a day ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Giants' Gavin Kilen following MLB path from Wisconsin blazed by ‘Big Gav' Lux
ATLANTA — A shift is in order for fans of the San Francisco Giants, perhaps, when it comes to former Dodgers infielder Gavin Lux. Back home in Wisconsin, the Giants' top draft pick, Gavin Kilen, is closely associated with the now-Reds utility player.
The two played in the same summer league under the same coach, but they're six years apart so, Kilen said, 'I feel like I've grown up in his shadow my entire life, being 'Little Gav' to 'Big Gav' because he was way older.'
Kilen was texting with Lux as recently as Monday morning, when Lux told him, 'The fun starts now,' but Kilen said they have yet to talk Dodgers-Giants rivalry. 'I'll have to ask him about it though,' Kilen said.
Kilen, 21, played second and shortstop at Tennessee and before that, Louisville, with a little third base thrown in, and he's always been considered a standout defender. The Giants see him at shortstop, at least 'for now,' director of amateur scouting Michael Holmes said, and Kilen agreed that's his best spot.
'I'd still love to play shortstop, but at the end of the day, I don't write the lineup card,' he said.
'Wherever they want to play me I'd love to play, so it will not bother me.'
Along with strong fielding skills, Kilen is, like second-rounder Trevor Cohen, a contact hitter, with more walks (30) than strikeouts (27) at Tennessee, and he has some pop, hitting 15 homers in 53 games.
'I think even from an early age, that's always been a skill I've always had — I've always excelled at making contact,' Kilen said. 'This year was kind of the switch-up, like, 'All right, you can make good contact, let's try to hit not necessarily for more power, but let's put yourself in better counts to do more damage, catch balls up front, (generate) higher exit velocities.' I think the bat-to-ball (skills) are just a knack I've always had playing baseball.'
At Tennessee, Kilen had a reputation as a team leader. Monday, in a call with reporters, he described himself as 'definitely very comfortable with myself and how I feel about things. I'm a little more quiet, unless you really get me talking, but I'm a super competitor, I love competing.'
The Giants hadn't selected a middle infielder in the first round since Christian Arroyo in 2013 and he's the first college middle infielder the club has taken since Joe Panik in 2011.
San Francisco had another notable lefty hitting middle infielder from Wisconsin: former second baseman Duane Kuiper, now the team's TV announcer, is from Racine, 60 miles to the east of Milton, Kilen's hometown.
