Blake DeWitt

Blake Robert DeWitt is a professional American baseball player who plays as an infielder. DeWitt played as a shortstop in his high school team when he turned out for the Sikeston High School. His batting average, through his high school senior year, stood at a fantastic .558 while he also smashed 15 balls out of the park. Named to the Baseball America All-American First Team as well as the AP Class 3 All-State First Team, DeWitt was also named to the Missouri High School Baseball coaches Association Class 3 All-State First Team, becoming one of the few players in the history of Missouri ball to be named to the first team all-state for each year of their high school career.

DeWitt also pitched during his high school days, winning 27 consecutive games to set a Missouri high school record, while losing only 1 move.

DeWitt took the Bulldogs to three consecutive State Championships in 4 seasons, breaking 8 high school batting and pitching records. Despite being scheduled to play for Georgia Tech, DeWitt decided to appear for the 2004 MLB Amateur Draft and play professional baseball as the best high school pure hitter in the draft.

Despite his pitching past, DeWitt went into the Rookie League as a third baseman when he turned out for the Ogden Raptors in 2004. He was named as the second-best prospect in the Pioneer League and was also named as the 8th best prospect in the entire Dodgers’ organization.

The following season, playing for the Columbus Catfish, DeWitt stepped up to the mantle by leading his team in hits, total bases and doubles. His .283 batting average and .333 on-base percentage made him the “best hitter for average” in the entire Dodgers’ organization.

The 2006 season started with the Vero Beach Dodgers, hitting at .268 while also shifting to the second base position. Named as the 8th best prospect by Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus, DeWitt was also named to the Florida State League All-Star team with a .339 batting average and 18 home runs & 61 RBIs. He moved to Hawaii during the winter break, playing for North Shore Honu.

In 2006, after playing 106 games for the Vero Beach Dodgers, DeWitt moved up to the Jacksonville Suns to end the season. His performance wasn’t good with the Suns, resulting in a drop to the Advanced A-League affiliates, the Inland Empire 66ers. He batted at .298 with 8 home runs, getting a promotion to the Suns for the second time in two seasons.

A .281 batting average got him into the Las Vegas 51s for the beginning of the 2008 season. DeWitt went ballistic in the AAA-League, hitting at .306 to gain promotion to the Los Angeles Dodgers. His case was helped by injuries to Nomar Garciaparra, Andy LaRoche as well as Tony Abreu. With all three third-basemen out of the reckoning, it was time for DeWitt to get the opportunity. He played the remainder of the season with the Dodgers, hitting off his first at-bat.

A .264 batting average in his rookie season was quite impressive however the return of the regular teammates as well as the purchase of Casey Blake meant that DeWitt would go down to the AAA-League again, playing for the Albuquerque Isotopes. Midway through the season, he was brought into play at second base after an injury hit Jeff Kent.

Starting at second base, DeWitt became a regular more so due to necessity than for performance. He was sidelined as soon as Orlando Hudson was brought into the Dodgers’ organization to take over the second base job. DeWitt went back to the Isotopes for the remainder of the season.

In 2010, DeWitt was invited to Spring Training and is considered a favourite to become a regular member of the MLB roster for the season.