The Mariners could use some roster upgrades, but no less important is the need for several of their current players to improve. In some cases — youngsters Dustin Ackley, Jesus Montero and Justin Smoak are prime examples — a physical adjustment could be what it takes. Seattle skipper Eric Wedge addressed the subject during this month’s winter meetings in Nashville, Tenn.

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David Laurila: In your press conference, you said Justin Smoak made some mechanical changes this year. What were they?

Eric Wedge: He lowered his hands a little bit and did a better job of finishing his swing. He put himself in a better position to see the baseball, which is half the battle. He did a lot of work — a lot of tweaking — and it paid off for him.

DL: What goes into the decision to make mechanical adjustments?

EW: You have to work off what you see and make educated decisions. It’s a combination of film and what you see [in live action]. You have to communicate with the player and the coaches, and when everybody feels the time is right to do something, you do it. What you don’t want is to do it too early.

DL: Is there a relationship between mechanics and approach?

EW: The approach is more of the intangible. It’s a mindset; it’s your game plan as you head up to home plate. The tangible side of it is the physical and fundamental side — the hands, the swing, the lower-half — and it all works together.

When you talk about a young player starting to figure it out, there are a lot of things he has to master. That’s what [Smoak] has been battling with, and I think he’s just about to get over that hump.

DL: Are there times you want both the mechanics and approach to change?

EW: Yes, and he’s one of them, but sometimes it’s just one or the other. Sometimes a guy has a nice swing, but mentally he’s not doing what he needs to do in regard to his approach, his game plan or his discipline in sticking with that game plan. There’s a lot going on and that’s why it’s so tough to hit. Ultimately, you need everything working together.

DL: Has Dustin Ackley made any mechanical changes? Read the rest of this entry »

Taijuan Walker is more than the top pitching prospect in the Seattle Mariners organization. The 20-year-old right-hander is among the best in the game. With only 126 innings under his belt he remains a work in progress, but his ceiling is sky high.

A two-sport star at Yucaipa (California) High School — he also excelled in basketball — the 6-foot-4 Walker was taken 43rd overall in the 2010 draft. Blessed with athleticism and aptitude, as well as a mid-to-high-90s fastball, he profiles as a front-line starter.

Walker talked about his repertoire, which includes a newly-added pitch, during the Southern League playoffs.

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Walker on his changeup: “My changeup has gotten a lot better since spring training and the end of last year. I’m comfortable throwing it in any count now. I’ve made really big strides with it.

“It’s just a regular straight change, a four-seam circle. I’ve tried many grips and this is pretty much the comfortable one and the one I like. Plus, I throw a lot of four-seam fastballs, so a four-seam changeup is going to benefit me more.

“You have to throw it like your fastball. You have to keep the same arm speed and let the grip do all the work. Sometimes I’ll throw it a little too hard, but I’m mostly been pleased with it. It ranges anywhere between 84 and 90, and I get a little downward movement and some arm-side run. Not a lot, but just enough.”

On his curveball and feel: “This year I didn’t really trust my curveball, so I kind of got away from it. I just wasn’t confident in it. In my last couple of starts, it’s been much better though. I’ve been trusting it more and throwing it more. Instead of trying to make it break, I’m letting the grip do its work. It’s going to be one of my key pitches. Every day I’m working on it, trying to perfect it.

“I was a big basketball player in high school and my pitching coach last year, Rich Dorman, would always use a lot of basketball analogies with me. He used them to help me understand pitching. When you throw a baseball, you feel it off your fingertips, just the same as when you’re shooting a basketball. You feel where the ball is going to go, whether you’re going to miss right or miss left. Same with pitching, inside or out.”

On his fastball: “Velocity is one of the biggest keys to my fastball. I can get away with missing my spot sometimes, just because I have the velocity that I do. I think I’ve topped out at 99 this year. But I can’t always get away with it, so I’m working on making my location better.

“You don’t ever want to be too fine. That’s when you get yourself in trouble. If you’re a hard thrower and can get your fastball in the area of the location where your catcher sets up, you should be fine most of the time.”

On missing bats and maturing as a pitcher: “There are times and places where you want to pitch to contact, but there are other times… it depends on what type of pitcher you are, if you’re a power pitcher, or not.

“I don’t really pay attention to it too much, but it’s always good to get more ground balls than fly balls. If the wind is blowing straight out, and you’re a fly ball pitcher, that can kind of hurt you. Plus, with runners on, you can get double plays.

“I think this year was big for me. I feel like I’ve had to learn how to pitch and not just be a thrower. In Double-A, you can’t just throw fastballs and get away with it. You really have to pitch. You have to mix your pitches and throw off-speed in hitters’ counts. This league helped make more of a pitcher.”

