PHOENIX – Promising outfielders have been a big talking point for the D-backs. First there was Daulton Varsho, then Alek Thomas, and of course Corbin Carroll, then Jake McCarthy.
They’ve all received their fair share of attention over the past two seasons.
However, one that hasn’t been talked about or written about as much is Dominique Fletcherwho is changing the game with an impressive first two weeks in the big leagues.
Fletcher hit a three-run homer – his first since his promotion on April 30 – and scored four runs Friday against the D-backs. 7-5 victory against the Giants at Chase Field.
“He’s been great,” veteran first baseman Christian Walker said of Fletcher. “Calm, hardworking, has a feel for the game, plays with a lot of energy and intensity. And he’s a great player. He just continues to put together competitive at-bats. Every pitch, even if it’s a catch, is competitive. He’s on it. He feels dangerous at the plate, and that’s exciting.
In 39 plate appearances since being recalled from Triple-A Reno, Fletcher is hitting .457/.486/.629.
With the D-backs trailing 3-0 Friday, his home run in the second off Ross Stripling tied the game.
“I was looking for something up the middle and he hooked a little bit of a slider and I caught it in front,” Fletcher said.
The ball landed in the pool area just beyond the right-center wall, and the fan who caught the ball returned it to Fletcher. After the game, it sat in a box at the bottom of his locker.
“Someone said it landed in the guacamole,” Fletcher joked. “We’ll have to see what that looks like.”
Fletcher, who is classified as the 15th best prospect in Arizona’s system per MLB Pipeline, is the younger brother of Angels infielder David Fletcher. He was selected in the Competitive Balance Round B (75th overall) by the D-backs in the 2019 MLB Draft.
It’s a pick the D-backs got as part of the Cardinals’ return in the trade that sent Paul Goldschmidt to St. Louis in December 2018.
“He was able to put together some great hitters,” said D-backs bench coach Jeff Banister, who served as interim manager while Torey Lovullo attended his son’s college graduation. “Very calm in the batter’s box, has a very good plan. In my opinion, he is not really overwhelmed by the situation. I think sometimes when you first face pitchers you see young hitters it can get a little sideways for them. He doesn’t seem to have that in him. He has the ability to hit both lefties and righties. He looks great hitting in the box, as that old adage goes, and he puts together quality hitters for us almost every night he’s out there.
Because Fletcher’s brother is a Major League player, he has been around the game for quite some time, which likely helped him feel comfortable in the Majors so quickly.
But another reason is that he came up in the farm system playing with Carroll and Thomas, so being reunited with them at the big league level feels right. The trio was known as the “Three Musketeers” during their time together at the team’s alternate training site in 2020.
“Seeing them again and being able to spend time with them again, it’s been special, that’s for sure,” Fletcher said.
When he was called up, his brother David told him the game was the same and he just had to keep doing what he had done throughout his professional career.
“Having it as a tool has really helped me throughout my career,” Fletcher said. “Whenever I need something, it’s there. We talk all the time, almost every day. And the fact that he went through all the levels before me and went through everything before me was really a big help to me.
