Dugout Chat: George Janca ready to step up for Texas A&M Baseball
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George Janca had a solid sophomore campaign in 2017, hitting .261 with six homers and 30 RBI while playing a terrific third base for a Texas A&M team that advanced to the College World Series.
Heading into his junior year, though, Janca's 2016 production could be just the tip of the iceberg for the Georgetown product. Expectations are for him to take a major step forward in his development. Part of that expectation comes from the success Janca had in the Cape Cod League this past summer. Against some of the best college baseball players in the country, Janca hit .333 with 13 extra-base hits in 30 games for the Falmouth Commodores.
“It was tough — there were some guys that could really throw and some guys that could really hit,” Janca said. “It makes everyone that goes up there better because you can kind of put yourself against all the talent that’s out there and see how you stack up. I feel like I kind of just got in a groove and stayed with it. I kind of ironed it out and made myself a better player to bring back here and continue to get better and help out our program.”
But it’s not just the baseball that impacted Janca during his time in New England this summer — the environment away from the ballpark was also special. He lived with a host family right on the beach, which excited an outdoorsman like Janca.
“It’s all about the experience,” Janca said. “I had a great host family, the weather was beautiful, you have the beach within two minutes everywhere you look and you’re more enjoying your experience than worrying about baseball.”
Janca played both shortstop and third base for the Commodores but will settle back into the hot corner in 2018 for the Aggies. He will play next to Braden Shewmake, who is making the transition to shortstop.
Shewmake, last year’s SEC Freshman of the Year, was not at all surprised to see Janca flourish at The Cape this summer and expects big things from him next season.
“That’s nothing new to a lot of us — we know the way George can play,” Shewmake said. “We know what kind of player he is, so him having a good summer is kind of expected from us as players because we know what kind of guy he is and what kind of work he puts in.
“We all have full confidence in George, and we know he’s going to do the same thing this year. I don’t have any doubt in my mind that he’s going to be an all-conference, All-American player for us.”
A&M assistant coach Justin Seely kept tabs on all the Aggies throughout the summer while he was on the recruiting trail, and he said he was very happy to see Janca’s output against top competition. According to Seely, Janca has tremendous upside and the third baseman doesn’t even know how good he can be.
“Some guys have an inflated viewpoint of themselves, and some guys are harder on themselves. I would say George is probably harder on himself than most guys,” Seely said. “He’s got some intangible qualities, and he obviously has some ability that leads me to believe that he is a better player than he even thinks he is.”
The key for Janca moving forward is consistency. Talent has never been the issue for him, but he has strayed away from the Aggies’ approach at the plate at times in his career, which has resulted in struggles.
Through the end of last season, the summer and so far this fall, however, it has begun to look like Janca has fully bought into the A&M mentality in the batter’s box.
“It’s taken me a while to figure it out,” Janca said. “For a while I thought, ‘My way is better. I can do this,’ but once you experience struggles, you really start buying in to what we’re teaching as a program, and I think that’s where the success has come from.”
Said Seely: “I think he’s at a point where he’s gotten to an approach that he’s comfortable with, and he’s not deviating from it.”
The main thing Janca said he wants to accomplish this fall is sharpening his eye at the plate so he can work deeper counts and hopefully hit for a high average for the Aggies like he did in Cape Cod.
“I’m trying to work on commanding the strike zone a little bit better — swinging at pitches that I should be swinging at and laying off pitches that I shouldn’t be swinging at,” Janca said. “It’s not all about the outcome, so I’m taking the mindset in the scrimmages that I’m trying to work at-bats, work counts and really get a feel for the strike zone, so when it comes spring, I know what the deal is there.”
All in all, Janca has proven he has the ability to be a quality SEC player. If he can stick to a consistent approach at the plate, 2018 may be the year when he starts tapping into his immense potential.
“For him, it’s all about not overthinking anything — just playing baseball and having fun,” Shewmake said. “When we’re out here having fun is when we all play the best. If he stays out of his own head, he’ll be an All-American.”
