Giants outfield prospect one step from majors

Bowker improves as power hitter

Andrew Baggarly - MercuryNews

The Giants are stuffed with young outfielders, so John Bowker has no delusions of making the club out of spring training.

But if he repeats his breakout performance from last season, his time will come soon enough.

The 24-year-old Sacramento native batted .307 and hit 22 home runs at Double-A Connecticut last year - numbers that look even better considering the dimensions at Dodd Stadium.

Bowker appeared a bit stalled entering last year, having repeated Class A San Jose in 2006. He hadn't developed into the power hitter the team envisioned when it took him in the third round of the '04 draft out of Long Beach State.

Coaches noticed that Bowker had no trouble turning on inside pitches with his quick, left-handed stroke. His problem came when he lunged for pitches on the outer half. So they asked him to move closer to the plate, and the results were instantaneous.

"I was able to turn on more pitches," Bowker said. "And my approach was consistent the whole year."

Bowker is excited about one thing. After playing in pitcher's parks nearly all his life, including Long Beach's Blair Field, he's off to Triple-A Fresno and the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

"But I never try to think about how big the parks are," he said. "I just try to have good at-bats."

Bowker could be an insurance policy at first base, too. The Giants asked him to start taking groundballs there last month.

First baseman Daniel Ortmeier said he put on about 15 pounds of muscle this winter, thanks in part to daily motivation from workout partner and Colorado outfielder Brad Hawpe.

The two Texans pushed each other in the gym and Hawpe told the Denver Post he had trouble keeping up with Ortmeier, comparing his athleticism to Rockies teammate and MVP runner-up Matt Holliday.

Ortmeier, who entered camp at 230 pounds, showed his power by hitting an opposite-field home run against left-hander Jose Capellan.

• The Giants still don't have a meeting scheduled with Commissioner Bud Selig to discuss the findings of the Mitchell report, General Manager Brian Sabean said. Selig has pledged to give Sabean and owner Peter Magowan a forum to provide context on the events outlined in the report before taking any potential disciplinary action.