

“Everybody knows each other,” Kendrick said. “That place will always be home to me.”

The generally reserved Kendrick, who speaks with a Southern twang, was raised by his grandmother, Ruth Woods.

She enrolled him in Little League when he was 5 in an effort to curtail his knack for throwing rocks against their house.

Woods also persuaded Kendrick not to quit when he was 12 and frustrated with the pressure of playing against better competition.

“It was a long road for me and it was a long road for her too,” Kendrick said. “She really instilled in me the values to work hard and I think that’s helped me a lot here.”

By the time his high school days at Callahan’s West Nassau ended, Kendrick had shown a knack for driving the ball. Colleges flirted, but none offered a full scholarship. Instead, Kendrick enrolled at St. John’s River Community College in northeast Florida.

“I tried out at a lot of schools and things fell through,” Kendrick said. “To be honest with you, [St. John’s] was not a place I wanted to be, but I was told no matter where you are, the scouts will find you.”

It was the father of a future teammate who found Kendrick. Longtime scout Tom Kotchman, whose son is injured Angels first baseman Casey Kotchman, spotted Kendrick and the Angels eventually selected him in the 10th round of the 2002 draft.

In four years, he climbed from raw prospect to participating in a pennant race. If Kendrick keeps improving, his name will continue to be likened to some of the game’s legends.

But those aren’t the only stars Kendrick has brushed with during his short tenure in the big leagues.

In a game against Boston at Fenway Park last month, Kendrick reached for a foul ball in the stands, claiming it out the grasp of actor and Red Sox fan Ben Affleck.

Kendrick later gave the ball to Affleck, who was celebrating his birthday with his wife, actress Jennifer Garner.

The exchange prompted reliever Scot Shields to nickname the rookie “Howiewood.”

“It ended up being in US Weekly, but the name is all in good fun,” Kendrick said. “If they want to call me that, it’s fine. I’m still a rookie.”

jonathan.abrams@latimes.com