It didn't take long for Charlie Blackmon to make his first statement at Gesa Stadium.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound outfielder from Georgia Tech displayed the potential that made him the Colorado Rockies' second-round selection in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft during a Tri-City Dust Devils practice late Saturday afternoon.
Facing live pitching for the first time since finishing the season with the Yellow Jackets on June 2, Blackmon launched the Dust Devils' only home run of the day -- a line shot that cleared the wall in right centerfield.
"I got lucky," Blackmon said. "I saw the ball well and I felt pretty good."
Tri-City manager Freddie Ocasio returns for his third year as manager after guiding the 2007 squad to the Northwest League West Division title.
Ocasio was enthusiastic about his latest team, which includes 10 new faces moving up the ladder from the Rockies' rookie affiliate in Casper, Wyoming, including pitcher Parker Frazier, an 8th-round draft choice from 2007, and infielder Austin Rauch, a 12th-rounder in 2006.
"This year we've got a bunch of guys from extended (spring training)," Ocasio said. "So far so good. Today was the first time facing live pitching, and Blackmon hit one out to right field, which doesn't happen very often."
Gesa Stadium has a reputation for limiting the long ball thanks to steady, unpredictable wind patterns. And the park's thick outfield grass has kept many would-be triples from rolling to the outfield wall.
None of which seemed to bother Blackmon, who was named All-SEC second team, ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America second team and NCAA Athens Regional All-Tournament after hitting .396 with 68 runs, 12 doubles, eight home runs, 45 RBIs and 25 RBIs in 62 games for the Yellow Jackets.
"(Gesa Stadium) is a fair park. The dimensions are fair," Blackmon said. "You've got to hit it well to get it out. It might play a little more to being a pitcher's park."
That, of course, is music to the ears for the Tri-City pitching staff and pitching coach Dave Schuler, who takes over for Doug Linton. Schuler is a baseball veteran who pitched three major league seasons with California (1979-80) and Atlanta (1985) before coaching in the Orioles, Yankees, Giants and Mariners minor-league systems.
"I really like (Tri-Cities) because it's so open," he said. "The surroundings remind me of Fairbanks (Alaska), where I played for a few seasons. It's got a small-town feel to it."
It's still much too early for Schuler to begin making any predictions about his staff, but so far he likes what he sees.
"Yogi Berra said you can learn a lot by watching, and that's what I need to do," Schuler said. "We've got some pretty good arms and some real good athleticism. There's probably a half-dozen guys who could pitch in the majors."
Schuler gave a tentative confirmation of the Dust Devils pitching rotation. It begins with righthander Juan Nicacio (0-3, 4.36 ERA at Casper last season), followed by lefthander Kenneth Durst (0-1, 6.58, Tri-City/Casper), Frazier (3-5, 10.07, Casper) and Jonathan Aristil (1-3, 4.95, Casper). Schuler listed recent draftees Bradley McAtee (45th round, UC-Davis) and Christian Friedrich (1st round, Eastern Kentucky) on a dry-erase board as potential starters, but neither has signed to date.
If Friedrich joins the Dust Devils, he would be just the second first-round selection by the Rockies to start his career in Tri-Cities. The first was Jeff Francis in 2001.
Frazier, the son of former major league pitcher George Frazier, hopes to duplicate his dad's success someday. His father pitched 10 seasons in the majors, including World Series appearances with the 1981 New York Yankees and the 1987 Minnesota Twins, and is now a baseball analyst for the Colorado Rockies.
"He's a wiry kid full of vinegar and vinegar. He's got a live arm," Schuler said. "He's too smart to be where he is. We've just got to funnel those smarts. He's taking in a lot of information."
Frazier, 19, struggled to find his rhythm at Casper last year before finding a comfort zone in his final few starts of the season.
"It was difficult. I felt overmatched," said Frazier, who considers a sinking fastball his No. 1 pitch, followed by a slider and changeup. "(In high school) I was used to going through teams with ease, but I got knocked around last year.
"In the offseason I just tried to keep my delivery the same. You can't change a lot of things."
Note: The Dust Devils will open the gates to Gesa Stadium for Father's Day today from noon-1:30 p.m., to any families -- not just fathers -- that would like to play catch on the field. Fans can stay afterward for the Dust Devils' 2 p.m. workout.