The Knights have three outfielders with a fair amount of major-league experience, but Gavin Sheets’ hot bat helped him jump the line and get the call-up today.
“It might have been different if they needed an outfielder for the rest of the season,” manager Wes Helms noted, “but with his production, the White Sox wanted a guy who can step right in and who was having success right now.”
Helms said he offered some advice before Sheets departed for Chicago.
“I told him to be Gavin,” Helms said. “That’s what I tell all these guys. Be yourself. Don’t try to be Cody Bellinger or Albert Pujols or Mike Trout. Don’t try to be those guys; just be Gavin Sheets.”
If he can do that, Helms iterated, he’ll have a long career in the major leagues.
“The biggest thing for him is not to try to do too much because when you get called up, you’re in front of the big-league coaching staff, big-league players and a lot of fans,” Helms said. “You want to put on a show. It is natural. That’s the biggest challenge. Control your emotions and remember what you did here in Charlotte and remember what you did at Double-A to get to Triple-A and just play. Don’t try to do too much, let it happen and stay in your approach.”
Because he is taking Andrew Vaughn’s roster spot, Sheets could be called upon to play the outfield, a position he has only just begun playing this season. But Helms is confident that Sheets can do it, though he allowed that it will be challenging at first.
“He’s going to be fine,” Helms said. “He’s got the arm, he’s got enough speed. It is just about getting comfortable out there, getting reads on balls, playing in different parks with different lights, playing with the sun in your eyes, playing with shadows. He just has to experience all those things in the outfield. Once he does that, I think he can be an impact player in the outfield just like he is at first base.”
The Knights lost 15-4 tonight, and fell to 8-18 on the season. These are tough times for Helms in terms of the Knights’ won-lost record, but the manager said the real satisfaction is getting his players to the big leagues. He acknowledged that the Sheets’ call-up is especially satisfying, and that the two have a special bond.
“I had him in Birmingham in 2019 and he was working through some struggles at the plate and we got him locked in,” Helms recalled. “He and I just go way back.”
Much has been made about whether Sheets has the power to take his game to the big leagues, especially if he winds up at first base on DH. But Helms downplayed those concerns.
“The power is there,” Helms said. “He can hit a ball a long way. His power has nothing to do with getting stronger. It is just a matter of his contact point. If he catches the ball out front more, he’s going to hit for more power but I don’t think he should focus on that because then he’ll start pulling off pitches, and that was a struggle for him in Birmingham.
“But in about June, he started driving the ball to left center, and that’s when he took off and led the Southern League in RBIs. I tell him all the time, if you hit 20 and drive in 100, that’s just as good as hitting 30 and driving in 80. You have to understand the player you are.”
Photo credit: Sean Williams/FutureSox
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