Stevenson adapting quickly as he gets ready for second pro season

Outfielder Andrew Stevenson hit the ground running after being drafted by the Nationals and competing in the College World Series for LSU. The lefty-hitting 21-year-old was listed in the top 10 of Nationals prospects by Baseball America. He advanced quickly from short-season Single-A Auburn to low Single-A Hagerstown.

The Nationals let Stevenson get into a groove his first month of professional ball, a philosophy that Nationals hitting coordinator Troy Gingrich said they implement with all of their prospects.

"Basically when we draft guys, we give them 30 days, unless there's like two weeks of straight failure and they're panicked and stuff like that," Gingrich said. "For the most part, we give them 30 days to let them do what they got drafted for. Let them feel comfortable."

Gingrich said that Stevenson excelled because he was already an advanced prospect thanks to all of his play in the Southeastern Conference against top-flight opponents like Vanderbilt, Florida and others. The Nationals focused on Stevenson recognizing off-speed pitches in his first season.

"With Stevenson, he does a really good job," Gingrich said. "He knows how to take his hands and barrel it, get it to the ball. The only thing we kind of worked on is he is kind of the same as other guys on off-speed stuff and he'll get a little bit too far on his front side. The only thing we've worked on is how he kind of flows down into his legs to keep him in position, lower half-wise. He's done a good job.

"He is a high aptitude kid. He can take whatever we give him and he can apply it right away which is really good," Gingrich concluded.

Gingrich said the ability to pick up ways to improve quickly wasn't lost on just Stevenson. He believes the entire 2015 Nationals draft class displayed a unique ability to pick up advice and alterations to their approach and put them into practice much more quickly than what he had seen in the past.

"Our draft this year with the kids we drafted, that is one big thing that was really nice to see is how these guys can take what we give them and they can apply it right away," Gingrich noted. "Stevenson, outfielder Rhett Wiseman, infielder Ian Sagdal, basically everyone of our draft picks. Outfielder Blake Perkins is like 19 years old. I'm so excited about him and he's just beginning to switch-hit, too. All of the kids we drafted this year, their aptitude and ability to apply what we give them has been outstanding."