On his newest pitch: “I just added a cutter a few weeks ago. In high school I threw a slider, and I wanted to add it back, but they wouldn’t let me. Now that I’m at a higher level, they’re allowing me to work on this pitch. Not as my strikeout pitch, but just to have it. It’s another look. I feel it can be a good contact pitch, off my fastball, to get a ground ball. Or maybe I can get a broken bat or a pop out. I’ve been throwing it from 88 to 92, but I’m still working on it and trying to figure out how much break I need on it and how hard I need to throw it.”

Dave Raymond won’t be returning to the Houston Astros radio booth next season. Along with broadcast partner Brett Dolan, he was informed that his contract will not be renewed. [Milo Hamilton, who shared air time with the two, is retiring.] There is irony involved in the decision.

A member of the Astros radio team from 2006-2012, the 40-year-old Raymond was seemingly a perfect fit for the club’s analytics-driven approach. A graduate of Stanford University and former business reporter for Forbes Magazine, he is among the more saber-savvy broadcasters in the game. Unlike the old-school Hamilton, he speaks the same language as the Houston front office.

Raymond, an undervalued asset in the broadcaster free-agent market, is currently in search of his next opportunity.

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David Laurila: What are your thoughts on the Astros having adopted an analytics-based approach?

Dave Raymond: “I thought it made a lot of sense when they first started moving in that direction. Before the sale closed, it was made clear in what direction the team would be headed. They would be looking for a young, analytics-based general manager, and would shift aggressively to the new philosophy. It was a good idea, especially given the status of the franchise at that time. They were depleted in prospects, and the major-league roster was either aging rapidly or just deteriorating in terms of production. It was obvious they were going to have to do some drastic maneuvering.

“Having watched what has happened in the last 12 to 18 months, it’s been really dramatic. I’m sure anybody in the industry would echo that sentiment. I didn’t know they would be as aggressive as they’ve been, or that they would have had as much success moving guys and adding so many young bodies. They’ve pulled off several one-for-two, and one-for-three, trades. It’s simple law of averages. If they can bring in three younger options for one body — they realize all three aren’t going to make it big — but if one of them does, maybe they make some real headway.

“It was a bold move, although it’s tough for the fan base, because there is such little hope of winning in the near term. Long term, it will more than likely suit them well.”

DL: Compared to many broadcasters, you have a good understanding of analytics. Read the rest of this entry »

Bob Melvin was named American League Manager of the Year after leading the overachieving Oakland A’s to a playoff berth. It was an honor well-deserved. The 51-year-old former big-league catcher knows how to nurture young talent, and the squad he skippered was laden with first- and second-year players. Melvin discussed five rookie members of his pitching staff during last week’s winter meetings.

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David Laurila: Tommy Milone, Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin all had relatively low strikeout rates. What does that mean for their success?

Bob Melvin: It means they can get deeper in games, and with younger guys, you really want them to cut down on their pitch counts.

As far as Tommy Milone, he’s more touch-and-feel, put the ball in play and keep it in the big part of the ballpark. He’ll use his changeup. He’s not really a strikeout guy, even though he has the ability to strike guys out.

A.J. Griffin has four pitches and he’s very unpredictable about when and where he is throwing them.

I think you’ll see Jarrod Parker potentially strike more guys out. His changeup is a strikeout pitch. He’s getting much better about the command of his fastball and where he wants to throw it. His velocity was 89-92 at times last year. Other times it was 92-95 and when it was 92-95 he was striking guys out.

DL: Are strikeouts and ground-ball rates less important in your home ballpark? Read the rest of this entry »

This past summer, Bo Porter — who then was the third-base coach for the Washington Nationals — sat down to discuss the philosophies he’d bring to a big-league managerial job. Earlier this week, he followed up on that interview, this time as manager of the Houston Astros.

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Porter on the Astros way: “Jeff [Luhnow] and the entire group we have is extremely entrenched into the analytical side of the game, which is something I’m extremely interested in. There are a lot of values that can be found when you look at the analytical side and get away from just the numbers everybody looks at every day. In doing so, you’re able to understand the true value of a player. That’s going to help us from an organizational standpoint.”

On the interview process: “We had extensive conversations about my [philosophies] and we were all on one sheet of music. I sat down with [Director of Decision Sciences] Sig Mejdal, even after the interview process. We’ve had probably three or four sit-down meetings, talking about roster construction and available players. We’ve looked at our overall needs, our overall goal and how different players fit into our system.”

On in-game decisions: “When you talk game-by-game, a lot of the analytic portion goes into the decision-making. When you get into the ebb and flow of the game, the skillsets of the players will dictate what you’re able to do. That’s whether it’s the skillset of your players or the players you’re playing against.”

On defensive shifts: “That’s something from an organizational standpoint. We will shift different players. You look at the portion of the field that needs to be defended. I’ve always been one with the Hayden Fry philosophy that you scratch where it itches. You should always defend the greater portion of the field in which the hitter has the greatest probability of hitting the ball to.”

