The Frontier League is a place where most players overlooked by Major League teams go to become noticed, but for guys like Wild Things outfielder David Popkins, it’s an opportunity to get a second chance to get back in the game.
Popkins was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an undrafted free agent out of UC Davis where he hit .276 in his senior season with 35 runs, 10 doubles, five homers and 18 RBI. Popkins paced the Aggies with a .420 on-base percentage after leading the team with 29 walks and 18 HBP.
Last season, Popkins made the jump to Double-A where he batted .243 with five home runs and 24 RBI in 90 games, but during spring training of this year, he was one of the last players released from the Cardinals minor league camp due to the depth at the position.
“At the beginning of last year, I was a fourth outfielder,” said Popkins. “They picked up a couple guys, one in a trade. Randal Grichuk, who is in the Majors now and another, who knocked me to the fourth outfield spot, so we were kind of platooning.”
Popkins was sent to High-A, where he didn’t have a strong start, but turned things around when he faced a big-named pitcher.
“We faced Cliff Lee, who was rehabbing, and I hit an opposite-field home run off of him and since then, they sent me back up to Double-A and I hit .313 over the last month and really felt like I was hitting my stride, but unfortunately, on the last day of spring training this year, they decided to go with other guys,” Popkins said.
The release wasn’t the end of his professional career as he signed with the Wild Things prior to season’s start and made an immediate impact hitting five home runs while collecting 13 RBI over the first 15 games of the season.
His bat cooled, however, in June as he posted a .207/.337/.378 slash line while hitting three home runs and collecting six RBI in 24 games in the month. After the strong start, opposing pitchers started throwing differently at Popkins with success.
“They really shied away from throwing towards the middle of the plate,” said Popkins. ” I honestly should have been walking more, but instead of being more patient, I got more aggressive and that was exactly what they wanted.”
It wasn’t until Major League hit king Pete Rose made a visit to the Wild Things’ clubhouse that helped turn Popkins’ struggles around.
“Me and [Bozzuto] went and talked to Pete Rose,” said Popkins. “He really emphasized looking at the spin of the ball. I’ve never really focused purely on the spin of the ball and it’s honestly made the ball look like it’s coming in slow motion.”
Since the visit from Rose, Popkins has posted a .421/.500/1.132 slash and a 1.632 OPS with three doubles, eight home runs, 10 RBI and 10 runs scored in 11 games helping the Wild Things to a 7-4 record over that time.
Popkins’ 16 home runs this season puts him second in the Frontier League, one behind the leader.
It’s been a turnaround that could help Popkins not only give the Wild Things a chance at the postseason, but allow him to be sited by a Major League club, once again.
“My goal is to just be able to repeat a swing over and over on both sides of the plate and repeat an approach,” said Popkins. “If I can repeat a swing and repeat an approach, I think the sky is the limit.”
