While Tyler White’s emergence as one of the Houston Astros best hitters was a surprise to most, I wasn’t surprised at all. This is because I watched Tyler tear up the Southern conference when I was at Appalachian State and he was at Western Carolina University. Tyler White won Southern Conference Player of the Year in 2013 hitting .363 with 16 home runs, and a 1.084 OPS, but he didn’t have a prototypical professional body and fell to the 33rd round of the MLB draft. While White still won’t amaze you with his speed, he has lost enough weight to allow him to be serviceable defensively and he can still absolutely smash a baseball. White hit at every level of the Minor Leagues and forced the Astros to put him in the MLB starting lineup on opening day of 2016. Tyler White has had a phenomenal start to his MLB career hitting .274, with 5 Home Runs, and a .919 OPS.
While playing in college, I knew very little about hitting but I always wondered why Tyler White could hit so well, while seeming to be out of shape and below average athletically. Now that Tyler White is in the Major Leagues and I teach hitting, I have thoroughly enjoyed watching him hit from great camera angles because I can understand how he hit some baseballs off of us that still haven’t landed! I hope you enjoy my breakdown of his swing and I encourage all of you to watch this guy hit. #BRSwingBreakdown
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Great write up, one question I have been thinking about, when you guys teach the back leg angle drill,
it seems the back leg is straight but it looks like most Big Leaguers have a slightly bent back leg when they actually get to heel plant? like 2:37 in the video above, Would it be wrong to do the drill with the back leg slightly bent? Just curious.
Thanks,
Brad,
Great question! It all depends on the reason and timing of the bend. If the bend comes from the initiation of the pelvis turn after the lengthening of the leg, this bend is good. If the bend comes from pushing the heel up with the calf or if the bend happens before any lengthening, this is not optimal. I recommend practicing both versions. The version where the leg remains straight is more of an early take or an offspeed adjustment while the second version is the initiation of the turn or a late take. I hope this helps!
-Gabe Dimock