Florida lefthander A.J. Puk has a chance to be the top pick in the draft next summer. (Aaron Fitt)

Refocused Puk Learns To Harness Potential

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — As A.J. Puk stood along the first-base line answering a question about his pitching mechanics, one of his teammates walked by on the way to Florida’s team bus, looked at the construction site beyond the right-field fence and loudly called ahead to another teammate, “Hey, did you see the size of that crane?” Puk stopped in mid-sentence, stepped back and looked at the sky, laughed bashfully and shook his head.

The crane overlooking Hawkins Field (Aaron Fitt)