Author Archive: David Laurila

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 »

Jeff Manto stresses approach over mechanics and believes in letting a hitter be himself. The philosophy is paying dividends for the first-year Chicago White Sox hitting coach, as his team currently ranks sixth in MLB in runs scored and fifth in home runs. A big part of that success has been the reemergence of Adam Dunn and Alex Rios, who have flourished under his watch.

Manto shared his thoughts on hitting, and four key members of the White Sox lineup, last month at Fenway Park.

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Manto on Adam Dunn and confidence: “Adam has great athleticism. He really has a good bottom half in his swing, and as big as he is, he has great eye-hand coordination — despite his strikeouts. He has the ability to put a lot of balls in play, although it’s not necessarily happening right now. And he has a great swing path.

“I would define athleticism, for a hitter, as being able get to all parts of the plate. There are some guys who become too mechanical and strictly have the ability to hit middle-in. Athleticism is showing the ability to take a left-handed curveball, or a left-handed slider, that’s down and away and hit it to left-center. Adam can do that.

“Adam’s swing path is… I don’t know if ‘traditional’ is the right word, but it’s a bat path that comes down through the zone. He has some length in his swing behind him and he has great length out in front of him. Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier this year, when respected analyst Jay Jaffe named his Ken Keltner All Stars — aka the best eligible players not in the National Baseball Hall of Fame at each position — his right fielder was Reggie Smith. Some might argue that Dwight Evans or Bobby Bonds would be a better call, but Smith certainly has his bona fides. As a seven-time all-star, he accumulated 71.8 WAR between 1966 and 1982 and hit .287/.366/.489, with 314 home runs. A prolific switch hitter and an excellent defensive outfielder, Smith also had a reputation as a team leader. Now 67 years old, he runs Reggie Smith Baseball Centers in Encino, Calif.

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Smith on watching the game evolve: “When I played, the game was still coming out of the late ’50s, when ballplayers were really looked upon as heroes and role models. The game was played, I think, more for the love of it than for the money. We were making good salaries for the time, but nothing like today.

“I’ve seen the game change. The reasons that the players play the game has changed. I’ve actually seen players come into the game that did so because they were pushed into it by their parents. They were pushed because of the money and the opportunities that were there. I’ve seen players walk away from it for that very reason. They didn’t love the game and were playing it because someone else wanted them to.

“From a cultural standpoint, certainly you’ve seen change. It became more international, particularly as they began to cultivate and mine Latin America countries like Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. Now you’re starting to see them go into other countries like Japan, Korea and even Europe. Along with those changes, you see some of the cultural differences working their way into the game as to how it‘s approached. It has been a bit of shift, but part of that too is caused by a corporate approach to the game. It’s being run more as a business than as a hobby, as it was when I played. Read the rest of this entry »

When Phil Hughes takes the mound against the Red Sox tonight, the New York Yankees right-hander will throw fastballs, curveballs and changeups. It is the three-pitch mix he has featured this year while going 9-8, 4.09 — his FIP is 4.59 — in 19 starts. Unlike past seasons, he will not utilize a cutter or a slider.

Hughes, who began his professional career in 2004, discussed the evolution of his repertoire during a recent visit to Fenway Park.

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Phil Hughes: “When I first signed, I was fastball-slider, with a very occasional changeup — very occasional in that I never threw a changeup in high school. I started pitching when I was 15 years old and by the time I was drafted at 17, I had two years to figure out a breaking ball. A slider is what I learned and it’s what I had when I was drafted and signed.

“When I got to the big leagues, I threw a fastball, a curveball and a changeup. I didn’t throw a slider at all. When I got into pro ball, our pitching coordinator, Nardi Contreras, sort of looked at what stuff I had and figured that a curveball played more into the type of pitcher that I was. He felt that it played into my repertoire better, so I started the process of learning a curveball. It was at the end of rookie ball and on into instructional league when that process started. The peak of my curveball was probably my year in Double-A. It was a really good pitch for me and I threw it all the time.

Read the rest of this entry »