Hey there,
After batting practice Wednesday, I had the chance to speak with Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer. I enjoy talking with him because he’s always great at breaking down what’s happening with any – or in this case, almost all – his hitters.
One of my questions: What is the main thing he’s seeing from the hitters right now?
His entire answer is below.
“I mean, I feel like the guys are pressing a little bit,” Seitzer told me. “When the offense isn’t rolling – first couple weeks we were doing OK – but when you hit a little bump in the road, it’s like, each guy starts to try and be the guy who picks it up instead of focus on just good at-bats, get the line moving, trust your teammate coming up after you, that he’s gonna pick you up if you don’t get it done. But it’s easier said than done because they all wanna do good and they all wanna help the team. And then, the more outs you make, the more weight on your shoulders you feel, and then it can compound and spiral. Our job as coaches is try and help cut that off at the pass as quick as possible. It’s like, a lot of times they’ll barrel balls and they won’t get any results for it, and then they start trying to do a little bit more on the next one instead of just staying right there.
“We just remind them of that. We’re making tweaks and adjustments mechanically, from guy to guy, day to day. We’ve been facing some good arms, we’ve been facing some good teams. I don’t want to say this the wrong way: I don’t mind struggling due to the fact that we’re facing really good pitching because that prepares us for what’s going to come the rest of the season. You face bad pitching and then you face good pitching, then you’ve got less than no chance. But when you’re facing good pitching all the time, you’re gonna take your lumps, but it’s gonna help prepare you for the long haul.”
I love talking to Seitzer – “Seitz,” as his colleagues refer to him – because of an answer like this. He’s terrific at explaining something in depth and at length. You learn when you talk to him.
There’s a lot to digest in his answer above. We’ll start with the point about the players pressing.
No disgruntled fan wants to hear this, but … players care. A lot. Often, pressing is a result of trying too much and caring too hard.
It’s human nature when things aren’t going well.
“Yeah. This is a stinking hard game,” Seitzer said. “Hitting is one of the hardest things to do. It’s not for a lack of effort, not for a lack of preparation, not for a lack of caring and competing. It’s just, you have to stay within yourself, you have to control your emotions. It’s easier said than done. When guys are hot and they’re rolling, they’re loose as can be and relaxed as can be, and everything’s in slow motion. And when you’re scuffling, it’s like, every pitcher looks like he’s throwing 110 (mph) and you’re not seeing the secondary stuff. It’s a tough time that we’re in right now. We’re gonna get hot, and hitting is contagious. That’s the big thing. We just need (Marcell) Ozuna to rub off on his buddies.”
Ozuna has been the best hitter this season – by a large margin. Ozuna’s 16 homers are more than if you combined the totals of any other two Braves. Matt Olson ranks second on the team in home runs, with eight. Ozuna has driven in 20 more runs than any other Brave. (Olson is second with 29).
And here are more numbers that illustrate the offensive issues:
-The Braves have scored 3.4 runs per game in May, the third-lowest mark in the majors, ahead of Cincinnati and the White Sox, two clubs with losing records.
-The Braves have struck out 10 or more times in 28 of their 54 games – fourth most in baseball.
-The Braves, who are built to homer, rank 16th in baseball with 57 homers.
-Ozuna is the only qualifying Braves player with an OPS above .756.
-This month will end a string of 14 consecutive months in which the Braves have posted a record above .500 over that specific month. They are 12-14 this May. In the 14 losses, they’ve allowed three or more runs. In the 12 wins, they’ve given up two or fewer runs. The pitching is doing most of the heavy lifting right now.
You can tell Seitzer cares. A lot.
Does he feel personal responsibility when his offense struggles? Is it difficult for him to see?
“I mean, it’s no fun when you’re struggling, but it’s not anything that I haven’t been through over 15 years of being a hitting coach,” Seitzer said. “You hit tough stretches, and offenses go into slumps. It’s no fun when it happens and usually when things start rolling again, there’s still no time to relax and breathe easy because usually there’s two or three guys that are struggling when things are going well – which is what happened last year.
