BA Articles on Smokies Players

[BeerHere]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/prospects/prospect-bulletin/2011/2611616.html

 

Love the part where he talks about the development of the changeup.

 

"My changeup's one of my better pitches, actually," McNutt said. "If they took a pitch away from me, I'd rather it be my slider or my curve. I don't want it to be my changeup because I can throw a mid-90s fastball and then pull the string on them, come in there about 85, 86. That's a hard pitch to sit on."

[Guest]

Good read. It was good to get some more clarification on whether he throws a power curve or a slider (apparently he throws both).

 

Ben Badler was at the whole Tennessee series in Zebulon and hinted a Vitters story would be coming soon too.

[Little Slide Rooter]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/prospects/prospect-bulletin/2011/2611616.html

 

Love the part where he talks about the development of the changeup.

 

"My changeup's one of my better pitches, actually," McNutt said. "If they took a pitch away from me, I'd rather it be my slider or my curve. I don't want it to be my changeup because I can throw a mid-90s fastball and then pull the string on them, come in there about 85, 86. That's a hard pitch to sit on."

 

I definitely like the kids confidence.

[Guest]

Ben Badler story in BA on Brett Jackson, Josh Vitters, Ryan Flaherty, Rafael Dolis and Alberto Cabrera: http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/prospects/prospect-bulletin/2011/2611626.html

 

He touches quite a bit on plate discipline with regards to both Jackson and Vitters. Jackson:

 

"I'm an aggressive hitter, but I take pride in my eye at the plate," said Jackson, who is 6-foot-2, 210 pounds. "I like getting on base, I like being a baserunner for a lineup with a lot of big guns, so that's given me the opportunity to score a lot of runs and be on base for some guys who can really swing the bat in our lineup. I do my best to get on base and sometimes I take my chances driving the ball and sometimes it finds some holes."

 

"He has a good idea of the strike zone," Tennessee manager Brian Harper said. "He very rarely swings at bad pitches. He sees a lot of pitches, he can draw a walk. Brett's one of those kids, whatever role you put him in, he'll adjust to it and try to get better at it. You could put him in the three-hole just as easy as the one-hole, and he'll adjust to it. He has the intensity and the desire to do well."

 

At least Vitters is saying the right things:

 

"It's just something that can always be improved on, I think," Vitters said. "Getting good pitches to hit is really one of the keys to hitting. You're just looking for something to handle and drive and drive in runs."

 

"It's just something that still is maturing," he added. "This year I'm starting to realize I don't have to hit a pitch just because it's a strike, especially early in the count. I'm just trying to look for a pitch I can drive, not just make contact with."

 

"I feel that my hand-eye coordination, it's great, but it works against me sometimes," Vitters said. "I'll swing at pitches a little out of the zone and I'll make contact with it. It's definitely something I'm trying to work on, just finding an ideal pitch to hit early in the count and something I can really drive instead of just a pitch to make contact with."