Jawuan Harris has always been an athlete.

Nick Hicks, a trainer in Florida who has been working with Harris since the latter was in seventh grade, has trained with plenty of Division I athletes in multiple sports. Even among that elite group, Harris stands out.

“I can go in and take a tennis ball and create a game and within five minutes Jawuan will master that game and be better than anybody in the building,” Hicks told NJ.com. “Just because of how athletic he is and his innate abilities take over when it's time to compete.”

Harris, who plays outfield for the TinCaps, was a two-sport athlete in college at Rutgers. He played football, leading the Scarlet Knights in receptions one year and then moving to defensive back and leading them in interceptions the next. The football was really just to help his parents pay tuition because baseball doesn't provide full scholarships, while football does.

The diamond has always been Harris' first love, and it was no surprise when he chose to focus on it full time. He signed with the Padres after getting drafted in the seventh round in 2018.

“Baseball's the only sport where you have to give the other team a chance to come back,” Harris said. “Other sports, like football or soccer, you can hold the ball. This sport I feel like is a true sport, because you have to give (the other team) a chance.”

The 5-foot-9, 190-pound Harris is in the midst of his first full season as a one-sport athlete. It has been a rocky campaign for him at times, as he's spent the majority of the year batting below .200. When his bat has been cold, he's contributed with his raw athleticism and instincts, stealing 26 bases (third in the league) and playing one of the best defensive center fields in the league.

“I feel like it's gone well,” Harris said of his first full pro season. “I feel I've learned a lot. I still think I need a lot more to learn and to transition into. But I've definitely made strides over the year. I'm just trying to get a lot more reps. I still feel behind people who got a lot more (reps) in college, playing one sport.”

Recently, the extra reps Harris is getting have been paying off. He has been one of the TinCaps' best hitters over the past three weeks, batting .296 with a .387 on-base percentage and .463 slugging percentage. He ranks second in the league in walk rate, as well.

His resurgence stems in large part from a tweak he made after watching a lot of video with hitting coach Jonathan Mathews.

“My foot had been getting down late, I've been late on a lot of balls, causing me to swing hard to try to catch up to the ball,” Harris said. “I'd been fouling a lot straight back, missing some, getting into late counts, two-strike counts.

“We've been slowing down the swing. A lot of people say, '80% gets you 100, 100% gets you zero.' I've been taking that into account, working on that in the cage and I feel like that's panned out.”

Harris, a native of Pembroke Pines, Florida, put together one of the best individual games by a TinCap this season July 18 against the Peoria Chiefs, hitting two home runs – the only multihomer game for Fort Wayne in 2019 – including a game-tying grand slam that completed a rally from nine runs down. His nonchalant one-handed bat flip after the slam, inspired by White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson, was majestic, sending the bat twirling end over end toward the Fort Wayne dugout.

“Jawuan's been swinging it well,” manager Anthony Contreras said. “One thing we've been looking for him to do is put the ball in play because when he does that he puts pressure on the defense.

“His rhythm and timing look a lot better at the plate; he's not getting too jumpy at pitches.”

Harris is still an athlete, but he's becoming a baseball player, too.

dsinn@jg.net