Eliot’s Quinn McDaniel, a former star at Marshwood High and the University of Maine, trained at Sanford’s Goodall Park in the weeks leading into the Major League Baseball draft on July 10. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
Quinn McDaniel knows he still has a long way to go. But it’s fair to say the Eliot resident and 2023 fifth-round pick of the San Francisco Giants (153rd player overall) impressed in his first two months as a professional baseball player.
After starting 53 games at second base for the University of Maine, getting drafted July 10 and then signing a $300,450 bonus, McDaniel reported to the Giants’ spring training facility in Scottsdale, Arizona. On July 29 he joined one of the Giants’ two teams in the Arizona Complex rookie league. He played 16 games there and another 13 games with the low Class A San Jose Giants.
Overall, McDaniel hit six homers (three at each level), drove in 19 runs, scored 25, drew 28 walks, stole eight bases in nine attempts and posted impressive on-base (.424) and OPS (.919) numbers.
“I wouldn’t say I’m satisfied at all but I’m glad I got out there and got to experience what I did and learn about myself in that environment,” McDaniel said. “I’m excited to get to work and put together a full season.”
After moving up to Class A on Aug. 23, the 5-foot-11, 180-pound Marshwood High graduate hit .267 with four multihit games in his first six games.
“I had a lot of fun, playing in front of crowds again. Rookie ball there’s no crowd at all but at low-A there’s a good crowd every game and it’s good baseball,” McDaniel said. “You’re surrounded by a bunch of kids who love the game. There were a lot of Latin and Spanish kids. They’re fun to play with.”
After a brief return to Maine, McDaniel went back to work at the Giants’ Arizona facility. The offseason focus is two-fold: Swing adjustments and hitting the weight room.
“Which was stuff I knew I needed to work on anyways,” McDaniel said. “And at the end of the day it’s my career and the ball’s kind of in my hands.”
The swing work revolves around a minor change to “keep me more consistently on time with pitches.” That could reduce McDaniel’s strikeout rate (35 Ks in 125 plate appearances).
Increased strength is important for power at the plate, speed on the bases and durability over a long season.
“A lot of focus right now is making sure you get your body right and make sure you’re ready physically,” McDaniel said. “After (the season) the message was, ‘We know you’re tired and you’ve been through a long year,’ but if you look at it through the eyes of a guy in the majors, the MLB postseason is (going on) and they’ve all played 150 games.”
HUNTER OWEN, a former star pitcher at South Portland High, was a fourth-round selection of the Kansas City Royals in July. He did not see any game action, however, in his first months as a pro.
Owen went to the Royals’ spring training facility in Surprise, Arizona, about a week after being taken with the 106th overall selection. His signing bonus was $631,700.
“I was just throwing bullpens and working on some mechanical stuff,” Owen said.
“I was a starter during the (college) season, so I’d had a good amount of innings,” Owen said. “I don’t think they necessarily needed to see me in a game. I think they trusted that development-wise what I needed to work on was just mechanical corrections.”
The left-hander threw 64 innings over 12 starts, going 4-0 with a 3.52 ERA and 76 strikeouts as a junior this spring at Vanderbilt University. Owen missed four scheduled starts over the final six weeks of the regular season with shoulder soreness,. Like McDaniel, Owen had his senior season of high school ball canceled by the coronavirus pandemic in the spring of 2020. He threw only 16 2/3 innings and then 26 2/3 innings in his first two seasons at Vanderbilt.
Owen is 6-foot-6 and listed as weighing 261 pounds. He said the focus of his time in Arizona was improving his “lower-half efficiency” and having better direction toward the plate. Owen said if he applies those corrections consistently it could increase his fastball velocity of 92-94 mph. More importantly, it would be “a little more effortless velocity to be able to maintain throughout the season,” he said.
Owen is back in Nashville, Tennessee, taking college courses. He said he’ll need one more semester after this fall to complete his degree in communications. In November he’ll start a throwing program to be ready to report to spring training.
Owen said it was a little hard to not be able to get into a game while training with the Royals’ rookie ball team.
“I’m always here to compete so obviously I gravitate toward wanting to play but I also have a self-awareness of what I need and what’s the best option to prepare for a full season. I’m excited to do that this spring.”
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