We’re still a week from Grapefruit League games, but that’s not too early to start talking about what we want to watch. Any value in watching spring training games isn’t in looking at players’ stats. Partly, that’s because it’s just such a small sample size. But on top of that, players are testing out new pitches and swings, which can produce results that will never make it into an actual game.
No, if there is any value, it’s in looking at what players or coaches are trying to do, and reacting to success or failure. For instance:
Brooks Lee’s Lateral Movement
Brooks Lee spent the offseason working on two things, and one of them was getting more explosive lateral movement as a shortstop. “It’s kind of like an obvious thing,” said Lee when asked about his offseason focus. “You know, balls hit to me, I’ll make the play, but it’s the ones I don’t get to.” Lee’s range and whether he can handle the defensive workload of a shortstop are major questions for the Twins. So watch how often he gets to balls “in the hole” to his right, or on the other side of second base to his left.
Brooks Lee’s Left-handed Opposite Field Swing
The second thing he worked on was his left-handed swing, specifically hitting the ball to the opposite field. Coming up through the minors, Lee’s strong side was hitting for a high average, especially left-handed. Instead, last year he hit better (.266 BA) right-handed than left-handed (.220).