Dexter Fowler is taking the best piece of hitting advice

JUPITER Nolan Ryan Jersey , Fla. (AP) — he has ever received and applying it to his entire spring training approach.“Have a short memory,” Fowler said.Fowler had a 2018 worth forgetting.A career .262 hitter with an on-base percentage of .360, Fowler hit only .180 with an on-base percentage below .300 while battling nagging injuries much of the year. A foul ball that broke his foot ended Fowler’s season in early August, limiting him to 90 games – his lowest single-season total since the year he broke into the big leagues.“You learn from it and move on,” Fowler said.Now 32, Fowler is entering the third season of a five-year, $82 million contract. An All-Star with Chicago in 2016 when he posted a .393 on-base percentage to help lead the Cubs to their first World Series title in more than a century, Fowler scored 186 runs during a two-year stint with Chicago prior to joining St. Louis.Cardinals manager Mike Shildt is seeing a rejuvenated, more upbeat Fowler compared to the player who struggled last season.“With Dexter, I want that million-dollar smile to be more consistent,” Shildt said. “I want him to appreciate and enjoy what he’s doing and get back to a place that he’s coming from, that he has a lot of records from, and that’s a place of success — not only individually but in team settings.”Jose Martinez, not Fowler Rougned Odor Jersey , will start in right field on Saturday when the Cardinals open preseason play against the Miami Marlins. Left fielder Marcel Ozuna, working his way back from offseason shoulder surgery, will be the designated hitter in the opener and isn’t expected to play the field for the first couple of weeks.Fowler will make his Grapefruit League debut on Sunday, and Shildt has already announced that Fowler will hit second in the lineup, between Matt Carpenter and Paul Goldschmidt.“From an on-base standpoint he’s one of the elite on-base guys in the league,” Carpenter said of Fowler. “Obviously he’s a great base runner. If you can put what I do and what he does in front of guys like Paul Goldshmidt and Marcel Ozuna it’s a recipe, potentially, for a ton of runs.”Carpenter has reached base at no less than a .374 clip in five of the past six seasons. Goldshmidt has driven in at least 110 runs three times during his career. Ozuna drove in 124 runs in 2017 with the Marlins.Unlike previous seasons, Fowler most frequently hit in the sixth or seventh spot last season.“I’m accustomed to being in the top of the lineup,” Fowler said. “I’ve always been a guy who’s tried to get on base.” SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez will undergo Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right elbow, keeping the six-time All-Star off the field for the entire 2019 season.The decision was made after Perez received a second opinion Tuesday from Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ team physician. Perez hurt the elbow during a workout last week and said over the weekend that he was harboring a slim hope that he might be able to play through it.Instead, he is expected to undergo surgery on Wednesday.“There was nothing that can prepare us for this. There was no information we had that led us this direction http://www.rangersfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-moore-jersey ,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. “Salvy was having no issues. He’s asymptomatic. He has wear and tear, just like any 28-year-old catcher who’s been squatting and catching since he was 12 years old. There was no warning sign or anything like that.”Perez hit just .235 last season, but he had 27 homers and drove in 80 runs while providing a solid and calming presence behind the plate. The MVP of the 2015 World Series, Perez was being counted upon to help the rebuilding Royals take the steps necessary to return to the playoffs, particularly when it came to their young but promising starting rotation.Now, Cam Gallagher and Meibrys Viloria are expected to share time behind the plate.“We’re fortunate to have two really good, young catchers that have tremendous upside,” Moore said. “Cam is a young guy that can really receive. We feel highly confident in his ability back there to call a game, and we like Viloria a great deal as well as an emerging guy.”Moore also said he would scour the remaining free agents — Martin Maldonado, is still available — and reach out to other clubs about potential trades. Perez has won AL Gold Gloves in five of the last six years, with Maldonado breaking that string in 2017.But Moore acknowledged the Royals tried to acquire a veteran backup for Perez earlier in the offseason and came up empty.“We’ll see how camp unfolds,” Moore said. “It’s hard to get a third-, fourth-type catcher or veteran major league backup to join Kansas City. Nobody wants to do that. They see Salvador and say, ‘Well Russell Wilson Jersey , I’ll never get a chance to re-establish myself.”That’s not an issue anymore, but most of the veterans that were available are in camp elsewhere.One thing Moore did make clear is the Royals have no intention of rushing MJ Melendez, one of their top prospects, to the big leagues. Melendez spent last season at Class A Lexington.“We’ll play that out and see where he is in July or August and if indeed we need some help there,” Moore said. “But you have to look at this as a positive, that it gives others an opportunity.”The Royals have embraced a run-run-run style of play this season, signing such speedsters as Billy Hamilton and Chris Owings. But that also means they have very little power throughout their lineup, and Perez was expected to help provide the opportunity to change a game in one swing.His biggest value now will come as a cheerleader. He remained one of the most upbeat players in the clubhouse, even after the injury surfaced, and his experience is invaluable for a young team.“It’s definitely not ideal losing a captain, losing our best player. It’s going to hurt any team,” Gallagher said. “We have to come together as a group and fill those shoes a little bit.”