On April 17, Orioles outfield prospect Trendon Craig was placed on the seven-day injured list when he suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out until June 5, when he was assigned to the FCL Orioles on a rehab assignment.
Craig, 22, was off to a hot start when the hamstring injury hit, but since returning to Low-A Delmarva, he has picked up where he left off.
“[After] I got injured, just getting back to myself, just building my body up to be strong — I feel a lot stronger than I did before actually I got hurt,” Craig said on Glenn Clark Radio June 23. “Just mainly just getting my timing back, being comfortable in the box and just settling in.”
Craig has played 18 games with Delmarva this season. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound outfielder is hitting .348/.413/.551 with 24 hits, 14 runs, 38 total bases, 14 RBIs and two home runs entering play on June 28. He also has nine steals on the year.
“Speed is a huge part of my game,” Craig said. “Just being able to have that speed component in the back is huge for me. I’m a fast guy. I can get on. I can hit singles, doubles, steal second, third. Just being able to have that extra tool is a big part of my game.”
Craig was selected in the 20th round of the 2021 MLB Draft and made his pro debut in the Florida Complex League in 2021, then split time between Delmarva and High-A Aberdeen in 2022. He has played primarily left field, but he understands that he needs to be able to play all three outfield positions.
“I’ve played all of them, and I have played all of them my whole life, and I’m comfortable with all of them,” Craig said.
Craig has priorities for himself this year that he wants to achieve. He wants to be in control of his body in all facets. This includes how he works out, sleeps and eats in order to ensure that he is healthy and stays on the baseball field.
“Putting down the electronics, just learning how to relax your mind at least 30 minutes before bed — I wouldn’t even say watch TV,” Craig said. “What I’ve been doing lately is just journaling and just feeling like I’m clearing my mind and clearing my thoughts.”
Craig has good plate discipline. He says the key to that is having an approach and plan for each at-bat, knowing the pitcher’s tendencies when going up against them and understanding how pitchers may use his weaknesses against him.
Controlling the strike zone is also important to him when taking his at-bats.
“Not getting yourself out of the zone and swinging at pitches that you know that you can do damage with and not taking much,” Craig said.
Craig said that plate discipline was something that he did not have in high school.
“It’s definitely something that I would say I took after being in this organization and just learning how to slug higher and do damage with more pitches,” he said.
Craig says if hitters are not swinging at pitches that they can do damage with, then they will struggle to produce.
“It’s definitely something that I had to learn over the years, and I’m still learning it as I grow,” Craig said. “There’s always a way to get better.”
For more from Craig, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: LegacyMaker Sports Network