Nice couple of weeks for ’Tope
Weeks coming on strong after disappointing end to 2018
It hasn’t been the best of seasons for the Albuquerque Isotopes, but Drew Weeks is keeping things in perspective.
The 26-year-old outfielder has been with the ’Topes all year and that in itself is something to smile about.
Weeks has been on a tear of late, hitting .385 over his last 13 games with four home runs. The latter total includes a solo blast beyond the center-field trees at Isotopes Park that gave Albuquerque a late lead in Thursday night’s 9-8 win over San Antonio.
Friday night’s Isotopes-Missions game was delayed 2 hours and 45 minutes because of rain and was still in progress at press time, with Albuquerque leading 11-5 after five innings. Weeks did extend his current hit streak to six
games with a third-inning triple.
Late-night duty notwithstanding, Weeks has enjoyed the past month of baseball immensely. There was a two-homer, eightRBI performance at El Paso that featured, “the first grand slam of my life,” Weeks said. Then, last week, he smacked a two-run homer in his first-ever plate appearance against Nashville pitcher Kyle Bird — Weeks’ best friend.
“That one will play in the offseason,” Weeks said with a smile. “The last month actually has been pretty good.”
The appraisal does come with an asterisk. After all, the Isotopes went into Friday’s game in last place in the PCL’s Pacific Southern Division at 48-68.
Still, Weeks needs only to look back one year to see a bright side of 2019. His 2018 campaign was tough to figure and even tougher to swallow.
Weeks, an Orange Park, Florida, native was assigned to open the 2018 season in Albuquerque. It was his first experience at the Triple-A level and his debut was a rousing success. Weeks finished April hitting .341 with four homers and 17 RBIs and was understandably stoked.
“My season started so well,” he said, “and I was thinking, ‘What an opportunity! Here I am dominating on the second highest level of professional baseball. This is amazing.’” Too good to be true? Perhaps. Weeks’ left hand began bothering him and the Isotopes placed him on the injured list on April 30. He ultimately had the hamate bone removed but it didn’t present any long-term problems. Weeks was sent to Grand Junction on a rehab assignment June 15 and activated by the Isotopes on June 21.
“It’s very easy surgery and I felt fine when I came back,” Weeks said. “But it wasn’t the same. I started pressing and trying too hard to make things happen.”
In 25 games Weeks’ batting average slipped from .345 to .267. Organizational numbers also began to conspire against him. On July 28 the Colorado Rockies signed veteran outfielder Matt Holliday and placed Weeks on the temporary inactive list. Three days later Weeks was sent to Double-A Hartford where he spent the rest of the season.
“It was tough getting sent down when I’d hit so well at Triple A,” Weeks said, “but some things are out of your control. I put it in the past. I’m in Albuquerque now, trying to make the most of it.”
Unfortunately for Weeks, this season did not start anything like 2018. He was hitting just .224 on July 2 and struggling to find consistency at the plate.
Oddly enough, it was another Rockies roster move that helped turn things around. Colorado signed veteran infielder Yonder Alonso and assigned him to Albuquerque on July 12.
“Honestly, Yonder Alonso really helped me out,” Weeks said. “We talked about hitting and he noticed some things in my approach and gave me some ideas. It made a difference.”
Alonso moved on to the Rockies after just nine games but Weeks has continued to thrive. His batting average has climbed 30 points to .254 over the last month and Weeks’ confidence has surged.
“I finally feel relaxed again,” he said. “Trying harder just doesn’t help in baseball. When you relax, life seems to fall into place.”
Weeks hopes to keep trending in a positive direction over the season’s final month. He recently played a game in center field — his first since 2015 — and said he’s back to looking forward to coming to work each day.
“I just want to continue to ride this hot streak,” he said, “and hopefully win games in the next month.”