Isotopes’ Gordon flashes own skills

No current professional baseball player merits the nickname "Flash" more than speedy Albuquerque shortstop Dee Gordon, the Dodgers' top prospect.

But that moniker already belongs to his father, former three-time All-Star pitcher Tom Gordon, who retired in 2009 after 22 years in the majors.

"My dad had a great career. I can never be who he was. I'm just going to be Dee and keep playing hard," said Gordon, 23, whose given first name is Devaris. "I'm going to try to continue his legacy."

A prototypical leadoff hitter ranked the No. 26 prospect in baseball by MLB.com, Gordon is batting .299 with 10 RBIs and 14 steals in 29 games for the Isotopes (18-14) in his first Triple-A season.

He struck out to end Wednesday's 7-4 loss to the 51s (18-16) at Cashman Field after entering the game as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning.

Gordon hit .301 with 73 stolen bases and 12 triples in his first full pro season for Class A Great Lakes in 2008.

Last year, the 5-foot-11-inch, 150-pound Gordon batted .277 with 53 steals and 10 triples for Double-A Chattanooga.

"He's Mr. Excitement waiting to happen every time he comes up to the plate or defensively," Albuquerque manager Lorenzo Bundy said. "He has really good range. But sometimes it gets him in trouble, because he gets to balls a lot of people don't get to, then he tries to do a little too much and ends up getting a throwing error or something.

"It's a good problem to work on."

Gordon, who didn't play organized baseball until the summer before his senior year of high school, has made 10 errors this season after making 37 last year. He has committed 105 overall in 347 games.

"What we have here is a guy on the fast track learning to play baseball at a very rapid pace," Bundy said.

Of the errors, Gordon said: "That's the price I pay. I want to make that play, that no one else makes, for my pitchers.

"I'm going to make a few errors here and there making that play. I've just got to keep working hard and playing hard."

Ironically, Bundy updated Tom Gordon on his son's exploits in 2009, when Bundy was the first-base coach for the Diamondbacks and Gordon pitched for them in his final season.

"You can tell 'Flash' is a proud daddy," Bundy said.

Not surprisingly, Tom Gordon had a huge influence on his son, encouraging Dee to pursue a career in baseball over basketball, his first love.

The former guard played against NBA stars Kevin Durant and Mike Conley in AAU ball and also played four years in high school. Gordon was recruited by several colleges, including Louisville, but decided to play baseball instead.

"My dad told me he thought it would be a better decision for me to play baseball," Gordon said. "It was hard, but I knew he knew what he was talking about, so I went the route he chose."

Gordon, a native of Windemere, Fla., played two seasons of junior college baseball before getting drafted by Los Angeles in the fourth round in 2008.

He said he didn't play baseball when he was younger because he was always on the road with his father, whom he talks to two or three times a week.

"I was always with him during baseball season," Gordon said. "Now I can go out and play and he can come and watch me play."

■ NOTE -- Toronto released 51s outfielder Scott Podsednik, and Las Vegas activated outfielder Danny Perales from the disabled list.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.