…Nothing, really, but I guess there isn’t a ton of things to write about this time of year.
Before spring training started, I hit on a few things to look for this spring. One of them was about Jarrod Saltalamacchia, walks and how a his approach might carry over to the regular season.
So far, in only 16 at-bats, Salty has walked four times and struck out twice. Granted, not all of his at-bats have come off of major league caliber pitchers. Still, it took Salty 12 at-bats before he struck out for the first time in 2011 and he has walked in four of his eight games played. His four walks are already four more than he had in 25 at-bats last spring and one away from the five he had in 58 at-bats back in 2009.
The Sox don’t need Salty to be an all-star at the plate. They need him to work with the pitching staff, keep baserunners from running wild and get on base enough to keep the lineup turning over.
As a prospect in the Braves organization — seems like forever ago, though he’s still only 25 — Salty was doing a fantastic job of drawing walks, but that didn’t translate right away to the big leagues. In 2008, with the Rangers, Salty held a 13.5% walk rate in 230 plate appearances. The problem was that he struck out a ton (37.4%) and didn’t hit for much power (3 HR, 12 2B). In a super small sample size last season, 24 at-bats/30 plate appearances, Salty drew six walks to five strikeouts.
If Salty can get on base at a .350-plus clip, hit for some power and play good enough defense, he’ll be a very nice value for the Sox in 2011.
Spring stats don’t mean much (or anything at all), but players with a guaranteed roster spots do use this time to work on things. A new stance, a new approach, a new pitch, etc. Salty has shown the ability to be a patient major league hitter in the past. If he keeps showing that skill this spring, there is more than a good chance it translates into the regular season.