VERO BEACH -- Vero Beach Dodgers infielder Blake DeWitt has made a full-
time move to second base from third base.
"It's going pretty well," DeWitt said. "It took me a while in spring training to get things under my belt again. So far, so good I guess."
DeWitt, 20, played shortstop in high school at Sikeston High School in Missouri before moving to third base in the lower rungs of the minor leagues. But with the Los Angeles Dodgers' minor leagues stocked with third baseman, the former first-round draft pick switched to second base.
Manager Luis Salazar said DeWitt could move quickly through the minor leagues.
"We already know he's a good hitter, and so far he's played a tremendous second base," Salazar said.
For DeWitt, the difficulty in switching positions has not shown in the statistics. He did not commit an error until Thursday night. But there are quirks with the move.
"At second base, I have to go get balls," DeWitt said. "At third base, you can sit back a little more. That and turning the double play from second, that's probably the toughest thing. I've still got some things to work on, but it's all right."
Although he hit just .194 the Dodgers first eight games, DeWitt hit a key home run last year in the Florida State League playoffs and batted .419 last season in 31 at-bats for the Dodgers.
"The pitching's a little more different," DeWitt said. "Guys are more consistent, you know, throw off-speed pitches in counts that in the lower levels, they couldn't throw for strikes. But here they are, so you have to adjust to that. But other than that it's still baseball."
JUST MISSED: In their first seven games, the Dodgers lost six games by one run and another by two runs. Part of that is because the hitters have struggled.
Through the season's first week Vero Beach was ninth in hitting in the FSL with a .229 batting average. The team was last in runs with just 22 scored this season.
NICE STARTS: Center fielder Ryan Carter and first baseman Jason Mooneyham both started well offensively.
Carter hit .360 in 25 at-bats to begin the year. He had a home run and three triples in the season's first week. Mooneyham batted .348 in his first 23 at-
bats.
THE BLAKE DEWITT FILE
Age: 20
Hometown: Sikeston, Mo.
How big was the Cotton Carnival in Sikeston: "Pretty big. I mean, when you were little, that's all you look forward to every year was going to the Cotton Carnival. It's pretty neat. They had a parade and everything.
Last movie you saw in a theatre: "What did I last see? Munich. It was a pretty good movie."
Favorite music: "I listen to all kinds. There's not really any particular type that I listen to, but I guess I'd have to say country if I had to pick one."