While Oscar Colás and DJ Gladney are at different stages of their careers -- Colás is on the cusp of sticking in the majors, while Gladney is just starting to experience meaningful success in High-A -- they've both focused on tamping down their hyper-aggressive tendencies.
James Fegan covered them (and Clint Frazier, too) in an excellent article for the Athletic, and that's where the similarities in their assignments jumped out to me.
Here's Knights hitting coach Cam Seitzer on Colás:
“One thing we’ve been talking about is hunting his area, hunting his tunnel, whether it be eliminating the outer third or inner third or, top-rail, bottom-rail of the zone, and sticking to that throughout the game, throughout the AB,” said Seitzer. “And he has had a few opportunities since he’s been down, late in game, runners in scoring position, and he has done a great job. Maybe not got the hit, but executed his game plan, which has been great.”
And here's Gladney on Gladney:
“I’ve been taking out a spot visually where I want to swing at every single time, and if the ball comes anywhere in that spot, or anywhere near it, that’s where I want to swing at and do damage,” said Gladney. “This is actually something I’ve just started doing, like, (three) weeks ago, actually. I’ve struggled in the past in trying to figure out how to establish my strike zone. About (three) weeks ago, I just started swinging in one spot, and it has been working for me, so I’ve been sticking with it.”
Gladney sat on Sunday after departing Saturday's game early. He'd played in 30 of the team's first 31 games, so hopefully the off day was a long-overdue day of rest, and not because they're evaluating an injury that will linger a while.
Charlotte 3, Durham 2
- Lenyn Sosa went 2-for-5 with a homer and two strikeouts.
- Oscar Colás, 1-for-4 with a walk.
- Liam Hendriks struck out the only batter he faced to close out the seventh inning.
Highlights:
*Sosa pulled the ball in the air, which is something he could stand to do a little bit more when he's with the White Sox.
Pensacola 9, Birmingham 7
- Alsander Womack went 2-for-5 with a K and a CS.
- José Rodríguez went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Luis Mieses was 1-for-5 with a K.
- Yoelqui Céspedes went 0-for-3 with two walks and two strikeouts.
- Adam Hackenberg, 2-for-4 with a homer.
Winston-Salem 9, Greenville 2
- Terrell Tatum went 2-for-3 with two walks and two stolen bases.
- Loidel Chapelli was 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base.
- Wilfred Veras, 0-for-5 with two strikoeuts.
- Wes Kath, 1-for-4 with a double and two strikeouts.
- Brooks Gosswein: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, 49 of 60 pitches for strikes.
Kannapolis 2, Fayetteville 1
- Jordan Sprinkle went 0-for-.
- Brooks Baldwin, 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles.
- Peyton Pallette: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 38 of 63 pitches for strikes.
