When Ned Yost fills out his lineup card, he sees a future that is more promising than the present. His Kansas City Royals are near the bottom of the American League in runs scored, but five of the nine starters are 25 or younger, and none is older than 28. Several have all-star potential.

The former Milwaukee Brewers manager — now in his third year at the helm in KC — has more than the future in mind when he puts together his batting order. He’s also looking to optimize his team’s chances to score runs. Yost discussed his approach to lineup construction during a recent series at Fenway Park.

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Ned Yost: “I try to stay consistent in my lineup construction. I try to set a lineup and keep it there as long as I can — as long as we’re getting production out of each individual spot. I don’t believe that it is productive to have a floating lineup. I don’t want guys coming into the locker room thinking that because they went 0-for-4 the day before, they’re going to be hitting eighth. Or that because they went 4-for-4, they’re going to be hitting third. I think it takes pressure off of them to know that they’re going to consistently stay in a spot.

“When I construct my lineup, I want a high-on-base-percentage guy leading off. I’m looking for a guy that gets on base. Alex Gordon fit that bill for us tremendously well over the course of the year. I think that Alex, though, changes his approach in the one-spot and focuses more on on-base percentage. Alex is a run producer. He’s a guy who has the capacity to hit 30 home runs a year. Ideally, I would like him in the middle of our lineup somewhere.

“We don’t have a prototypical leadoff hitter. Read the rest of this entry »

Much like the old gray mare, Roy Oswalt isn’t what he used to be. That doesn’t mean the 35-year-old right-hander is ready to be put out to pasture. He can still be an effective pitcher, he simply can’t be ridden as hard as he was from 2001-2010. During that period, Oswalt was a 200-innings-a-year workhorse who twice won 20 games, captured an ERA title, and represented the Astros three times in the All-Star Game.

Now a member of the Texas Rangers, Oswalt finds himself working out of the bullpen as well as the rotation. In 12 games, he has a record of 4-2 and a 5.85 ERA that is well above his career mark of 3.28.

Oswalt talked about his evolution as a pitcher when the Rangers visited Fenway Park in August.

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Roy Oswalt: “When I first started out, I had four pitches, like I do now. My main two pitches were my fastball and my curveball. I probably threw 75 percent fastballs, 20 percent curveballs, and mixed in a slider and changeup. Later, in 2009 and 2010, I started throwing a changeup a lot more. I finally learned how to actually throw it the right way, I guess you might say.

“When I first started throwing it, I never really had the right feeling of the ball coming off my index finger. No one ever explained it, they just said to throw it like a fastball. Well, the way I throw a fastball versus another way a guy throws a fastball can be totally different. A lot of guys think about being on top of the ball; I think about staying behind it. When they explained to throw a changeup like a fastball, I was staying behind it instead of on top of it. I never really got the concept of it until probably 2010.

“The grip is somewhere between a fosh and a circle change. Read the rest of this entry »

When Baseball America named Wil Myers their Minor League Player of the Year yesterday, it came as little surprise. The 21-year-old Kansas City Royals outfield prospect hit .313/.387/.600, with 37 home runs, between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha. He came into the season rated as one of the top players in the KC system, and ended it as one of the most promising hitters in the game.

Myers, who was drafted by the Royals in 2009, talked about his development — including the emergence of his light-tower power — on the final day of the minor-league regular season.

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David Laurila: Is hitting simple or is it complicated?

Wil Myers: It can be both. Hitting is very simple, but it’s complicated at the same time. If I have a good approach and stay up the middle, it’s pretty simple. I can get a hit, or at least hit something hard. But a lot of times, hitters will get out of their approach and that makes it very complicated and harder to have success.

DL: Do you consider yourself a power hitter?

WM: Yeah, I think so. There are a lot of times, especially early in the count and when I’m ahead, that I’ll look in, to pull something. If I’m in a good hitter’s count, I’m looking to hit to left-center and trying to drive it over the wall. Other than that, staying to the middle is what really keeps me inside the ball and not wrapping around it.

Last year I had a lot of trouble with the outside pitch. They really beat me with that, but I’m learning to hit it. I’m learning to hit the ball the other way with some power. Once you do that, you get more balls on the inner half. They want you to prove that you can get that ball away before you start getting balls in.

DL: Are you generally looking middle-away and reacting to balls inside?

WM: No, I’m looking in, basically all the time. Read the rest of this entry »

Anthony Gose has seen his big-league career get off to a slow start. The Toronto Blue Jays outfielder has hit just .183/.256/.244 in 92 plate appearances since debuting in mid-July. He promises to get much better as he matures, though. As one of the top prospects in Toronto’s organization, the 22-year-old (as of Aug. 10) left-handed hitter has both a sprinter’s speed and emerging power (70 stolen bases and 16 home runs last year in Double-A). He also has excellent defensive chops, including good instincts and a well-above-average arm. What he lacks is experience, which he should gain a lot more of this coming month.

