If you mold Nick Castellanos and Tommy Joseph into one beautiful creature, you'd get Brandon Drury. Like Joseph, Drury's stepping into a full-time role. Like Castellanos, he'll likely be batting at a high-leverage spot in the order. Once the regular season starts, it's going to be really hard to snag this guy.
Drury performed well in his first big experience with the Arizona Diamondbacks last year, finishing with a .282/.329/.458 slash in 499 plate appearances. He blasted 16 home runs thanks to respectable 32.9% hard-hit rate, a number that will play well in the Arizona heat.
The Diamondbacks had most of their regulars active for Saturday's spring training game, and Drury wound up batting fifth that night.
Today's #DbacksSpring lineup at the Angels:
Pollock CF
Peralta RF
Goldy 1B
Lamb 3B
Drury 2B
Descalso LF
Iannetta C
Ahmed SS
Walker P
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) March 25, 2017
That was without Yasmany Tomas, who returned to the lineup Sunday from an oblique issue, so it's possible Drury still winds up batting sixth.
Still, even if he's there, this is going to be a potent lineup that will score some runs, and Drury could be a big part of it. As the projected every-day second baseman, adding second-base and middle-infield eligibility certainly doesn't hurt, either.