Laurila: Q&A with Seth Smith, evolution of an approach

From SABR member David Laurila at FanGraphs on May 6, 2013:

Seth Smith continues to mature as a hitter. Despite a recent cool stretch, the 30-year-old Oakland A’s outfielder is off to a .283/.366/.455 start. A career year may be in the offing, as well as a shedding of the platoon-player label.

A left-handed hitter, Smith came into the campaign with a career .614 OPS in limited at bats against same-handed slants. This season he is getting more opportunities versus southpaws, and the results have been positive — he’s hitting .345./.387/.586. The sample size is too small to be meaningful, but the same can’t be said of his efforts to fine-tune.

Smith talked about the evolution of his hitting approach — against righties and lefties alike — when the A’s visited Fenway Park in late April.

Read the full article here: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/qa-seth-smith-an-as-evolving-approach/



Originally published: May 6, 2013. Last Updated: May 6, 2013.