Gose came to Toronto in 2010 from the Phillies, via the Astros, in a three-team deal. He talked about his development path — as well as his first week as a big- leaguer — when the Blue Jays visited Fenway Park last month.

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Gose on developing as a hitter: “A tremendous amount has changed since I was in the Florida State League [in 2010]. There’s been the whole transformation of my swing — my mechanics. That’s been a gradual thing ever since I was traded over here, and even throughout this season. There have also been, at times, more drastic changes. Now it’s more just fine-tuning things; it’s more on the smaller end of changes.

“When I got traded over, it became more of being able to swing the bat for a little bit more power — trying to drive the ball. I’ve been focusing on making two-strike adjustments and barreling the ball more consistently, as well as just getting on base.

“I went through a number of different stances when I first got over. Read the rest of this entry »

Trevor Bauer doesn’t really need an introduction to FanGraphs readers. The top prospect in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization already had a well-earned reputation when he was drafted third overall last year out of UCLA. A 21-year-old right-hander, Bauer is known for his in-depth knowledge of sabermetrics and pitching mechanics just as much as he is for having an extensive repertoire that includes an overpowering fastball.

Bauer, who is currently pitching for the Triple-A Reno Aces, recently addressed several aspects of his unique and highly cerebral approach. Among the topics covered were pitch sequencing, video and visualization, and why velocity is more important to him than location.

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Trevor Bauer: “Pitching can be as simple or complicated as you choose to make it. It goes from being as simple as the catcher setting up outside and you throwing the ball. It can be fairly simple on the brain, or it can be knowing which pitch you want to throw in what situation, and why. That’s from the mental side of things.

“Physically, it’s pretty complex. Obviously, you have a lot of moving parts. You need to have everything in sync — everything working together — and that’s pretty complicated. I guess it just depends on how you choose to look at it, and what your preference is as an athlete — how simple or complex do you want to make it?

“Most people looking at my approach on the mound would say that it’s very, very complex. I’ve been doing it for so long, and I’m so familiar with it, that it just kind of occurs naturally. But I’d say I’m definitely more to the extreme of being complex. I pretty much take everything I do, pitching-wise, and try to figure it all out. I find the last little bit of information that is going to help me out.

Read the rest of this entry »

I rarely mention my fantasy team, but I’ll make an exception here because it says a lot about today‘s interview subject. I play in a Scoresheet league with a bunch of baseball-media types — many of us stat nerds — and we’re allowed to protect up to 10 players. I didn’t keep Matt Harrison.

I offered Harrison in a trade before formally cutting him, but no one was interested. Like myself, the other 23 so-called experts were guilty of greatly underestimating the Texas Rangers left-hander.

Harrison is making us — everyone but MLB Network Radio’s Casey Stern, who smartly grabbed him at the tail end of the 12th round — pay for our disrespect. In 24 real-life starts, the 26-year-old has gone 14-7 and his 3.19 ERA and 3.2 WAR rank in the top 10 among American League pitchers. His strikeout rate is predictably sub par, at 5.37 per nine innings, but given his other numbers, does that really matter? Last season, with a lackluster 6.11 K-rate, he went 14-9 with a 3.39 ERA and a 4.2 WAR.

Harrison discussed his repertoire and approach — including the lack of strikeouts — on a recent visit to Fenway Park. Mike Maddux, the Rangers pitching coach, also offered his thoughts on the underrated lefty in a separate interview.

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Harrison on his most-important pitch: “I’m a big sinkerball pitcher. I like to keep the ball down in the zone and make them put it on the ground most of the time. I started throwing my sinker more and more a couple of years ago, and it’s gotten better and more consistent in the strike zone. That’s allowed me to be more aggressive with it. I try to get strike one with it and try to move it in and off the plate.

“I think the [improvement] came mostly from just using it more. I knew what the break was, it was just a matter of where I wanted to start the pitch. Now I know where to start it for a strike, and where to start it for it a swing-and-miss, off-the-plate type of pitch.

“The break is more down than side-to-side, but there is some arm-side break. Read the rest of this entry »

David Murphy isn’t a star. The former first-round draft pick — 17th overall by the Red Sox in 2003 — has never been able to establish himself as more than a solid player. Coming into the season, his high-water marks included an .806 OPS and 2 WAR. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t getting better.

Murphy now is having a career year in Texas. Entrenched as an everyday cog in a star-studded Rangers lineup, the 30-year-old outfielder is hitting .298/.379/.475, with 10 home runs. Once considered a liability against left-handed pitchers, he’s hitting .372 against them this season.

Murphy, who came to Texas at the 2007 trade deadline, discussed his career and his evolution as a hitter.

