After seeing his production decline in his second season at Triple-A Gwinnett, and his major league playing time dwindle, Joey Terdoslavich went to work this winter to fix his swing and approach.
The Braves switch-hitter believed he became too “pull happy” last season in an attempt to hit home runsl. So he spent the winter getting back to basics, shortening his swing and hitting balls to the opposite field. Again and again.
“I didn’t pull anything,” said Terdoslavich, who worked his his dad, Joe, who has been his de facto private hitting coach since he was a kid. “I had an offseason this year; I didn’t go play winter ball, so I got to go work with him. And I’m really happy that I didn’t go play. You can obviously get more experience and stuff (playing winter ball), but I really needed to get in the (batting) cage with my dad, and get in better shape. It was a really good offseason, and I’m excited for the year.”
The work has been apparent in spring training. Terdoslavich hit a three-run homer Sunday and entered Monday ranked among National League Grapefruit League leaders in average (.320, 8-for-25), slugging percentage (.600), doubles (four) and total bases (15).
Spring training stats don’t matter to established veterans and won’t anyone else, either, once teams pack up and head out to start the regular season. But for someone competing for a roster spot, and hoping to see results from offseason adjustments, getting off to such a strong start has been encouraging.
Manager Fredi Gonzalez has to decide who’ll fill bench jobs as well as a potential temporary fill-in for right fielder Nick Markakis, who is progressing in his recovery from neck surgery but hasn’t played in a spring game with three weeks till opening day. Markakis hopes to be ready, but it’s uncertain.
“He’s in the mix,” Gonzalez said of Terdoslavich. Whether it’s one position or a backup at the corner outfield jobs and first base, Gonzalez didn’t say specifically. “All of those,” he said.
Terdoslavich said he spent the first six weeks of the offseason hitting balls off a tee – opposite-field line drives, every day. Then he moved to the hitting facility he’s used for years, he and his dad having their run of the place early before regular customers arrived. Later, the coach at his old Sarasota High School opened the field for Terdoslavich to hit outside.
“He’s pretty good,” said first-year Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer. “He told me he got in trouble last year when he got too pull-happy trying to hit for more power. He said he worked all winter just getting back the other way, staying the other way, both sides, and that’s what he got ingrained. So he’s really having a good spring, having good at-bats.”
Terdoslavich has a .280 career average, .341 OBP and .451 slugging percentage in five minor league seasons, including a gaudy 74 extra-base hits (52 doubles, 20 homers) in 2011 at high-A and a .318 average with 18 homers and a .926 OPS in 85 games at Triple-A in 2013.
Last season his production at Triple-A declined to .256 with 15 homers and a .722 OPS in 569 plate apeparances, and he got only 11 plate appearances in a callup with the Braves after getting 92 PAs in 2013.
There was plenty of motivation to work on his swing this winter, and now it’s paying dividends.
“I’ve always felt like I had a pretty short swing, but this year it feels like I can wait so long (for the pitch), because I’ve shortened it some,” Terdoslavich said. “Working on hitting the ball the other way, staying with that approach in (batting practice), the game. If a ball comes in, then obviously you’re going to turn on it (and pull it). But the focus is to let the ball travel and hit it the other way, and Seitzer loves that. It’s not just slapping the ball the other way, it’s driving it.”
Hhe’s 26 years old and has just 103 plate appearances in the major leagues — .225 average, .320 OBP, .292 slugging percentage — compared to 2,294 PAs in the minor leagues. But he’s shown enough as a hitter to make plenty of people believe he’ll get a bigger opportunity to play in the majors at some point, with Atlanta or another team.
“He’s got a great stroke,” said Seitzer, a former two-time All-Star who was a .295 hitter with a .375 OBP in 12 major league seasons “He’s got a real good idea how to hit. So yeah, if not here, I think he’ll definitely hit somewhere.”
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