Mariners' Dustin Ackley shows opposite-field prowess in debut

SURPRISE, Ariz. — Stop looking at Dustin Ackley's biceps or chest for his missing power.

The No. 2 overall Mariners draft pick from June isn't exactly a Hercules body double. But anyone paying attention during a couple of at-bats in his Arizona Fall League debut Wednesday afternoon would see where Ackley's power lies.

Move your eyes down Ackley's slender arms to the hands gripping the bat. Ackley twice flicked those hands and drove balls the opposite way to left field for singles in a 2-for-4 day that had Mariners officials smiling.

"I was just looking to hit the ball up the middle [or] other way," Ackley said after his Peoria Javelinas were beaten 6-4 by the Surprise Rafters. "That's kind of the way I've done things up to now. I've always seemed to be a guy who stays late, then tries to find a hole up the middle or backside."

Ackley is the first to admit he'll never be a pure home-run hitter. But he posted an on-base average above .500 in his two final seasons at North Carolina by doing exactly what he did Wednesday.

Facing Class A left-hander Brandon Sisk in the second inning, Ackley worked the count to 2-1, then slapped a hard slider breaking down and away to left. Moments later, he effortlessly flew around the bases and scored on a triple to right-center.

Facing left-handed prospect Michael Dunn's 95 mph heat with two on and one out in the ninth, Ackley made the struggling AAA pitcher come to him. After taking a ball, Ackley got an offering he liked and his quick hands once again powered the ball on a line to left.

An ability to use all fields is one reason the Mariners spent their highest first-round pick in years on the speedy outfielder, who stands 6 feet 1 and weighs 180 pounds.

"I keep hearing and reading about strength," said Tom McNamara, director of amateur scouting for the Mariners and one of those smiling after watching his debut. "He's got strong hands. He's got an uncanny knack of keeping his hands in the hitting zone."

Ackley would like to get somewhat stronger, especially in his legs, and his past month of workouts in Arizona has included added weight training. But he doesn't want to take away from what got him here.

"For the positions that I've played, you're not really expected to be a huge guy," he said. "And I'm not expected to be slow either, so I don't want to gain a lot of weight and get slower."

Ackley can see himself getting up to anywhere from 195 to 200 pounds, which is what he weighed in high school without losing any speed.

His father, John, who made it to Class AAA as a Red Sox minor-leaguer in the 1980s, never heard any comments about his son's size until he reached college.

"You'd hear scouts talking about whether he'd have enough power and things like that," John Ackley said by phone from his North Carolina home. "He's not a big, beefy guy who's going to belt a lot of home runs. But the one thing he can do is hit."

The elder Ackley recalls his son spraying the ball all over the field as young as age 5. By the time Ackley reached college, his father was pretty much done offering him playing advice.

"People come up to me and say, 'You must be proud of how well you've taught your son,' " he said. "But I tell them that I honestly can't take any credit for it. He's just born to hit the way he does, and the rest of it, he did on his own."

It's not like Ackley had never seen a weight room before being drafted. His father remembers he and his wife waiting for their son after college games.

"We'd want to take him to dinner afterward, but we'd be waiting and waiting because he'd be the last player out," he said. "He always wanted to lift weights after the game."

That work ethic might partially explain why his hands are so quick and powerful when he swings. But some of it, as his father says, just can't be taught.

"I'm not really a guy who's going to hit a lot of home runs, so they don't expect me to do that," Ackley said. "When I do, that's great. But they expect me to do a whole lot more than that, so that's great."

One game in, and he's already giving them what they want.

Geoff Baker: 206-464-8286 or gbaker@seattletimes.com.

Read his daily blog at www.seattletimes.com/Mariners