Blue Jays emphasizing swing decisions in bid to become even more dangerous

Hazel Mae and Shi Davidi break down Matt Chapman's first game as a Blue Jays, why his debut was a good sign of things to come, and Toronto's awkward catching situation.

DUNEDIN, Fla. — Majestic as the 426-foot homer Vladimir Guerrero Jr. sent over the left-field wall at 104.5 mph on Saturday was, what really made it impressive was the way he thought out his first plate appearance of the spring.

All-star Aaron Nola started him with a 77.8 mph curveball that the Toronto Blue Jays slugger fouled off. Next came a four-seam fastball at 91.7 that the MVP finalist also sent foul.

Up 0-2, Nola tried to catch Guerrero in between with an 83.7 changeup but could have gotten whiplash turning to see the ball fly beyond BarCare Ballpark’s outfield tiki bar.

“I think he was looking for it a little bit, but in his mind, he's thinking if it’s a fastball 'I’m going to hit into the right field,' which put his timing right on the changeup,” Dave Hudgens, the newly titled hitting strategist for the Blue Jays after three seasons as bench coach, marvelled Sunday. “That's really advanced. That's why he's really good. Not a lot of guys can do that.”

True that, as very few players have the combination of strength, bat speed and swing mechanics that allow him to let the ball get deep as well as strike-zone judgment that makes Guerrero such a dangerous hitter. While there’s a healthy dose of natural talent in that enviable mix, the principles behind his smart swing decisions are something the Blue Jays are emphasizing up and down the organization.

From scoring each batter’s swings based on the opportunity to do damage on the pitch to running creative competitions to encourage good choices, the Blue Jays are trying to find ways to optimize each time their hitters, majors and minors, let it rip at the dish.

 “You do damage on good pitches,” explained Hudgens. “If you swing at the marginal pitch, even if you get a hit -- and a lot of guys can swing at a marginal pitch and get a hit -- more times than not you're going to make an out. And the next pitch maybe was going to be the hanging breaking ball that you were going to hit 400 feet. The key is getting pitches that you can handle and do damage on early in the count and in advantage counts, and battle with two strikes.”

Easier said than done, which is why it’s a skill practised at each level.

Back in the day, coaches and players may have talked about waiting for your pitch, and the emphasis on swing decisions is rooted in that principle. But thanks to various information tools available now, teams can more accurately measure how a swing rates against a hitter’s hot and cold zones, relative to the situation and relative to what else might have been on offer within the at-bat based on what the pitcher was featuring.

The emphasis is on thought process rather than results.

“I try to do it in flips, BP and in the cage, making sure I hone in on a pitch I can hit instead of just getting in the habit of swinging,” said star centre-fielder George Springer. “More good decisions should lead to better results. But it's all about training yourself to be under control, to slow your body down, slow your brain down.”

Like Guerrero, consistently smart swing decisions are a strength for Springer and newly acquired third baseman Matt Chapman. The latter two came up in the Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics systems where swing decisions were emphasized, and the Blue Jays now give their minor-league players a report on their decisions while running a leaderboard.

Last year, few of their prospects dominated quite like infield prospect Leo Jimenez, who posted a .517 on-base percentage with 51 walks against 35 strikeouts in 54 games at low-A Dunedin.

“I don't want to (put) it like that,” Jimenez said with a sheepish grin. “But I am always in one of the top three spots. They try to make it a fun.”

At the major-league level, the Blue Jays have run friendly competitions where the swing-decision leader over a certain period of time, a homestand or a couple of weeks for example, would be rewarded with an upgraded hotel room on the next road trip.

“You like to have fun,” said Springer.

The theory is that such measures help eventually ingrain good habits, something Chapman -- he of the 12.9 per cent walk-rate last year -- picked up in the Athletics system.

“I came in really aggressive and I wanted to learn how to maybe just control the strike zone a little bit more,” Chapman said after hitting a homer and walking in Sunday’s 10-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. “I learned a lot about really being picky with what pitch you want to swing at. Always be aggressive but really be committed to where you're looking for the ball. And for me, I really try to zone up a certain spot. If I'm looking for a ball here, if it's not in my zone I'm trying to lay off. I don't want to make any easy outs or give away at-bats.”

That’s important for the Blue Jays, who last year had the impressive combination of leading the majors with 262 homers while also having the fewest strikeouts at 1,218. They were also tops in average exit velocity at 90.3 m.p.h., third in hard hit percentage (95 or more) at 42.3 per cent, but 20th in walks with 496.

Each incremental gain there will have a significant effect on how many runs they score because of the quality of hitter they run up and down the lineup.

“We're really deep,” said Chapman. “If we can all continue to grind out at-bats and pick-and-choose our spots when to jump on guys and when to maybe work guys, this lineup is going to give pitchers a hard time.”

To that end, Teoscar Hernandez set a goal of “getting on base more -- I want to take more walks,” for this season. A two-time Silver Slugger award winner, his walk percentage has declined from 9.7 per cent to 6.1 per cent over the past three seasons and a little more discipline he figures will reap big dividends.

“Just approach, just a plan,” he said of how he’s going to get there. “Based on how they're pitching you, you can kind of figure it out whether you're going to get a good pitch or you're not going to get good pitches to hit. Especially in this lineup, they're not going to throw you anything close. They know we can do damage so I'm going to try to be more and more patient at the plate and try to not miss the pitch I know I can hit.”

Done successfully, the Blue Jays can make an already daunting lineup even more difficult to navigate.

“When you're a pitcher and you're looking at our lineup -- who am I going to pitch to, where are the outs -- it's kind of tough to find,” said Hudgens. “If we can take our walks and let the next guy have it, the next guy can do the damage. That's kind of the goal.”

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