Xander and Hanley: Wunderkinds at 22

Hanley Ramirez is a good case study for Xander Bogaerts. The early-career personalities differ – Hanley was aloof and Xander is humble – but their profiles have a lot in common. Each came up through the Red Sox system with “Wunderkind” stamped on his forehead and nascent hitting knowledge under his helmet.

A notable difference is their rookie results. Ramirez captured NL rookie-of-the-year honors after being dealt to the Marlins. Bogaerts struggled to find his stroke and, relative to expectations, bombed in Boston. Before drawing too many conclusions, consider that Hanley was 22 at the time, a full year older than his counterpart was last season.

Contextually, Bogaerts was better as a 21-year-old than Ramirez. The youngster’s 2014 numbers weren’t enthusiastic — .240/.297/.362 with 12 home runs – but they came against big-league competition. At the same age, Hanley hit .271/.335/.385 with six home runs in the Double-A Eastern League.

Back when he was a Portland Sea Dog, the 31-year-old slugger had a rudimentary approach. “I like to stay through the middle and hit the ball at the pitcher’s head,” Ramirez told me in 2004. “I like to see what they throw and then react to their pitches.”

A few weeks ago in Fort Myers, I asked him what has changed since our decade old conversation.

“I know what I’m doing now,” responded Ramirez, who is back with his original organization after stints in Miami and Los Angeles. “Before, I just went up to the plate and hit. I tried to have an idea of what the pitcher wanted to do against me, but mostly I just saw it and hit it.”

After initially exaggerating that it took him 10 years to figure things out, Ramirez told me he was “a couple of years” into his MLB career before he gained a true understanding of his craft. Ramirez discovered the video room and learned he “could look at the pitcher, and also at my swing to see what I was doing wrong. From there I could go in the cage and work on it.”

The shortstop-turned-outfielder melded the mental and mechanical, and progressed to where he could “make my hands comfortable so I can get to the pitch I think he’s going to throw me. My legs, too. There are a lot of little things, and it takes time to learn them.”

Which brings us to Bogaerts.

The native of Aruba remains a work-in-progress as he enters his second full year in a Red Sox uniform. Bogaerts looks at a lot of video, but it takes more than studious film study to round out a learning curve. Addressing the nuances of his swing, he told me “the evidence can be tough to see, so I just come to the park every day and keep working, trying to figure it out.”

Bogaerts admitted his swing was often out of sync last season – “It’s not what I wanted, but the result was that way” – and the same issue crept up this spring. Becoming pull-happy has been the bugaboo. Bogaerts is at his best when he’s staying back and driving the ball to the opposite field gap, but he has a tendency to get too rotational and add length to his swing. At times he seems jumpy.

“It’s pretty weird,” said Bogaerts after a Grapefruit League contest. “Today I was thinking, ‘Let’s hit the ball to right field,’ and I ended up being out in front and pulling four or five balls down the line. I told myself. ‘Let the ball travel deep; don’t worry about getting jammed,’ and I broke two bats.’ It’s about getting your timing down and sometimes I just can’t control my body. It doesn’t agree with my mind.”

Much like a young Hanley, Xander is more of a neophyte than a knowledgeable hitter. He wants to discern the pitcher’s attack plan, but when push comes to shove, he looks fastball and reacts. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but until he locks into a comfort zone – until the jumpiness subsides and everything clicks – he’ll remain an unpolished gem (or, if you’re a skeptic, another over-hyped Red Sox prospect).

Projection systems aren’t particularly bullish on Bogaerts – Steamer has him at .260/.320/.416 – which is underachiever territory given his elite prospect status a year ago. But again, Ramirez didn’t heat up until he was 22, and Bogaerts – talented but still rough around the edges – is now 22. It doesn’t take a huge leap of faith to think he will break out this summer. Time will tell.