Shea Langeliers Talks Hitting

Shea Langeliers has emerged as one of baseball’s best backstops. Building on a 2024 season in which he swatted 29 home runs while logging a 109 wRC+, the 27-year-old slashed .277/.325/.536 with 31 home runs and a 132 wRC+. Moreover, he lowered his strikeout rate from 27.2% to 19.7%, and upped his WAR from 2.0 to 3.9. Those numbers came with the Athletics, who acquired Langeliers in the March 2022 trade that sent Matt Olson to the Braves.

Taken ninth overall by Atlanta in 2019 out of Baylor University, Langeliers was called “the consensus best catcher in [that year’s] draft not named Adley Rutschman” by Eric Longenhagen and Kevin Goldstein. When ranking Langeliers fifth in the Braves system in the spring of 2021, our then-prospect analyst duo also opined that “offensive development will dictate his ultimate value, as his defense is big league-ready right now.” As the numbers show, the right-handed hitter’s offense has developed just fine.

Langeliers sat down to talk hitting when the A’s visited Boston in September.

———

David Laurila: How have you changed as a hitter over the years? For instance, are your swing and setup any different from when you got to pro ball?

Shea Langeliers: “Those haven’t changed a whole lot. What has changed is how I’m mentally ready to hit sooner, throughout the process, if that makes sense. A good way to explain it would be, before release being able to physically pull the trigger on my swing. Being ready to hit earlier in the loading process gives me more time to see the pitch and react to it. It’s also a good mental cue for me.

“Another thing is that when I first got to the big leagues, I was trying to hit everything as hard as I can, all the time. I’ve dialed that down a little bit. There is a little more bat control now, so I’m missing fewer pitches.”

Laurila: Can you elaborate on being ready to hit earlier?

Langeliers: “I guess I would say that I start it to see it. For me, that means starting the loading process earlier. Everything kind of blends together, so if you’re starting it later you rush through your swing. I like the feeling of… I mean, everybody throws hard, obviously, but the slower and earlier I can be, the swing comes out smoother. It’s not as rushed.

“I want to be at the height of my leg kick before the pitcher releases the ball. If the pitcher has released the ball and my leg is still going up in my load — if I’m starting a little bit late — my launch is going to rush, and a couple of things can happen. I’m either in and out of the zone, or I dump a little early, back here, so I’m under it.”

Laurila: Have you always had the leg kick?

Langeliers: “Since I got drafted, yeah. I was a toe tap guy in college, but then got drafted and made a few changes. That’s probably when I made the most changes, when I was coming up with the Braves.”

Laurila: Has the height of the leg kick changed?

Langeliers: “That’s not something I consciously think about. I kind of let it be what it is, pretty much wherever my body is comfortable doing. And really, it starts with being strong on my back leg. If I’m rushing, I’m going to dive forward. Conversely, if I have a good amount of weight on my back foot, I can hold the leg kick long enough to be able to read the pitch.”

Laurila: Approach-wise, are you looking to drive the ball up the middle, or are you more looking to go pull side?

Langeliers: “It could be pitcher dependent, or it could be based on how I feel that day, but more often than not I’m thinking left-center. That said, sometimes when you’re doing that you can get rotation-happy and get in and out of the zone a little too quick. Then you need to start thinking center field and be direct through the ball. You’re going to have a few mental cues for that.”

Laurila: Are you typically trying to catch the ball out front?

Langeliers: “Yes and no. I think I’ve done a better job of being more adjustable this year. Throughout the at-bat, I’ve been able to adjust on the fly better, whether that’s getting to the ball out front or letting it travel a little more. Some of that comes off of the first and second read of the pitch.”

Laurila: Are you ever thinking like a catcher when you’re in the box, or do you try to avoid doing that?

Langeliers: “I try to keep them completely separate. Trying to think along with what their pitch plan is, or what I would throw myself, just gets me in trouble. I end up overthinking instead of just being up there to hit.”

Laurila: You mentioned dialing down your swing. How exactly are you going about that?

