The Arizona Diamondbacks called up outfield prospect Adam Eaton from Triple-A the team announced on Tuesday, as the hot-hitting minor leaguer figures to play as the fourth outfielder for the rest of the season.
Eaton didn't give the D-Backs a whole lot of wriggle room on his call-up. The speedy Eaton has been absolutely obliterating Triple-A pitching this year, hitting .381/.456/.539 with seven home runs and 38 stolen bases. His batting average on balls in play was a sky high .432. He also won the PCL MVP for his efforts.
The Diamondbacks drafted Eaton in the 19th round of the 2010 draft, so that is one of the reasons he has slipped under a lot of scouts' radars. He was only ranked No. 12 of the Diamondbacks 2012 prospects by Baseball America's Prospect Handbook. Eaton is also pretty short for baseball standards, towering in at approximately 5'8.
But the Diamondbacks have needed offense for quite some time and are hoping Eaton can provide it. Eaton is in tonight's lineup and will garner most of his opportunities spelling breaks for Chris Young, Jason Kubel and Justin Upton.
The Diamondbacks are currently 7.5 games out of the NL Wild Card race.
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