“We’d have two or three guys scuffling, but the other six were on fire, and then when the three guys would get going again, two or three of the other guys would start to struggle, and everybody was picking each other up. We were able to cover up when guys were having a hard time, but when you got six or seven guys that aren’t doing what they’re capable of doing – it’s part of the job. It’s part of what I have to do as a hitting coach, is weather the storms and keep looking for the sunshine and pointing guys toward the sunshine, and it’s gonna get better.”
The Braves have to get hot at some point, right? It has to happen, no?
Aren’t they too good to struggle like this all season?
“We’ve got very talented players that got baseball cards,” Seitzer said. “If they all started off like they normally hit and then they hit a rough time in July, nobody would be talking about it because the numbers would be there. But when the numbers aren’t there, you’re not scoring runs and you’re going through a tough stretch early, it gets magnified. It’s all about perspective, really, and these guys are real good about not panicking, and that’s the biggest thing.”
Extra Innings
* Ronald Acuña Jr. on Thursday addressed reporters. He seemed measured in how he was handling a torn ACL in his left knee. It had to be difficult to talk about something so devastating.
One wholesome part: Acuña said he leaned on his family after he tore the ACL in his right knee in 2021. He had a difficult time sitting and watching the games because he wanted to play so badly.
His family dynamic is a bit different this time. He now has young kids: Ronald and Jamal. Jamal wasn’t yet born when his father suffered the injury three years ago.
I asked Acuña how much joy his sons bring him.
“A lot,” he said through interpreter Franco García. “Even the other day, when I was at home, I found myself crying, and I look over and they’re laughing. They don’t know any different, – they’re kids. But just being able to see them laugh like that and just have your family around, it’s what you’re doing it for, and that’s what helps you get through it.”
* On Thursday, left-handed reliever A.J. Minter landed on the injured list with left hip inflammation.
The Braves already are without Acuña and Spencer Strider for the rest of the year. Sean Murphy recently returned after missing two months because of a left oblique strain. Austin Riley sat a couple of weeks because of intercostal inflammation. Ozzie Albies fractured his toe and missed a week. Pierce Johnson spent time on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation. Tyler Matzek is still on the injured list with left elbow inflammation. AJ Smith-Shawver started one game, then landed on the injured list because of a Grade 2 left oblique strain.
I left that all in the same paragraph to emphasize how ridiculous this has been. And it’s only May 31.
* It’s time we give a little love to Ian Mejia, a right-hander in the Braves’ system.
On May 17, Mejia threw a seven-inning no-hitter for Double-A Mississippi against Biloxi. On Thursday, he tossed a seven-inning shutout.
In between those, the 24-year-old allowed five runs over 1-1/3 frames for Triple-A Gwinnett.
But his seven scoreless innings Thursday pushed his Double-A scoreless streak to 29-2/3 innings.
You won’t find Mejia on MLB Pipeline’s list of the Braves’ top 30 prospects. But he’s thrown well all season.
In 51 innings this year, he has a 2.29 ERA, with 58 strikeouts.
* We’ll stay in the minors for this last note.
On Wednesday, Triple-A Gwinnett had the baseball world’s attention for a moment when everyone realized David Fletcher – the infielder – was starting for the Stripers. And he did well! He allowed two runs on three hits over five innings. He struck out six batters.
Earlier in the day, Braves manager Brian Snitker was asked about Fletcher’s recent appearances on the mound.
He ended his answer like this:
“But he’s got a knuckleball. You never know.”
This isn’t a transition to becoming a full-time pitcher, like Charlie Culberson. Fletcher is still playing second base.
But his past few outings have been scheduled. And he’s been throwing bullpen sessions in between them.
Thus far, Fletcher has surrendered eight earned runs over 11 innings.
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