Langeliers: “How I’ve thought about it is that I’m not toning it down a whole lot. When you’re in a game, the adrenaline hits, so you’re still swinging pretty hard. But, as opposed to going up there thinking, ‘I’m going to swing as hard as I can,’ it’s more about how your body reacts to the pitch. How can I be on time, as we talked about, to hit this ball to left-center.”

Laurila: With a fluid and smooth swing…

Langeliers: “Exactly.”

Laurila: I don’t mean to put words in your mouth…

Langeliers: “No, that’s just what it is. If you’re up there swinging as hard as you can, your leg kick could get a little bigger. You could start a little later. You could get herky-jerky. It’s one of those feel things. It’s, ‘How do I pull this with a 75% feel with my swing, like I did in BP?’ Everything starts early and slow, and it goes from there.”

Laurila: Any final thoughts on hitting?

Langeliers: “Along with getting caught up in trying to hit the ball as hard as I could, I used to be almost obsessive about trying to hit the ball to right-center. When you’re trying to force the ball over there… there are a lot of guys who are really good at doing that, but it doesn’t work for me. Over time, with enough at-bats, you slowly figure out who you are. You figure out your strengths and kind of lean into them.”

Laurila: Why had you focused on right-center?

Langeliers: “I wanted to be a complete hitter and use the whole field. But with the swing I take, even if I’m a little late on a pitch, that’s when I hit the ball hard the other way, when I’m thinking left-center. When I’m thinking right-center, I tend to drop my barrel a little early, be underneath it, and kind of carve balls over there. That’s obviously not what I want. I want to be behind it, stay through it, and hit balls hard.”

——

Earlier “Talks Hitting” interviews can found through these links: Jo Adell, Jeff Albert, Greg Allen, Nolan Arenado, Aaron Bates, Jacob Berry, Alex Bregman, Bo Bichette, Justice Bigbie, Cavan Biggio, Charlie Blackmon, JJ Bleday, Bobby Bradley, Will Brennan, Jay Bruce, Triston Casas, Matt Chapman, Michael Chavis, Garrett Cooper, Gavin Cross, Jacob Cruz, Nelson Cruz, Paul DeJong, Brenton Del Chiaro, Josh Donaldson, Brendan Donovan, Donnie Ecker, Rick Eckstein, Drew Ferguson, Justin Foscue, Michael Fransoso, Ryan Fuller, Joey Gallo, Paul Goldschmidt, Devlin Granberg, Gino Groover, Matt Hague, Andy Haines, Mitch Haniger, Robert Hassell III, Austin Hays, Nico Hoerner, Jackson Holliday, Spencer Horwitz, Rhys Hoskins, Eric Hosmer, Jacob Hurtubise, Tim Hyers, Walker Jenkins, Connor Joe, Jace Jung, Josh Jung, Jimmy Kerr, Heston Kjerstad, Steven Kwan, Trevor Larnach, Doug Latta, Dillon Lawson, Brooks Lee, Royce Lewis, Evan Longoria, Joey Loperfido, Michael Lorenzen, Mark Loretta, Gavin Lux, Dave Magadan, Trey Mancini, Edgar Martinez, Don Mattingly, Marcelo Mayer, Hunter Mense, Owen Miller, Paul Molitor, Colson Montgomery, Tre’ Morgan, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins, Daniel Murphy, Lars Nootbaar, Logan O’Hoppe, Vinnie Pasquantino, Graham Pauley, David Peralta, Luke Raley, Julio Rodríguez, Brent Rooker, Thomas Saggese, Anthony Santander, Drew Saylor, Nolan Schanuel, Marcus Semien, Giancarlo Stanton, Spencer Steer, Trevor Story, Fernando Tatis Jr., James Tibbs III, Spencer Torkelson, Mark Trumbo, Brice Turang, Justin Turner, Trea Turner, Josh VanMeter, Robert Van Scoyoc, Chris Valaika, Zac Veen, Alex Verdugo, Mark Vientos, Matt Vierling, Luke Voit, Anthony Volpe, Joey Votto, Christian Walker, Jared Walsh, Jordan Westburg, Jesse Winker, Bobby Witt Jr. Mike Yastrzemski, Nick Yorke, Kevin Youkilis