Laurila: Q&A with Manny Machado, well-adjusted rookie
From SABR member David Laurila at FanGraphs on September 24, 2012:
For Manny Machado, it’s all about adjustments. The Baltimore Orioles infielder has a lot of them to make. Just 20 years old, he is acclimating to the big leagues — in the middle of a pennant race, no less — after being promoted from Double-A in early August. He is doing so at the hot corner, a position he played just twice in 208 minor-league games.
The third-overall pick in the 2010 draft, Machado was rated the ninth-best prospect in the game by Baseball America in their mid-season Top 50. Since joining the Orioles, he has hit .266/.278.424, with 4 home runs, in 163 plate appearances. He talked about his adjustments prior to Saturday’s game at Fenway Park.
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Machado on moving from shortstop to third base: “Third base is real tough, but it’s been okay so far. It’s definitely different. [The transition] is more of a feel thing, and I don’t completely feel it yet. It‘s coming. The more I play the position, the better I get at it. That’s what we have coaches for. I’m always looking inside for DeMarlo [Hale]. He’s always positioning me in the right place. That makes it easier on me.
“What you see at third base is totally different from shortstop. It’s a different swing path and you can’t really see the pitches. I try to creep in there and see [Matt] Wieters’ signs sometimes. I try to see what pitch is coming so I can anticipate.”
Read the full article here: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/qa-manny-machado-well-adjusted-rookie/
Originally published: September 24, 2012. Last Updated: September 24, 2012.