Australian slugger taking his chance with BlueClaws
LAKEWOOD -- Australia native Rixon Wingrove — the fourth member of his family to play professional baseball — has found his way to New Jersey, where he has made himself an integral part of the Jersey Shore BlueClaws' lineup.
Despite playing only 43 games, Wingrove is tied for second on the team in home runs with eight; his .352 on-base percentage and .266 batting average are the second-highest marks of anyone currently on the Jersey Shore roster. The BlueClaws play in the South Atlantic League as the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies.
"It's been great. I take pride in being that guy (opponents) should be worried about," said Wingrove, 22.
If Wingrove goes on to play for the Phillies, it would be a bit of an anomaly. As of the 2021 MLB season, just 36 Australians have played in at least one game in the majors.
But it's the path Wingrove is taking that's absolutely unusual. His short pro career has been a mix of promise and setbacks. But things are looking bright again this summer.
Australia and 'full lockdown'
In 2020 Wingrove was entering what he expected to be a pivotal season in his quest to be a major league baseball player.
The 6-foot-5, left handed hitting first baseman was coming off of a Gulf Coast League All-Star selection, having driven in 37 runs and hit .298 over 48 games in the short-season rookie complex league.
As he anticipated making the jump from a complex league to full season minor league baseball, Wingrove hoped to prove he was on a trajectory towards the majors. However, his would-be statement campaign was snatched before it even started, with COVID-19 stripping the 2020 minor league season away and forcing Wingrove to go back to his home country.
"In Australia we had full lockdown, so we were kind of stuck," said Wingrove. "So I just do what I could, try and stay fit, get as much work as I can, but that year for everybody was a wash. It was definitely tough for my development, trying to get better and missing out that year, a crucial year of my career being 20-years-old, but I made the most of it."
Being exiled from American baseball due to the pandemic was the catalyst for what would be trying times ahead for Wingrove upon his return to the states.
A poor return
Despite getting at-bats and playing well in the Australian Baseball League (ABL), where he plays every offseason, Wingrove did not produce the way he envisioned upon his return to the states for the 2021 season.
Having made the move to Low-A Clearwater a year later than anticipated, Wingrove's power was clear as he belted 11 home runs in 79 games with the Threshers. At the same time, he only mustered a .206 batting average and struck out almost 100 times.
"Being so excited to come back again in 2021, I definitely pushed more than I should have been trying to produce results," said Wingrove, who signed with the Phillies organization when he was 17. "Even though I was squaring the ball up and getting unlucky, I was chasing hits. It was not a good approach."
Wingrove comes from a prestigious baseball family in Australia. His great-grandfather, grandfather and father all playing in the ABL. Wingrove himself made his ABL debut when he was 17 and had been playing baseball at a high youth level before that.
He was used to the trials of the sport and confident improvements were on the horizon.
"My No. 1 thing is letting things go, man, like you can't control what happened and what's going to happen, all you can control is your (two) feet and just worry about where you are and take every day as it is," Wingrove said.
Once again, the 2022 season did not start the way Wingrove envisioned. After struggling in the first eight games he appeared in with Clearwater, Wingrove got demoted back to a complex league in late April, where he stayed for a month.
A new chance
Exactly one month after he got sent down to the complex league, Wingrove was assigned to Jersey Shore on May 24.
In his first five games with the club, Wingrove hit three home runs and drove in six runs.
"When he steps up to the plate he has a presence already, just with his size. When he puts a couple balls in play and hits the home runs, it definitely stands out," BlueClaws manager Keith Werman said. "When he puts a couple of balls in play and hits the home runs it definitely stands out. It's definitely a momentum shifter and it's contagious too."
Big aspirations
When he signed for the Phillies in 2018, Wingrove had no plans on being a career minor-leaguer and despite some early struggles, that hasn't changed. While he has some major-league attributes, like many in the minors, he needs refinement if he wants to hit his ultimate goal of the major leagues.
"It comes down to the finer details in the work and I think he recognizes that," Werman said of his first baseman. "Take it day-by-day to improve. Some people say you improve 1% every day and you can really take off and if he can find that consistency every single day to be really picky about the details I think he can take them a long way."
Wingrove's aspirations also involve continuing to represent his country on the diamond, something he's already done at the under-23 level.
As of right now Wingrove plans to play for Australia at the Under-23 Baseball World Cup in October and if all goes according to his plan, he'll be playing at the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
"I love playing in front of more people," Wingrove said of playing at the international competition. "[Having] more people to come and watch me play, I enjoy playing at that level and trying to compete and show against some of the best players in the word."
