I recently posed a question to 10 players. It was a question that doesn’t have an easy answer. Given the subjectivity involved, it doesn’t even have a right answer.

Is hitting more of an art or more of a science?

The question was phrased exactly that way. It was up to the players responding to interpret the meaning of “art or science” and to elaborate accordingly. Their responses are listed below in alphabetical order. Read the rest of this entry »

How differently do pitchers and catchers think? They work hand-in-hand, but do they approach pitch selection the same way? Do they interpret the quality of a pitcher’s stuff the same way? Do they see the same things when reading hitters?

I’ve posed that question(s) to a number of pitchers, catchers and coaches over the course of the season. Selections from those conversations will be featured here in the coming weeks. First up is Tampa Bay Rays bullpen coach Stan Boroski.

Currently in his fourth season with the Rays, Boroski understands the pitcher-catcher dynamic as well as anyone. He played both positions in the minor leagues — “I couldn’t hit” is Boroski’s explanation for moving to the mound — before joining the scouting and coaching ranks. He was a pitching coach in the Astros system before coming to Tampa Bay. Read the rest of this entry »

The Pittsburgh Pirates went high-risk-high-reward in this year‘s draft. Both of their first-round picks came via the high school ranks, as did their second-round selection. All three players have tremendous potential, but a boom-or-bust dynamic exists for almost any 18-year-old prospect.

JaCoby Jones — drafted in the third round out of LSU — is a 21-year-old with a boom-or-bust dynamic. Viewed as a potential first-rounder coming into the season, he has the raw tools to become a big-league regular. Inconsistent as a collegian, he could just as easily crash and burn.

The right-handed-hitter has plenty of speed and power, but his numbers haven’t matched his talent. He hit .338 as a freshman, but just .253 as a sophomore. This year he split the difference with a .294 mark. Jones won last summer’s Cape Cod League home run derby, but went deep only 14 times in three collegiate seasons.

His position is a question yet to be answered. Primarily a second baseman at LSU, he is playing shortstop and center field with the short-season Jamestown Jammers. Thirteen games into his professional career he is hitting .304/.333/.464. Read the rest of this entry »

Eric Stults didn’t represent the San Diego Padres in last night’s All-Star Game. He arguably deserved the honor, which is remarkable given where he’s come from. The 33-year-old left-hander was claimed off waivers last May after being released by the White Sox. Three years ago he was pitching for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.

Stults had 8 career wins when he joined the Padres. Last year he doubled that total while logging a 2.40 ERA. So far this season, in 20 starts, he is 8-7 with a 3.40 ERA and 3.32 FIP. His 1.91 BB/9 is seventh-best among National League starters. He’s been the Padres best pitcher, and, surprisingly, one of the better lefties in the league.

More than a decade after being drafted by the Dodgers out of Bethel College, Stults has evolved into a poor man’s Randy Jones. In the mid-1970s, Jones won a Cy Young award and had a pair of 20-win seasons for the Padres. The southpaw did so with a fastball that could barely break a pane of glass. Stults is also similar to his skipper. Bud Black epitomized the term “crafty lefty” throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s.

Stults talked about his evolution as a pitcher, including his ability to change speeds with the best of them, when the Padres visited Fenway Park earlier this month. Read the rest of this entry »

When you’re a speedy 5-foot-6 second baseman with a line-drive stroke, Jose Altuve comps come with the territory. When you’re drafted by the Houston Astros, they are pretty much inevitable. The player in question is Tony Kemp.

A fifth-round pick this year out of Vanderbilt, the 21-year-old Kemp is looking to forge his own identity in pro ball. He did so as a collegian. The Nashville native was the 2013 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year and a first-team selection on Baseball America’s All-America team. In his junior season with the Commodores, he hit .388/.480/.496, with 32 stolen bases. In his first month with the short-season Tri-City Valley Cats, he is hitting .314.

Kemp — who differs from Altuve in that he swings from the left side –talked about his game a week after his debut. Read the rest of this entry »

Adam Eaton came off the disabled list on Tuesday, which is good news for the surprising Arizona Diamondbacks. It is also apropos. The two are a perfect fit. Few expected the D-Backs to be leading the National League West in mid-July, and the 5-foot-8 outfielder is a classic overachiever. Drafted in the 19th round out of Miami (Ohio) University three years ago, the 24-year-old logged an OBP north of .450 in three minor league seasons. After making an impressive big-league cameo last year, Eaton came into the current campaign looking to be Arizona’s leadoff hitter. A spring training elbow injury delayed that opportunity until this week.

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Bob Tewksbury had a lot of success in 1992. Pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals, the right-hander went 16-5 with a 2.16 ERA. A control artist, he walked 20 batters in 233 innings.

