Dozier Battled Himself In Difficult Year

SURPRISE, Ariz.—Third baseman Hunter Dozier met the enemy last season and it was himself.

The eighth overall selection in the 2013 draft from Stephen F. Austin State, Dozier hit .213/.281/.349 last season at Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He opened 2015 with a double and home run in his first game, and then hit safely in seven of first eight games.

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“And then I got into a little slump,” said Dozier, 24. “When the slump started, I think I was thinking too much. In my opinion, I was looking at video way too much, trying to change my swing, and trying to do something to fix it.

“For the whole year, I was just in my head, thinking more about mechanics than actually having an approach.”

Dozier led the Texas League with 151 strikeouts in 475 at-bats.

“The reason I was late on fastballs or swinging at bad pitches was because I was up in the box thinking about mechanics,” Dozier said. “I wasn’t thinking about what the pitcher was going to throw me.

“I didn’t have an approach. I didn’t put myself in a best position to be ready to hit. Basically, I was battling myself the whole year.”

Dozier went to instructional league to work with minor league hitting instructors Terry Bradshaw and Andre David.

“I got back to where my swing was in the past and got where I was more relaxed, where I could not think so much and just go out and compete,” Dozier said. “Just kind of to get my confidence back, get my swing going right going into the offseason. I felt like I had a really good offseason. I’m really excited about this year.”

Northwest Arkansas manager Vance Wilson believes Dozier can turn it around.

“I think he can,” Wilson said. “You get to a point—I think Dozier will tell you the same—(where) he knows how good he can be.

“I think he’s an athlete, and that’s all you can ask for.”

ROYALTIES

• The Royals optioned righthanders Miguel Almonte and Kyle Zimmer to minor league camp in mid-March. They will open the season at Triple-A Omaha.

• The Royals signed catcher Jon Denney to a minor league contract. The Red Sox drafted Denney in the third round in 2013, but they released him last October. He had been on the restricted list the past two years after a 2014 spring training arrest in Fort Myers, Fla., for driving with a suspended license and acting belligerent with the police. His license had been suspended because a previous DUI arrest.