MiLB notebook
In the first series after the major league baseball trade deadline, the BlueClaws took on the Hudson Valley Renegades, the affiliate of the New York Yankees in a six-game series from August 2-7. The BlueClaws broke a 15-game home losing streak that dates back to June 16 with a double-header sweep of Hudson Valley on Aug. 6. Starting for the BlueClaws in those games were Mick Abel and Andrew Painter, two top-60 prospects according to mlb.com and the highest-rated prospects in the Phillies' system.
"Absolutely, they're going to be big leaguers," Werman said. "They're special, their presence on the mound, you can see the way they pitch. They do a lot of special things.
On August 1, outfielder Carlos De La Cruz, the teams most productive hitter, and starting pitcher Ben Brown were promoted to AA Reading.
The next day Brown, who was 3-5 with a 3.08 ERA with Jersey Shore, was traded to the Cubs organization in exchange for relief pitcher David Robertson.
"They're getting a special guy, that's for sure," Werman said of Brown. "Great character, great person. He made a lot of really nice improvements, a lot of great strides throughout this season. I've seen a lot of developments out of him this year and obviously the results speak for themself."
Jersey Shore also received an influx of players around the deadline, among them is Marcus Lee Sang. An 11th round draft pick in the 2019 draft, the 21-year-old outfielder hit .259 with eight home runs and 16 stolen bases in 84 games in Low-A and was immediately thrust into the leadoff spot.
In his first series with the BlueClaws Sang reached base in five of six games, hitting .348 with two home runs, three RBIs and a stolen base.
"He's got some speed, he's a dynamic player, you know he played well down in Clearwater. Just looking to get a nice fresh spark in the lineup, kind of throw him out there," Werman said of the decision.
Yankees' farm news
Hudson Valley manager Tyson Blaser lost a trio of productive players at the deadline.
First, T.J. Sikemma a left-handed pitcher (1-1, 2.48 ERA, 54 strikeouts in 36.1 innings) and right-hander Beck Way (5-5, 3.73 ERA, 80 strikeouts in 72.1 innings) were part of a trade for outfielder Andrew Benitendi.
A few days later second baseman Cooper Bowman, who stole 35 bases for the Renegades was part of the blockbuster that landed the Yankees both starting pitcher Frankie Montas and reliever Lou Trivino from the Oakland Athletics.
"I've been doing this for a while now, as a player and as a coach. This is the time of year you kind of come and get used to it (losing players," said Blaser, who is in his first year managing the Renegades. "Always sucks when you end up losing guys, we pour so much into them, but that's what we do."
While some may have left, a number of top prospects from what is left of the Yankees farm system after a busy deadline, were on display when the Renegades made their way to Jersey Shore.
Most notably, outfielder Jasson Dominguez, who was promoted to High-A on July 16, was often patrolling center field during the series. The 19-year-old outfielder known as "The Martian" because of his alien-esque natural abilities is the third-ranked prospect in the Yankees system according to mlb.com and one of the most watched prospects in all of baseball.
Dominguez hit .333 against Jersey Shore, smacking one home run and driving in three runs, while also stealing a trio of bases, playing all six games.
"I think why he brings so much popularity is he's an easy guy to like. You see all the tools, you see him play, but he's always got a smile on his face too," Blaser said.
After trading many of their pitching prospects, the top-ranked arm left in the Yankees system is Yoendrys Gomez, who mlb.com has ranked as the Yankees sixth-best prospect regardless of position. The Venezuelan, who had elbow surgery last August, pitched 2 1/3 innings in a series opening 8-2 win against Jersey Shore on August 2. He struck out two batters and allowed one run, three hits and a walk in the game.
Through seven games Gomez has thrown 17.1 innings, struck out 17 batters and has an ERA of 2.08.
"I think every time he takes the mound and he's getting a little bit better and he has a healthy start, those are all wins because everyone sees the talent," an extremely complimentary Blaser said.
Also in Jersey Shore was 2021 first-round pick and mlb.com's No. 5 Yankees prospect Trey Sweeney. The shortstop started out hot against Jersey Shore, scoring five runs in the first two games, before going hitless in the final four games of the series.
As a whole Sweeney had an average of .130 with two RBIs and a home run in the six-game set.
"He does a really good job of being ready to play every day, he's been pretty durable. He's really good at hitting balls zone. I know, it seems a little bit overrated, but he doesn't, doesn't miss the ball too much,," Blaser said. "So his missing zone is really down and when he swings usually makes contact. So it's been trying to get him to swing it more strikes, and then control the zone a little bit more, which I think he's been doing a better job throughout the year."
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Jersey Shore BlueClaws stars Rixon Wingrove, Australian slugger
