“I like to set realistic goals for myself, not outrageous ones.” 

“I constantly try to humble myself; if you don't, I'm sure the game is going to find a way to humble you.” 

“Obviously this is where, as a baseball player, I wanted to be. But if I told you two years ago I'd be in this situation, I'd be lying. It's all been a dream come true. Like I said, as a kid, it's what you dream of happening.” 

"I don't hold any resentment against anybody. I'd be the first to tell you that coming out of high school, even junior college, I wasn't ready. I couldn't play on this stage. I was skinnier, and as I grew physically, I grew baseball-wise. They went hand in hand.” 

“Once I signed at Long Beach and got an opportunity to play at a pretty decent Division-I school, I thought at that point I had a pretty good chance to play some pro ball.” 

“I definitely think with a lot of hard work, I can be a better player than I was last year, and hopefully, continue to raise the bar every year.” 

“It seems like every time I come up, I've got someone on base in scoring position.” 

“I didn't want to be one of those guys who sat at home and waited to negotiate for more money. I had already had three weeks off from baseball, and I was ready to get up and go.” 

“There have been some ups and downs, but I'm happy that I've stayed fairly consistent.”

“The opportunity to play at Long Beach was huge for me, going to a big school, getting that exposure, playing on that stage. A lot of physical maturity, along with the coaching I got at Long Beach, is probably the reason I'm standing where I am today.” 

“When you're a first-round pick and you get to the big leagues at 22, there's almost a sense that you've got to mature.”

“I spent a lot of hours on the baseball field doing whatever I could do to get better.” 

“I think I can play everywhere. I've played a lot over the infield. I'm probably best suited to play third base only because I've played there so much. But I can play wherever Tampa Bay needs me to.”