LEWISTON – Portland Sea Dogs outfielder Jay Johnson has been tinkering with his swing this offseason to increase his power. If he can hit them out of the park this season like he did Thursday while visiting the Twin Cities as part of the Sea Dogs’ annual Hot Stove Tour, the hard work will have paid off.

Johnson had his audiences wrapped around his finger during three local stops on the tour. The affable 25-year-old from Kentucky is taking time out of a rigorous offseason program to tour the state this week to thank fans for their support and get them thinking baseball in the dead of winter.

“It’s just nice to get back and talk to some of the fans one-on-one,” Johnson said after doing just that at a Rotary Club luncheon at the Ramada Inn. “It’s been great to get the Sea Dogs’ name out there and make sure the fans know we’re coming back. Regardless of the snow, we’re going to be back.”

Thursday’s itinerary included stops at Central Maine Medical Center and the Boys’ and Girls’ Club in Auburn. Johnson will be in southern Maine today and attend tonight’s annual Sea Dogs Hot Stove Dinner before heading to Cincinnati for a month to prepare for when he reports to Fort Myers for the opening of minor league spring training on March 7.

Johnson has been working out five days a week to get himself physically and mentally ready. He said he’s placed more of an emphasis on mental preparation than in past offseasons so he can better handle the inevitable slumps that occur during the season. He scuffled through some prolonged slumps for the Sea Dogs last season, hitting .265 with five home runs and 64 RBIs in 109 games.

Johnson has also been working to regain the swing he says he had before moving up from Single-A early last season. With the Sea Dogs, he said, it was “just a tick off.”

“I’m just trying to be able to drive the ball up the middle of the field better,” he said. “Last year, I got a little pull-happy. I’d look at the wall (the Maine Monster at Hadlock Field) that’s only 310 feet away and just try to yank it down that line. This year, I’m just trying to make sure I stay short to the ball and longer through it and try to drive the ball into the gaps and use the right side of the field a bit more effectively.”

Last season was far from a complete downer. Johnson was the hero of the Futures at Fenway game, when the Sea Dogs played at Fenway Park and won with a dramatic ninth-inning rally, capped by his game-winning two-run double.

“I didn’t even know if I was going to play that day because I got hit by a pitch the day before,” Johnson said. “Then (Sea Dogs manager) Arnie (Beyeler) asked me in the seventh inning if I could play, and obviously, I’m not going to say, ‘No.'”

A 13th-round pick by the Red Sox in the 2005 draft, Johnson knows he’ll probably have to wait for a return to Fenway. In that case, he doesn’t mind working and waiting while playing for the Sea Dogs.

“I tell everyone that Portland is the best stop on the road to Fenway,” he said. “The fans here are so knowledgeable about the game. The environment that the Sea Dogs create for fans to come and watch the game is unbelievable. The focus is on the game, and as a player, you can feel that. You can feel the intensity in the crowd during a big game.”