Fresno Grizzlies: Jon Singleton won’t let sore ankle land him on bench

Red-hot slugger Jon Singleton gave the Fresno Grizzlies a scare when he fouled a ball off his ankle and crashed to the ground in Monday’s loss to Memphis.

But thanks in part to an ankle guard, the 23-year-old was back in Tuesday’s starting lineup.

Singleton fouled the ball off his inner right ankle in the bottom of the ninth, quickly falling and bringing Grizzlies trainer Bryan Bacca to home plate.

“I’ve fouled the ball off my foot before but not that bad,” Singleton said. “That hurt. But I’m fine. The pad I have over my ankle helped.”

Singleton got up on his own and finished his at-bat, though he swung at the next pitch and struck out.

The ankle remained sore, he said ahead of game 2 in the series, but not enough to keep him on the bench for the 7 p.m. start. Singleton showed no signs of the injury during pregame drills, though he was slotted at designated hitter rather than first base.

Singleton entered Tuesday leading minor league baseball with 14 home runs and 47 RBIs. He’s had a torrid May, with 10 homers and 37 RBIs and still six games to go this month.

For the season, the left-handed hitting Singleton is batting .284 — .348 against right-handers (32 for 92) and .200 vs. lefties (14 for 70).

He has a .391 on-base percentage and 36 strikeouts to 29 walks (one intentional) in 162 at-bats.

Singleton split time last season between Triple-A and the majors, hitting .168 with 13 homers and 44 RBIs in 310 at-bats with the major league parent Houston Astros.

Despite signing a major league contract last season, Singleton began this year in Triple-A, partly because the Astros traded in the offseason for proven slugger Evan Gattis to play designated hitter. Singleton’s .200 average in spring training did not help his cause.

“I’m glad that (Singleton) went down here and did what he’s done,” Astros General Manager Jeff Luhnow said Sunday in Fresno while visiting the organization’s first-year Triple-A affiliate. “Sometimes when a player has been to the big leagues and come back (to the minors), they don’t react the way we want them to.

“Jon is in our plans. The challenge for us right now is the roster in Houston, having Gattis and (Chris) Carter, and now (Preston) Tucker. But we are looking for an opportunity to get Jon on the team.”

Singleton said he hasn’t thought much about getting a call-up.

“If the move happens, the move happens,” Singleton said. “I’m still playing baseball and still trying to progress and hit each day.”

This story was originally published May 26, 2015 at 6:54 PM with the headline "Fresno Grizzlies: Jon Singleton won’t let sore ankle land him on bench."