The Muckdogs hitting instructor, Jeff Albert, is an interesting cat. He's best known for his video analyst of players swings (he used to blog here and here's his Swing Training site.). It looks like his minor league playing experience was limited to 21 ABs on independent teams.
You can't argue with the results he's getting from the Muckdog hitters this season, though. It seems like the entire team has shown improvement over the course of the season.
FutureRedbirds.com posted an interview with Jeff.
Switching gears a little bit, tell me about some of your players. I thought Shane Peterson was an interesting draft pick due to his great college career at Long Beach St., but seeing him on video, he does have that odd two-step swing. Is that at all a concern of yours?
With Shane’s line-drive ability and strike zone judgment, I can see where he had success. The pre-swing move from his draft video is more exaggerated than what he showed up here with, so I wouldn’t say he has a two-step swing that causes concern. Everyone here is striving for a more efficient swing, and Shane is no different. He shows up every day to do his work and sometimes I literally have to kick him out of the cage.
Give me your impressions of the following players: Jermaine Curtis, Frederick Parejo, Colt Sedbrook, Charlie Cutler, Alex Castellanos and Xavier Scruggs.
Curtis is a gamer - he’s made all the plays at 3rd base and swung well from the 3-hole. Hand and foot injuries have kept him out of more games than any of us would like. Parejo had a good showing at the all-star game, having hit the only home run. For him to put together an all-star year after jumping from the GCL last year is impressive, especially when you factor in that he was 17 when the season started.
Sedbrook has been our most consistent hitter to this point, and his swing and approach are a good match - he drives the ball the other way and plays to his strengths in the box. Cutler has settled in and is driving the ball with more authority, which is a good sign considering that he has one of the lowest swing-and-miss percentages within the entire organization. Castellanos just got here and came out swinging - the ball really jumps off his bat towards right-center field. Scruggs has some power and deserves a lot of credit for his diligence. He has probably made the biggest improvement of all the hitters here since day one.
I left this remark in the comments:
I’m surprised Jeff isn’t more concerned about Shane’s swing. To me, it’s a big, loopy, slow swing. He starts with his hands too far forward, and then has a little hitch just before he starts the bat forward. His mechanics rob any chance he has of hitting for power. He only does as well as he does because of exceptional plate discipline.
I wish you had asked about Beau Riportella. To me, he’s the best looking guy at the plate on the team. And he’s been showing consistent and improving results recently. He just needs to reverse his K and BB totals. If he does that, he could evolve into a legit three-hole prospect.
Meanwhile, Mollie Radzinski, who has supplied us with coverage of the team this season, has her own blog and posted about her experience this season as a Muckdogs intern.
First, there are the players. Fresh out of college, these guys have signing bonuses ranging from $940,000 to $1,000. Unlike many of the bigger-league stars, every one of them is willing to sign autographs for fans.
I won’t say there aren’t any egos on the team, but it is hard to have too much of an ego when one has to drive around town on a Huffy bike.
