Coro: De La Guerra propels pro rise

When Chad De La Guerra arrived at Grand Canyon six years ago, he initially stayed in a hotel and took a mile-long walk along Camelback Road to get to and from the daily fall workouts at Brazell Field.

How he got to the field to start a Division I baseball career did not matter to him as much as seizing the opportunity that Lopes head coach Andy Stankiewicz offered him. De La Guerra's naturally swift swing and no-nonsense grind made it clear that he was on the cusp of great things at GCU.

Little has changed for De La Guerra, except for the level. De La Guerra just completed his best pro season at his highest level, Triple-A, and was possibly on the cusp of being the 22553 Lopes' next Major League Baseball player until a wrist injury ended his season and a 13-game hitting streak.

"There's always talk," De La Guerra said of a potential promotion from Triple-A Pawtucket to the Boston Red Sox. "They (Pawtucket staffers) told me a couple times that there was talk, but I don't know if they even know until the last minute. You never know, but I thought I was in a good spot. If I kept playing well, I was almost forcing the hand to make a move on me."

De La Guerra, Boston's 17th-round draft pick in 2015, followed the model of Stankiewicz's big-league career and used reliable glovework to become a utility infielder who started 32 games at shortstop, 16 games at second base and 13 games at third base this season for Pawtucket while hitting a career-best .288.

He found another level in June despite having a back injury while in spring training with the Red Sox and spraining his right wrist in the first week of his delayed season with Pawtucket. In 26 games that month, De La Guerra hit .354 with eight home runs and 24 RBIs.

"I think I was just really excited to play," the left-handed hitter said. "I'd been so focused on playing. Having it taken away from you always gives you perspective and that itch to be able to play. Coming out of spring, I originally thought that it was going to be a big year for me. I had goals in mind to play well enough to be considered for a spot on the big-league team at some point."

The SB Nation site Over the Monster named De La Guerra the Red Sox system player with the "Most Improved Stock." He had risen to Double-A ball by his third pro season but had a brief Triple-A stay last year when he hit .137 in 22 games.

It was the first time he felt uncomfortable -- the teammates who had risen through the organization with him were no longer there in his clubhouse. He took well to new Pawtucket manager Billy McMillon, who even had mentioned starting to use him in the outfield before De La Guerra was shut down for the final 24 games to let his wrist heal.

"He's put himself on the map with the Red Sox," said Stankiewicz, who played seven MLB seasons at the same positions — second base, shortstop and third base. "They know what he can do. Now it's just a matter of him getting healthy and right time, right place. I think his bat is going to keep making noise and force their hand a little bit."

Stankiewicz saw this coming when he recruited De La Guerra from College of the Canyons, a junior college in Santa Clarita, California. It was fortuitous for GCU and De La Guerra that they were paired after he made a late switch from North Carolina State.

"We started taking BP (batting practice) and watched this guy hit and were like, 'Oh my gosh, that guy has thunder in his hands,' " Stankiewicz said. "He's a little dude but his hands were fast. Right away, we were really excited about having him because we knew he could hit. He didn't miss a beat. For two years, that turkey just always gave us great at bats."

22554 De La Guerra was part of GCU's return to Division I in 2014, hitting .373 with 49 RBIs as a junior, but the pro scouts needed another look.

He posted similar numbers against Power 5 schools as a senior and enjoyed several monster games, such as a two-homer, nine-RBI game against Bradley. That contributed to the third-best career batting average (.361) in GCU's Division I history.

"This kid will make you look good," Stankiewicz told the Red Sox area scout at the time.

"He's such a better hitter than I was — not even close," Stankiewicz said from the GCU baseball complex that De La Guerra uses for offseason workouts, especially with friend and former teammate Paul Pannaccione on the Lopes coaching staff. "He's just got a really good feel for the barrel. He knows where the barrel needs to be to make contact. Velocity doesn't beat him. He's got the bat speed to handle 96, 97, 98 (mph pitches). "

De La Guerra added more power to his arsenal this season, belting 13 home runs and 16 doubles in 226 at bats to set himself up for a third consecutive spring in the Major League camp.

"Once I believed what Stank was trying to do with me at GCU, I started forming a mindset of what kind of player I wanted to be as long as I played," De La Guerra said. "A lot of the things he tried to teach me are the things that I work on 100%. It's my mindset, being a grinder type of player. No matter if I develop power numbers or whatever, I'm still going to have the mindset of the player I want to be – a hard worker who plays the game the right way. Stank's had a huge impact on my career."

That makes him proud to see what the Lopes have built in facilities with GCU Ballpark and batting cages and in players with draftees who are following his path under Stankiewicz and Lopes assistant coach Gregg Wallis, who also coached him.

"It's the real deal," De La Guerra said of GCU. "It was the perfect fit for me. It must have been something that was supposed to be."

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.

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