On third base coach Dave Trembley: “Dave and I go way back. He actually was a manager of mine in the minor leagues. When I’d come into the ballpark, he’d be sitting in his office going over all the numbers. His resume speaks for itself. He’s a former major-league manager who has held pretty much every on-the-field job in Major League Baseball, so he has a tremendous knowledge of the game. It’s a great advantage for us to have a guy like Dave at third base.”

On being on the same page: “When you talk about front-office dynamic and management, you want to be on the same sheet of music. That’s one of the beautiful things in the relationship we have here in Houston. We have a great front office. Our baseball operations do a great job from the research standpoint and an advance-scouting standpoint. They’re going to arm our staff with a lot of material that will allow us to be successful, and we’re going to invite that material with open arms. We’re going to use it to our advantage to help the Houston Astros win baseball games.”

The Seattle Mariners probably need offensive production more than they need to upgrade defense at the catcher position. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t make a move to upgrade defense at the catcher position. General manager Jack Zduriencik faces that quandary at this week’s winter meetings, and possibly beyond.

Jesus Montero and John Jaso are currently in line to share catching duties, and neither is a Gold Glove candidate. They can, however, swing the bat. The underrated Jaso hit .276/.394/.456, while Montero, who possesses a high offensive ceiling, hit .260/.298/.386, with 15 home runs.

If the Mariners do acquire a defensive-minded catcher, it will likely be as a platoon partner for Jaso, with Montero seeing most of his action at first base and/or DH. Similar to the deal that brought Jaso over from Tampa Bay last November, the player would also fit the undervalued-asset category. Kelly Shoppach, a solid defender who hits well against left-handed pitching, is the type of player that fits that description.

Zduriencik was asked about the team’s catching situation, and what went into the Jaso trade, in a lobby conversation at Nashville’s Gaylord Opryland Hotel.

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Zduriencik on acquiring Jaso for Josh Lueke on November 27, 2011: “In the Jaso case, we had a need and [the Rays] liked the arm they got. We liked that Jaso gives you really good at bats. Plus, a left-handed-hitting catcher is a nice commodity to have.

“We do our due diligence in any trade. You dot your Is and cross your Ts. You have the baseball people look at the statistical analysis side of it, and you talk to your people who have seen the player on the field. You also try to get background information, to find out his makeup.

“Sometimes things move really fast and you just have to make decisions. Read the rest of this entry »

The list of pitchers Alan Ashby caught in 17 big-league seasons from 1973 to 1989 is an impressive one. The former Astros, Blue Jays and Indians backstop called games for some of the most dominant pitchers of his era. He also put fingers down for some pretty colorful characters. Now 61 years old, he works as a radio broadcaster for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Ashby talked about catching some of baseball’s finest during a visit to Fenway Park earlier this summer. A primary focus was “the best of the best,” which included Nolan Ryan’s fastball — not the most explosive he caught — and Mike Scott’s mystery pitch.

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David Laurila: Who were the smartest pitchers you caught?

Alan Ashby: “Let me start backwards on that one. Guys like Nolan Ryan — who I caught for nine years — there just aren’t many guys like Nolan Ryan. Nolan is a street-smart guy, a bright guy, but it didn’t take a lot of smarts with his stuff. He could pitch — and did for much of career — away, away, away. Let’s just say he was smart enough to know he could do that, because nobody could hit the stuff.

“Guys who had to move it around, like a Vern Ruhle or a Ken Forsch, had to utilize guile on the mound. If that translates into intelligence and smarts, so be it. A lot of guys who don’t have good stuff are applying everything they’ve got, intelligence-wise and otherwise. I could come up with a list of names of guys to put on that list.

“The guys that generally aren’t on the list are people like Nolan Ryan, J.R. Richard and Joe Niekro. They had very unique stuff. Mike Scott, in his heyday, was another.”

DL: How did Ryan’s fastball differ from Richard’s fastball? Read the rest of this entry »

The Tampa Bay Rays have a deep and talented pitching staff, which extends into their farm system. Of the bunch, Taylor Guerrieri has a chance to be as good as any.

A 20-year-old [as of tomorrow] right-hander, Guerrieri is the team’s top pitching prospect. Drafted 24th overall in 2011, he began his professional career this summer with short-season Hudson Valley and dominated the New York-Penn League. He featured a mid-90s fastball and a plus curveball while he logged a 1.04 ERA and a 0.77 WHIP in 12 starts. In 52 innings, he struck out 45 batters and walked only five.

Guerrieri talked about his pitching approach after the Futures at Fenway doubleheader in mid-August.

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David Laurila: How do get guys out?

