BICHETTE, DANTE  
 
Image of    Nickname:   N/A Position:   3B
Home: Orlando, FL Team:   TRENTON
Height: 6' 1" Bats:   R
Weight: 215 Throws:   R
DOB: 9/26/1992 Agent: Dan Evans
Birth City: Orlando, FL Draft: Yankees #1-supp-2011 out of Orangewood Christian HS, FL
Uniform #: N/A  
 
YR LEA TEAM SAL(K) G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO OBP SLG AVG
2011 GCL GCL-Yankees     196 33 67 17 3 3 47 3 3 30 41 .446 .505 .342
2012 SAL CHARLESTON   122 471 67 117 24 3 3 46 3 4 44 94 .322 .331 .248
2013 SAL CHARLESTON   114 435 47 93 16 1 11 61 1 0 43 119 .292 .331 .214
2014 EL TRENTON   18 67 7 15 3 0 1 4 0 0 6 11 .297 .313 .224
2014 FSL TAMPA   109 402 56 109 27 1 9 64 1 3 50 90 .352 .410 .271
PERSONAL:

  • Dante is, of course, the son of longtime Major League star outfielder Dante Bichette, who played mostly with the Angels, Brewers, Rockies, Reds and Red Sox and owns a career batting average of .299 with 274 home runs over his 14-year career. He hit a career-high 40 home runs in 1995 and never struck out more than 107 times in a season. He also had one of the best outfield arms in all of baseball during his playing days.

    The father built an indoor hitting facility in a warehouse not far from their Maitland, Florida home. The younger Dante is at the warehouse for several hours every day, and he invites his teammates along. Most of them hang out at the warehouse almost every night.
  • In August, 2005, the younger Bichette played in the Little League World Series with the team from Maitland, Florida. One of his teammates was Tanner Stanley, the son of former big league catcher Mike Stanley.

  • Dante was also a highly-ranked amateur tennis player (consistently among the Top 100 in the world) before choosing to focus only on baseball at age 15 when he entered high school.

    "I chose baseball because that's the one that I really loe and because playing baseball I can always cross-train with tennis; but playing tennis I couldn't cross-train with baseball," Bichette said.

    "Tennis was a huge thing for me," Dante said, referring to how it helped him in baseball. "Especially playing defense -- the agility needed, the hand-eye coordination, the hops, that plays just like taking ground balls."

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  • Bichette Jr.'s senior year at Orangewood Christian High School (2011), he committed to the University of Georgia on a baseball scholarship.

    In 2011, Dante hit  .640 (55-for-86) with 58 runs 14 doubles, 10 home runs and 40 RBIs in 30 games for Orangewood Christian High in Maitland, Fla. Bichette was named the "all-Central Florida baseball player of the year" by the Orlando Sentinel in both the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
     
    Following his junior year, he was selected as an Under Armour All-American and named his team's most valuable player.

  • The Yankees chose Dante in the supplemental portion of the first round of the 2011 June Draft, the 51st player picked overall. He signed with scout Jeff Deardorff for an above-slot $750,000 late in June.

    "Dante is one of the guys in this draft we thought had an impact bat and the potential to hit for big power in the middle of the order," Yankees vice president of amateur scouting Damon Oppenheimer said. "He's someone with an advanced makeup and work ethic who possesses the desire and drive to be a special major leaguer."

    Yankee manager Joe Girardi remarked that he sometimes found it difficult to believe that the youngster who once fell asleep in his car seat was now the first pick by the Yankees in the June, 2011 draft.

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  • In 2011, Bichette led the Gulf Coast League  in hits (67), doubles (17) and RBIs (47), winning MVP honors.

  • Bichette is humble. In school, you could never tell he was a highly-regarded pro prospect.

    But he has impressive leadership ability, and other players are drawn to be around him. He is a very nice guy who gets along with everybody.

  • The Baseball America Prospect Handbook rated Bichette as the 6th-best prospect in the Yankees organization in the spring of 2012. They dropped him to #21 in the winter before 2013 spring training.
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    BATTING:

    • Bichette has exceptionally polished hitting mechanics and is very strong. Having a father that was a 4-time all-star because of his bat is bound to help -- this apple didn't fall too far from the tree.

    • Dante consistently makes hard contact and has above-average bat speed that provides power in his bat. He has an advanced approach at the plate, working the count and, very impressively is able to make adjustments from pitch-to-pitch.

      He has a very good two-strike approach. He has good hand-eye coordination.

    • He hits from an open stance. He modified his once-somewhat-high leg kick to where it is now barely a foot-raised toe tap and he has also eliminated a lot of movement from his swing path. That has really helped him with outside plate coverage. (Spring, 2013)

    • He drives the ball to all fields when he's ahead in the count. He has good backspin on the ball, which, with his bat speed, means better home run totals every season, probably..

    • Bichette struggled with a heavy diet of breaking pitches in the South Atlantic League in 2012.

    • Dante got off to a good start in 2014.

      "His approach is solid right now,” one pro scout said early in the 2014 season. “His approach is, he looks for one pitch and he hits that one pitch and doesn’t hit anything else. His walks are pretty good. That’s why he’s not swinging at the bad pitches. He’s making his strike zone smaller and stopped swinging at the borderline pitches.”
     
     
    FIELDING:

    • Dante displays sure hands and a strong arm at 3rd base. He has good agility and aptitude for the hot corner. Overall, his range is just average.
     
    RUNNING:

    • Dante is more agile and athletic than fast. He is a very intelligent baserunner. He is better once he is in motion than from a dead stop.
     
    CAREER INJURY REPORT:

    • 2010: Dante missed the first 7 games of his junior season with a broken hand, but returned to hit .597-9-37. He struck out just 5 times in plate appearances and stole 13 bases.
     
     
    Last Updated 10/3/2014. All contents © 2000 by Player Profiles. All rights reserved.