Jarvis excelling for the Voyagers

Jake Jarvis admits it wasn't easy.

"It was a big shock for me, coming out of high school and having a whole new world like that," the Great Falls Voyager second baseman said outside the dugout as his team prepared for a Wednesday night game against the Missoula Osprey.

"But I got a lot better through that time. I'm glad I ended up doing that."

Jarvis was selected in the 10th round of the 2014 Draft by the Chicago White Sox. After four years of high school in Texas, he bypassed a path to college and went straight to rookie ball in the Arizona Rookie League.

In 95 at-bats, Jarvis hit .221, accumulating 21 hits and 11 RBIs. He struck out 30 times.

"You know," he said. "There were times where I did struggle."

Voyager manager Cole Armstrong, who was Jarvis' hitting coach for the AZL White Sox in 2014, said you have to look past the statistics.

"That level is very difficult to judge on numbers," Armstrong said. "Strictly because a lot of times you're getting less than 200 at-bats. So a 3-for-4 day can be a 30 point swing. But it's a transition. You're going from being in high school, where you might have seen one or two guys throw 90 all year, to where you're seeing three guys, four guys every night throwing 92, 93 miles an hour."

Jarvis has settled in just fine. In nine games this season, which includes 37 at-bats, he has 14 RBIs and a home run. His 14 runs driven in ranked him in a tie for fifth in the Pioneer League heading into the game Wednesday night, which he didn't play in.

He's batting .378, with an on-base percentage of .415 and a slugging percentage of .541. Leading up to Wednesday's game, Jarvis led the Voyagers in hits, RBIs, slugging percentage and batting average.

"He's somebody who, when he comes to the cage, he's not in the cage just because it said to be there on the board," said the first-year manager. "He's there to get better and it's not every now and then, it's every single day from the day he stepped on the field with us. And that's why I think for him, it was a really good choice to sign and get right into pro ball. Because he was ready from a maturity standpoint and a physical standpoint."

Jarvis, who bats No. 2 in the lineup, says he knew what he was getting in to with skipping the chance to play college baseball —many of his buddies, he said, had done it. He thought he was mentally prepared for the daily grind that professional baseball requires of its players, he said.

"I love going to the field every day, so that was never a problem for me," Jarvis, 20, said. "I wake up looking forward to going to the field. I knew what was in front of me. But the level of play, the game speeds up so much faster. That was the biggest thing."

The 5-foot-10, 175-pound righty never got down on himself.

"You kind of have to look at the bigger picture," he said. "When things are going good, it's not ever going as good as you think it is, and when things are going bad, it's not ever going as bad as you think it is. You just have to keep on keeping on, really. Just keep on working and grinding it out."

OUTFIELDER LOUIS SILVERIO has been promoted to the Kannapolis Intimidators, a Low-A affiliate of the White Sox.

The Parkland, Fla., native was batting .324 in nine games for the Voyagers. Silverio, a 33rd round pick in 2014, had three homers and 10 RBIs.

The first Voyager to move up this season, he left for North Carolina on Wednesday morning and went 2-for-4 in his debut Wednesday night.

"It's tough to predict how somebody is going to do, but he's another kid who has a very strong work ethic," Armstrong said. "He grew up around the game. … He's a baseball player. He understands the game. He understands his role every day. And he's going to go out there, and I have no doubt that he's going to contribute to that club."

AFTER A 6-1 loss to the Missoula on Tuesday, Great Falls looked to improve on its 7-4 record Wednesday night at Centene Stadium, but fell to the Osprey 10-5.

As of press time, Johan Cruz was 2-for-4 from the plate, and Casey Schroeder, Antonio Rodriguez and Landon Lassiter all drove in a run for the Voyagers. Dante Flores went 2-for-3 and had two RBIs. Starter Matt Ball went 3 ²/₃ innings, giving up five earned runs on seven hits.