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Murphy on getting an opportunity: “I was a high draft pick, but realized pretty early on — a few years into my minor-league career — that it was going to be tough to get to the big leagues with the Red Sox and stay there. Getting traded was the best possible opportunity for me. I had a chance to establish myself as a big-league player the second I got to Texas, and fortunately, I was able to take advantage. Since then, the team has gone nowhere but up. To be able to say that I’ve played in two World Series in my first four full years in the big leagues is something that not many guys can.

“I didn’t really care about it being a big-market environment in Boston, but from my perspective, as an outfielder, I was going to have to put up monster minor-league numbers in order to be looked at as an everyday type of player. That was definitely discouraging at times. I just wanted an opportunity to be up on the big league club and seeing what I could do, and it felt like I wasn’t going to get that chance anytime soon. My best opportunity was going to come with another organization, and I’m happy that it turned out to be the Rangers.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Doug Fister believes in keeping things simple. The Detroit Tigers right-hander isn’t big on statistics, nor does he rely much on scouting reports. What he does do is play cat-and-mouse with opposing hitters: He changes speeds and pounds the bottom of the strike zone. He also gets results. Since coming to Detroit from Seattle at last year’s trade deadline, the 28-year-old Fresno State product has logged a 2.81 ERA and won 14 games.

Fister talked about his approach during a recent visit to Fenway Park.

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Fister: “My approach is to stick with what I do. For me, it’s about knowing what my skills are and what my job is. My effort level is a big thing, but it’s mostly a matter of using the tools that I have to the best of my ability. I need to keep the ball down in the zone, have late movement on my fastball and try to get early contact.

“Things kind of clicked in 2009. I started out the year in Double-A and then quickly worked my way to Triple-A. I was in the bullpen at the time and it was just a matter of focusing on commanding the strike zone. Not just throwing strikes, but commanding the strike zone. Again, just working on getting bad contact.

“I had a few good pitching coaches, but really, it was me realizing who I am, and coming to terms with that. I’m the same pitcher now that I have been. There are obviously little things here and there that we fine-tune — you kind of tweak all the time — but for the most part, I’m the same guy. Nothing changed when I came to Detroit. Read the rest of this entry »

Ben Revere and Anthony Rizzo are distinctly different hitters, but they have a few things in common. Most notable is the fact that they are rising stars: Revere with the Minnesota Twins; Rizzo with the Chicago Cubs. Another is that they each credit a minor-league hitting coach for helping them turn the corner.

Revere, a 24-year-old outfielder, is following up a so-so rookie campaign (.267/.310/.309) with a breakout season. His slashing left-handed swing has produced a .325/.356/.382 line, as well as a 21-game hit streak that came to end Wednesday night.

Rizzo, a 23-year-old first baseman, is emerging as a big-time power threat in his first year with the Cubs. He hit just .141/.281/.242 in his rookie season with the Padres, but in 154 plate appearances with his new team, he’s hitting .301/.344/.524, with nine home runs.

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Ben Revere: “When I first got up here, I was doing alright, but then I kind of dropped off. Going into the off-season, I wasn’t satisfied. I batted .260 and, really, that’s not the kind of player I am. Usually, I’m a .300 hitter. I needed to focus on trying to find the swing I had when I was driving balls up the gaps for doubles and triples.

“Last year, I was rounding up a bunch of balls. I was coming around them and getting jammed. I watched film of myself, and coming up through the minors, I had my hands higher. When I went back down to Triple-A [this year], I told my hitting coach, Tom Brunansky, what was wrong, and we did some drills. Now I’m keeping my hands higher, so that I can go down and stay through the ball — instead of having them low where I come around and get jammed on fastballs right down the middle and a little bit inside.

Read the rest of this entry »

Andrew McCutchen is chasing a batting title — he leads the National League with a .369 average — as well as an MVP award. The 25-year-old Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder tops the senior circuit in WAR and ranks second in OPS and runs scored. More importantly, he’s the catalyst for a team contending for its first playoff berth in two decades.

McCutchen talked about his approach to the game — and what it means to wear a Pirates uniform — last week at Wrigley Field.

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McCutchen on why he plays baseball: “It’s what I want to do and it’s what I’ve always wanted to do. Ever since I was 5 years old, it’s been the sport I really love. It’s really that simple. I could do other things, but not only can I play this game, I love playing this game. That’s been the case ever since I was a very young age.”

On baseball history: “History means a lot. You pay attention to what happened back in the day, from the early years all the way to where we are now. That’s especially true when you’re playing somewhere like we are today, in a ballpark like Wrigley Field. It’s the oldest park in the league and the more you know about it, the more you’re going to appreciate it. History is definitely a big part of this game.

“One of the reasons I appreciate being in a Pirates uniform is the greats who have worn it in the past. There was Bill Mazeroski hitting the walk-off home run to win the World Series. There was Roberto Clemente wearing the number 21. There was Pops: Willie Stargell. There was Dave Parker: Cobra. To think about all the players who have worn this uniform, being a part of this franchise means a lot to me. A lot of great players have played this game, and I’m just happy to be a part of the black and gold. Read the rest of this entry »