WOODBRIDGE--The hits have come so frequently for Trey Webb these days that it's easy to forget the difficult start to his career: the three straight seasons at Single-A Savannah, the slumping average, the position change from shortstop to second base.
But Webb hasn't forgotten.
"I kind of got humbled there for a little bit," said Webb, seated in the Potomac Nationals' dugout, where he now leads Washington's Carolina League affiliate in batting average (.310), steals (14), runs (26) and on-base percentage (.373).
"I continue to work hard," he added. "You tend to take baseball for granted but it's a game and you go out there and have fun and play hard."
The start to Webb's career wasn't always fun. He was the Nationals' fifth-round draft pick in 2003 out of Baylor University, but in his first three seasons, he never rose above Savannah, the franchise's low Single-A affiliate.
Webb, 24, never hit above .271, struggled to get on base; once a prospect, he wasn't even starting at the beginning of last season.
"He went through a little adversity when he first went to Savannah," Potomac manager Randy Knorr said. "It made him grow up pretty fast. He started to take it a little more serious and he works hard. He comes in every day. He is hitting. He is working hard. His talent is starting to come out."
The biggest difference in Webb has been his focus. He spent all of the offseason lifting weights, trying to pack muscle onto his thin 6-foot-1 frame, and is usually among the first in the batting cages before games.
"I have always seen myself as 'I can hit, I can run,' so that was my goal, to hit and get on base and steal bases so we can score runs," Webb said. "I have to score runs for this team and that's what wins games. I am not a home run hitter. I get hits and move around the bases."
The result? He's a shoo-in to make the Carolina League All-Star team, and he's thrust himself back into the Nationals' plans, earning high praise from his manager.
"He reminds me of [shortstop] Mike Young from Texas," Knorr said. "I really believe that. He hasn't gotten into that power yet but just the type of swing that [Young] has and the type of swing that Trey has and Trey plays hard and Mike plays hard."
To reach TODD JACOBSON:
Email: tjacobson@freelancestar.com