Southern notes: Walker shows power, poise

Miguel Sano hit a towering homer run earlier this season that hit the clock atop the scoreboard at Chattanooga's AT&T Field.

Before the first half of the Double-A Southern League season was even over, Adam Brett Walker II outdid Minnesota's No. 2 prospect.

Walker, the Twins' No. 12 prospect, hit a blast all the way over the scoreboard, making it one of the longest homers at Chattanooga in recent memory.

"I got it pretty good," said Minnesota's third-round pick in the 2012 Draft. "I think it was probably the longest I've hit."

That would make it pretty long indeed.

Walker -- the All-Star Game Home Run Derby champ in the Florida State League last year before prevailing again in the SL this season -- hit a memorable homer for Fort Myers at Clearwater in 2014 that sailed over the Tiki Bar.

"If I barrel the ball up, I can get it out of any ballpark," the left fielder said.

Walker is certainly proving that, leading the Minors with 22 homers through 70 games.

That total is just three short of the 25 he smashed to lead the Class A Advanced FSL in 2014 and five short of the 27 that topped the Class A Midwest League in 2013. He hit 14 over 58 games to share the lead in the Rookie Appalachian League his Draft year.

Since Chattanooga returned to the Minors in 1976, no Lookout has hit more than 28 home runs. Tim Castro did it in 1992 and Scott Schebler matched that last season while leading the Southern League.

Walker seems destined to surpass 30 with ease and maybe even flirt with 40. The league record is 42 by Tim Laudner of Orlando in 1981.

"His power is epic," Chattanooga manager Doug Mientkiewicz said of his slugger.

Walker is also an RBI machine. The 6-foot-4 right-handed hitter led the SL with 66 in 70 games after leading the Midwest League with 109 in 2013 and the Florida State League with 94 last season.

Chattanooga's modern record for RBIs is 101 by Brick Smith in 1986. Walker had 15 in his past 12 games through June 28. He also had six homers in that stretch, including four in the past five games.

All of this is part of a very hot June for the former Jacksonville University slugger, who had a .319 average with 10 homers and 27 RBIs in the first 24 games of the month while lifting his overall average to .273.

"Things have definitely been going well," Walker said. "I think all the hard work I put in during the offseason is paying off."

Mientkiewicz, who also managed Walker in the FSL a year ago, agrees.

"The improvement he's made is very noticeable," the manager said. "You pull for kids like him. He does it right."

There is still more work to do, though. In addition to homers and RBIs, Walker leads the SL in strikeouts with 107. That is way too many, although strikeouts are part of the game for sluggers.

"I stopped thinking about that a while back," Walker said of his strikeout total. "I'm just trying to become a better hitter, and when I make more contact, good stuff happens."

A lot of it, in fact. The Southern League All-Star has stood out even on a Chattanooga team that won the first-half title in the North Division with some of the top prospects in the Minors.

"We feed off each other," said Walker, who had a .606 slugging mark to go with an on-base percentage of .329. "This team has a lot of talent and we try to play the game right. It is a lot of fun winning."

Sano, who hit 35 home runs in 2013 before missing last year because of elbow surgery, is second in the league with 15 homers. He is also second to Walker in the long-distance category.

"I guess my homer was longer, because it didn't hit anything," Walker said. "It went all the way over the scoreboard.

In brief

Faria joins Biscuits: Right-hander Jacob Faria wasn't quite as dominant in his first start for Montgomery as he had been in the Class A Advanced Florida State League, but the first double-figure winner in the Minors still was impressive against the red-hot Chattanooga lineup. He allowed six hits and two runs over six innings on May 27, striking out eight and walking two. Faria, 21, got a no-decision, keeping his overall record at 10-1. The 10th-round Draft choice in 2011 had a 1.46 ERA and 1.01 WHIP for Charlotte before being promoted by Tampa Bay.

Contreras stays hot: When Kyle Schwarber was around, Tennessee's other catcher drew minimal attention. But Schwarber, the Cubs' No. 2 prospect, is in Triple-A now after a stop in Chicago, and so Willson Contreras' work can stand on its own. The 23-year-old from Venezuela was third in the Southern League batting race with a .330 average and had 24 extra-base hits and 36 RBIs through 62 games. Contreras, who replaced Schwarber in the All-Star Game, had an on-base percentage of .393 and a slugging mark of .495. He was hitting .375 in June after batting .321 in April and .311 in May.

Smith, Powell move up: Chattanooga's Max Kepler had less competition in the Southern League batting race after Mallex Smith of Mississippi and Boog Powell of Montgomery were promoted to Triple-A after the All-Star Game. Smith was batting .340 and Powell had a .328 average. Kepler, Minnesota's No. 14 prospect, leads the Southern League with a .349 average after hitting .533 (21-for-38) over a 10-game stretch that started with consecutive four-hit outings in mid-May. In addition to ranking second in the batting race, Smith was tied for third in stolen bases with 23 before being moved up. Smith is ranked as the No. 16 prospect for Atlanta, while Powell holds the same ranking with Tampa Bay.