Niko Kavadas drawing rave reviews in Worcester for his plate discipline
Niko Kavadas drawing rave reviews in Worcester for his plate discipline
Niko Kavadas has had an awfully good start to his Triple-A career since his promotion on July 12th. The former 11th round pick has moved rather quickly through the Red Sox system due to his impressive offensive numbers at every level so far.
His promotion to Worcester hasn’t slowed him down.
It has still been a fairly small sample size for Kavadas at the level, but through his ten games with the WooSox he is carrying an OPS above .800 with a home run and four RBIs. He also has ten walks over that span. His plate discipline has been on full display since his promotion. His manager has already raved about it.
“Incredible plate discipline is what stands out the most.” WooSox manager Chad Tracy said. “It just feels like he is in a three-ball count almost every single time he walks up there. Obviously, like everybody else, he will chase every once and awhile but his are very limited. He does not swing at a ball outside the strike zone. He will take ball four and will walk to first. I have been impressed that when he gets into a positive count, he is ready to turn it loose if something shows up in an area that he feels like he can handle it. The biggest thing that stands out is that you better throw it over the plate to him and if not, you are going to end up behind in the count. He does an incredible job at that.”
Kavadas is no stranger to being in a count that is in his favor.
“It’s been a part of my game for as long as I can remember.” Kavadas told Beyond the Monster. “I have always prided myself on swinging at the right ones and taking the right ones. If you look at the way expected numbers flow after ball one verses strike one, it is huge. If you can give yourself the best opportunity to be successful, that is by taking balls and being aggressive on balls you can handle. That doesn’t necessarily mean taking a ball because it’s a ball, but it’s taking a ball or a strike because it’s out of a zone I can handle. If the ball comes out of his hand and I don’t feel like I can hit it over the fence, I am more than okay with taking it even if that means strike one.”
That mindset is a big reason why the former Notre Dame product moved so quickly through the Red Sox lower minor league levels.
“Last year was quick.” Kavadas added on his rapid promotions. “You get into the organization and there are hundreds of people you have to meet. You try to familiarize yourself with all of the players and staff. I was lucky enough to move after the first half in 2021 and I played for a few months in Greenville, and I had the opportunity to move again and that was exciting. The season came to an end, and I was lucky enough to go play in the fall league. I got to meet an incredible group on four different teams. You can learn so much from each group you are with and the way they are cohesive and the way they help one another, and the way people go about their business individually.”
Just two years after being drafted, Kavadas is now seeing success at the Triple-A level at the plate. Many hitters struggle in the transition to the level, but Kavadas already has a good idea of what adjustments need to be made.
“I think the misses are smaller and more competitive.” Kavadas said. “You can’t determine out of the hand if it’s a ball. You really have to track it. A lot less on competitive pitches and a lot more pitches in the shadow that aren’t necessarily pitches that you can really drive but are pitches you need to handle if you want to be successful at this level.”
Worcester has been quite popular this week with a handful of major league guys rehabbing. We have seen Chris Sale, Reese Mcguire, Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock, Kaleb Ort, and Trevor Story all around the clubhouse this week. Story has left his mark on previous rehab stints and this one is no different.
“That’s something getting into minor league baseball I had no idea that was a thing.” Kavadas said. “I didn’t know big leaguers came down and was one of you for a day. Last year in Portland, Story came down to rehab for a bit and that was an eye-opening experience for me to get to watch him and see how he goes about his business and pick his brain a little bit. He is really disciplined in the way he does all of his things, so I have taken that and made sure I disciplined myself to that same level because you dream of being a guy like Trevor and playing in the league and being successful the way he has as long as he has.”
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