Baseball Beginnings

By John Klima
June 4, 2009

(photo: Baseball Beginnings)

Jonathan Singleton is 17 years old and has the home run power of a fully grown dude. He made a name for himself at the Aflac home run derby last summer, but no player can live on one glorified round of batting practice alone.

Singleton is aware of this. He started the high school season slowly and admitted that he was probably letting too much outside pressure affect his head and swing. He smoothed those areas out and showed scouts in Southern California what a young athlete with power potential can do.

Singleton has three things going for him: he’s left-handed, he has power, and his father, Rocky, drew paychecks from the Seattle Seahawks. Athleticism is in his blood and so is hitting. Baseball Beginnings caught up with Singleton midway through the high school season and discussed the present and the future.

Baseball Beginnings: I see you have had a lot of fun with a black sharpie underneath the bill of your hat. What does that say?
Singleton: It has my nickname and the quote is, “Good, better, best; never let it rest until the good is better and the better is best.” I picked that up about halfway through the season.

Baseball Beginnings: Let’s talk about this season. The street talk was that your first few games weren’t what scouts wanted to see. I looked around today and there were only a few area guys, no national level guys. What do you think you’ve shown this season and do you think you’ve been evaluated properly?
Singleton: The beginning of the season, I did start slow and I wasn’t swinging the bat so well. About halfway through, I started doing better and better. So far, this game (two line drives up the middle and a sacrifice fly) was one of the best I’ve had.

Baseball Beginnings: You look like the kind of guy who has to slow his swing down against high school pitching and is strong enough to feel more comfortable swinging with wood than with metal.
Singleton: I like high school ball because it’s a lot of fun to play with your friends, but competition-wise, it is somewhat slow.

Baseball Beginnings: Power is your best tool. How did that develop with you?
Singleton: I was always strong. Last year, I spent a lot of time in the gym. But for the most part, I was strong since the time I was 11 or 12.

Baseball Beginnings: Did playing any other sports help develop that strength?
Singleton: No. It was baseball all the way through.

Baseball Beginnings: Why was it always baseball for you?
Singleton: My Dad always told me baseball was the hardest sport to play, so he wanted me to start playing baseball early.

Baseball Beginnings: Did you have any baseball blood in your family?
Singleton: No. My Dad played football.

Baseball Beginnings: How would you describe your approach.
Singleton: I try to stay inside the ball so I don’t hook it too much. If I hook it too much, I get in the habit of pulling the ball in just about every at-bat, so I try to stay away from that.

Baseball Beginnings: People look at you and see strength, but do you think you are a better athlete than you are given credit for?
Singleton: Yes, I believe so.

Baseball Beginnings: Why?
Singleton: Playing first base, you have to have some athletic ability, but not much. If I were to be playing a different position, I think they might see how much athletic ability I have.

Baseball Beginnings: When you advance, what position would you want to play?
Singleton: I’d still want to play first base. If not, I’d want to be an outfielder.

Baseball Beginnings: Were you friends with (Long Beach Wilson’s) Aaron Hicks (who was a first-round pick of the Twins in 2008)? If so, what did you learn from him?
Singleton: We’ve always been friends. The biggest thing he told me was to play for yourself. Don’t play for scouts. Don’t try to do too much.

Baseball Beginnings: Did you think you struggled early in the season because you tried to do too much?
Singleton: I think I did try to do too much. Halfway through, I really re-evaluated what I was trying to do. I went out and just played baseball the way I know how.

Baseball Beginnings: Do you think you’re the kind of hitter who will get better as you see better pitching and are able to speed up your bat?
Singleton: Yes. We have about four teams with good pitching. The rest of the teams aren’t as good.

Baseball Beginnings: What do you think you’re better at this year than you were last year and how do you think you need to get better at the next level?
Singleton: I’d say, I’m better at hitting my pitch rather than going out and hitting the pitcher’s pitch. I’d say I need to work on mechanics, the position of my hands and stuff like that.

Read Jonathan Singleton Scouting report
Watch Jonathan Singleton Scouting video
Jonathan Singleton Drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies

Categories: '09 Meet the Player
Tags: Jonathan Singleton, Long Beach State