Taylor Guerrieri: I just get ahead with the fastball, or really with any pitch. Making sure you stay ahead is the key. To me, it’s get ahead early and get ahead often.

I try to stay true with my pitch sequence. A lot of it, for me, is based on where the guy is set up on the plate. If he’s further in, I’m going to come in. If he’s a little bit away from the plate, I’m going to go away. A lot depends on the batter, but I also have a game plan.

DL: Who dictates your game plan?

TG: It’s basically the manager, pitching coach and myself. It’s about staying ahead with the fastball until they prove they can hit the fastball. I usually don’t show them too much until they show they can hit it. The plan isn’t so much about particular hitters as it is my approach.

DL: You throw your two-seam fastball more than your four-seam. Why?

TG: I grew up throwing a two-seamer. I’m just now learning how to throw a four-seam off the mound and get comfortable with it. That will be a big pitch for me, so I’m looking to progress with it.

I don’t think there’s a lot of difference [in velocity]. It’s more of a placement pitch; more of a set-up pitch. I like to throw a lot of two-seamers and my four helps me set that up.

My two-seam has a little running action and some sinking, as well. It has more run toward the glove side and more sink toward the arm side.

DL: How important is velocity to your game?

TG: It is important. I’m not going to lie. Read the rest of this entry »

Danny Hultzen went 1-4, with a 5.92 ERA in 12 starts for Triple-A Tacoma this year. In today’s what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world, some people could look at those numbers and discount him as a top prospect. But that would be a mistake.

The Seattle Mariners took the 23-year-old (as of tomorrow) southpaw second-overall in the 2011 draft for a reason: He knows how to pitch. Hultzen logged a 1.19 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP in 13 Double-A starts before moving up to Tacoma. His Double-A performance is every bit as telling as his Triple-A speed bump. When you finish your first professional season one step from the big leagues, your future is bright.

Hultzen talked about his approach to pitching — and his second-half struggles — near the end of this year’s minor league season.

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David Laurila: How do you get guys out?

Danny Hultzen: My mentality is to keep things simple. I attack the hitter, and by that, I mean coming at him aggressively by throwing everything in the strike zone and not being afraid of anybody. I’ve found that if you keep that aggressive mentality, you have a better shot than if you try to trick people.

DL: Has your approach changed since coming to pro ball?

DH: A little bit. In college, you can rely more on your fastball. You can attack hitters that way. I still do that in pro ball, but at the same time, these guys are really good fastball hitters. It doesn’t really matter how hard you throw, they can turn on it, so it’s more important to hit your spots and keep the ball down. It’s important to mix pitches, because if you become predictable — even if you’re throwing hard — these guys will punish you for it.

DL: Does velocity still matter?

DH: It does, but at the same time, it doesn’t. The harder you throw, the more mistakes you can get away with. But at the higher levels, you don’t get away with as many. I’ve seen guys throw 98 and get turned around. What velocity does is not force you to be as perfect.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bruce Walton understands the Toronto Blue Jays pitching staff as well as anyone. This season was his 16th in the organization and 11th with the big-league club. He served as bullpen coach from 2002-2009 and has been the pitching coach since 2010.

It wasn’t an easy year for the 49-year-old former A’s, Expos and Rockies right-hander. Multiple members of the Jays’ staff went down with injuries, while others — most notably Ricky Romero — struggled. Walton saw his hurlers issue the most walks in the American League and finish with the fourth-worst ERA.

The revamped Torontonians are expected to compete for a pennant next season, but in order for that to happen, the pitchers will need to be healthier and more productive. Part of that responsibility — assuming new manager John Gibbons retains him — will fall on Walton, who talked pitching on a visit to Fenway Park this summer.

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David Laurila: How do pitchers get big-league hitters out?

Bruce Walton: I think it’s a combination of things. The first thing you really have to learn is where down is — where down in the strike zone actually is. Pounding down and pitching at the knees is your best friend. If you stay down with all of your pitches, it’s much easier to get guys out.

DL: Can working up in the zone be effective?

BW: I don’t know if the high strike is where you want to pitch. I think above the strike zone is where you want to pitch when you’re up. Since I’ve been in the big leagues, the high strike is around the belt, and belt-high is a dangerous place.

DL: Is the strike zone too small?

BW: No, it’s not too small. When you’re talking about a small strike zone, it’s more about whether you can manipulate the strike zone by being more efficient, as far as more quality pitches on the edges. The strike zone is the strike zone. It’s neither too small, nor too big.

DL: How does Ricky Romero get guys out?

BW: Ricky gets guys out by working back and forth in the zone, and with late movement. He relies on very good movement at the last possible moment before the ball hits the bat. He’s got tremendous sink and he’s got tremendous cut. He also has the ability to work back and forth in the zone with his changeup.

DL: What is the issue when he’s not getting guys out? Read the rest of this entry »