He had less success against the Chicago Cubs. In five starts, he allowed 18 runs — 14 of them earned — in 34 innings. Andre Dawson, Mark Grace and Ryne Sandberg went a combined 26 for 65, with 10 extra-base hits, against him.

Tewksbury knows why he struggled against the Cubs, and why he had success against the rest of the National League. The internet age was still a few years away, but notebooks weren’t. Tewksbury logged scouting and statistical information after every game he pitched.

Read the rest of this entry »

Jarrod Saltalamacchia has come a long way behind the plate. “Salty” isn’t among the elite at his position, but he’s developed into a solid defensive catcher. He is certainly among the most cerebral. Once looked at as an offense-first backstop, he is playing a key role in the success of a Boston Red Sox pitching staff that is exceeding expectations.

Originally a first-round pick by the Atlanta Braves in 2003, the 28-year-old switch-hitter was acquired by the Red Sox from the Texas Rangers in 2010 and has been the team’s primary catcher for the past two seasons. He discussed the nuances of his craft — and several members of the Boston pitching staff — prior to a recent game at Fenway Park.

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For Marten Gasparini, choosing Royal blue over Savoy Blue was a matter of heart. The 16-year-old loves his native land, but when it comes to sport, baseball in America beats the Azzurri.

Gasparini made history when he inked a contract with the Kansas City Royals last week. An native of northern Italy, he received a $1.3 million signing bonus — a record for a European amateur. A switch-hitting shortstop with elite athleticism, he is rated the 12th-best international prospect by Baseball America. According to reports, scouts feel he might be the best European prospect ever.

Gasparini talked about his love of America’s pastime — and why he chose it over Italy’s sporting passion — this past weekend.

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Gasparini on his immediate future: “Right now I’m in Kansas City meeting with people from the Royals. From here I’m going to Arizona, to the complex, then back to Italy to play in the European [Junior] Championships, in Prague. After that, I’ll be back in Arizona, working out.

“I’ll be at [instructional league] in the fall. I’m going to be talking to the coaches I’ll be working with, but right now I don’t know exactly what they’ll want me to work on. All I know is that I’ll be playing baseball. But I‘m sure I‘ll be working on running, fielding, my swing — I’ll need to work on everything.

“My best tool is speed. That’s whether I’m in the field, on the bases, or in the box. I like playing shortstop the most, but if they feel it is better to move me to the outfield, it’s OK. But shortstop is the position I love to play.”

On hitting and the level of competition he‘s faced: “In Europe, usually you can find 85 [mph], maybe high 80s. But for most pitchers, you don’t see 90s. I’m pretty comfortable hitting against mid 80s. I’ve faced some pretty good [breaking pitches].

“There are some good pitchers in the Netherlands. I was also in the Under-18s last year [in Seoul, South Korea] and faced some Japanese and Canadian pitchers who were really good. They had some great curveballs and sliders.

“I try to stay patient at the plate. I try always to wait for my pitch, and when I get to two strikes, I shorten my swing up and use the whole field.”

On choosing baseball over soccer: “Soccer just doesn’t make me feel as good. I think it’s kind of boring, because everybody does it. I have a much better feel for baseball. They’ve told me I could go to [soccer] practices and maybe perform well, but it is more than just [athleticism]. It is technique that makes you go far.

“I played stickball when I was about eight years old. I first started to play baseball when I was 10.”

“I’ve been following [Major League Baseball] every day on the internet. I go to MLB.com and follow games on live streaming. The players I like the most are Derek Jeter, Matt Kemp, and Yasiel Puig.”

From 1983-1988, Pat Tabler was a good hitter on some not-so-good Cleveland Indians teams. Bouncing between the outfield and the infield corners, he hit .294/.356/.408. Overall, “Tabby” was a career .282 hitter in 12 big-league seasons. He currently serves as a TV analyst for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Tabler reminisced about his time in Cleveland — including notable brawls and off-the-wall teammates — on a recent visit to Fenway Park.

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Tabler on bench-clearing brawls: “In 1986, we were playing the A’s, who we always had hard-fought games with. Pat Corrales was our manager and he thought Dave Stewart was throwing at one of our guys. He was barking at him and Stew said, ‘Come on out here.’ Corrales did. They met at the first base line and went after each other. Both of them had belts in karate. Corrales went to dropkick, and missed, and Stew smoked him. It was on after that. It was a good fight.

“Another time, against the Royals, Jamie Quirk hit a home run against us. Next time up, Sammy Stewart hit him with a pitch and broke his hand. The following night, with Ken Schrom pitching, Willie Wilson hit a fly ball to center. Read the rest of this entry »