'Relaxed' Fowler seeks fresh start with Bucs

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Dustin Fowler felt he was right on track.

After Fowler was thrust into the starting role in center field in 2018 with the A’s, he struggled at the plate with an overly aggressive approach that only worsened with the amount of pressure he’d put on himself. But in '19, while Ramón Laureano held a firm grasp on center field in Oakland, Fowler worked through some things with his plate discipline and swing at Triple-A Las Vegas, helping him slug a career-best 25 homers.

Then September came, and he wasn’t added to the expanded roster.

“That was a big shock for me, not getting the call in that season after having such a good season and such a big step for me,” Fowler said.

Fowler, who spent all of 2020 at the A’s alternate training site, will get a better opportunity for playing time with the Pirates, who acquired him on Feb. 24 for cash. There’s competition at his preferred position in center field with Anthony Alford, Brian Goodwin and Jared Oliva, the club’s No. 12 prospect per MLB Pipeline. They also could use Fowler as a backup in left and right field behind Bryan Reynolds and Gregory Polanco, respectively.

When he debuted in 2017, Fowler was the No. 67 prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. As a left-handed-hitting outfielder with 20-homer, 20-steal potential and great fielding ability, the future was bright. But in his first Major League game, he crashed into the railing in right field at Yankee Stadium and had to be immediately carted off with a ruptured right patellar tendon.

“The kid has had a tough road,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said.

“The biggest goal is to kind of not have to think about it again and [have] it be on the backburner, so hopefully I can do that here,” Fowler said. “I think there’s a great opportunity.”

In some stroke of fate, Fowler's first game as a Pirate came against the Yankees on Saturday, and he recorded his first hit in the fourth inning of Pittsburgh's 3-2, seven-inning victory: a rocketed 106.5 mph single to right field.

“Even the swing before the hit, he took a high fastball up and kind of tomahawked it to first. Good swing,” Shelton said. “He’s had good swings in the live ABs that we’ve had, the simulated games.”

Looking back at his scouting report in 2017, here's the one thing Fowler needed to work on, per his blurb on MLB Pipeline: “To reach his offensive ceiling, he'll need to get more selective at the plate because he walks infrequently and puts too many early-count pitches in play rather than waiting for one to drive.”

Fowler took notice. A big part of the reason he nearly doubled his career high in home runs in 2019 was that he nearly doubled his career-best walk total, drawing 42 in 130 games. He said it’s been a struggle throughout his career to not attack too early, but he’s growing into it.

“[I] basically did everything I could to make sure I took the first pitch of the at-bat, just to kind of get relaxed into the at-bat and not just swing,” Fowler said. “I don’t think I changed anything [to be] different. I would just say that I think everything kind of fell in line with getting older and more mature, and just seeing more at-bats every day.”

Fowler isn’t trying to overcomplicate his approach to this pivotal spring as he tries to revitalize his career. Growing up in Cadwell, Ga., a small town outside of Macon, Fowler didn’t have the advanced coaching that top Draft prospects in larger markets did. While he enjoys the insight his coaches provide, his tendency is to clear his head in the box and keep things “free and easy.”

Most of all, Fowler isn’t trying to overcomplicate his opinion of who he is. He believes he took the “center fielder of the future” mantle given to him in Oakland and turned it into a pressure point instead of a confidence builder. Now, Fowler is hitting the reset button.

“It kind of caused me some problems here and there, through the course,” Fowler said, “but coming over here, I'm just going to try to take a deep breath and relax and play the best I can play. Be relaxed and have fun and enjoy the opportunity."