Q&A with Giants prospect Steven Duggar

March 10th, 2017

As part of MLBPipeline.com's visit to all 30 Spring Training facilities, we'll be sitting down with prospects and getting to know them a little better. At Giants' camp, it was No. 4 prospect .
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Outfielder Steven Duggar was a sixth-round pick of the Giants out of Clemson in 2015. He made it to Double-A in his first full season and hit a combined .302/.388/.448. 
Giants' Top 30 Prospects list
MLBPipeline.com: This is your first big league camp. What has the experience been like, just being in this clubhouse?
Duggar: It's been fantastic, just watching all the big leaguers go about their business, being able to talk to and defense-wise, just picking their brains a little bit. You try to take bits and pieces from different guys. Just watching Span the first day, how he breaks on balls in the outfield. Hunter, his leadership.
:: MLB Pipeline Spring Training reports ::
MLBPipeline.com: The jump from A ball to Double-A is supposed to be the hardest. But you really hit the ground running. What was your experience when you got there? You had to be pretty pleased with how things went there.
Duggar: It was a bit of an adjustment period, for about a week and a half. The hitting coordinator came into town and we talked about slowing the game down. I think that was the biggest thing. Bullpens especially, velo-wise, get up there. So it was a matter of slowing things down, staying within my approach, understanding my role at the top of the lineup, setting the tone for the guys behind me. It was definitely a learning experience and I was excited to progress at the same time.
There were definitely a few balls early that I hit that I thought, "That has a chance to go" and the outfielder was just camped under it. So it was important to stay within my approach, staying with the same path, setting the tone for the guys behind me who have a little more pop and can drive me in.
Giants Spring Training report
MLBPipeline.com: You mentioned your bat path. You've changed that a bit since you entered pro ball. Tell me a little about how the mechanics of your swing have evolved.
Duggar: I got with [farm director] Shane Turner last year and were talking about how I could be more consistent. My path when I first got here was pretty in and out. I wasn't giving myself the chance to hit the ball consistently and drive it. We worked on flattening the swing a little bit and being on time and it paid huge dividends for me last year.
MLBPipeline.com: You played mostly in an outfield corner in college and you've moved over to center now. When you were in college, were you hopeful you'd get the chance to play center again?
Duggar: I was definitely excited to move back to center. I played there throughout high school and moved to right in my senior year because my arm started to develop better. I got to school and they put me in right, so I was excited to get the opportunity, when I moved to Richmond, to be the everyday guy in center. It took me a few games to get reacclimated, but I picked up where I left off, even got better.
MLBPipeline.com: You reached the upper levels and now you're in big league camp, you can start to feel you're getting close. This is a team where the lineup is largely still homegrown guys. How excited are you to be part of the next wave of guys who could come up and help this team?
Duggar: It's really exciting to know the Giants are homegrown. Obviously, from talking to other guys in different organizations, the Giants, they draft championship people first. I think that's really important. The person comes first. That translates into championship teams. I'm excited to learn from these guys and continue to get better.