Triston Casas: 'I've been grinding out the pitches the same and grinding out at-bats the same, but I've been having a little more results and I'm happy about that'
The Red Sox finally have a long-term solution at first base in Triston Casas. He finally made his much anticipated major league debut in early September.
Over his first 24 games his batting average has been below everyone’s expectations. The rookie is only hitting .209 in his first 67 big league at-bats. Which is ok considering how he’s handling his approach to every at-bat.
"The numbers will get there," said manager Alex Cora. "We like the approach, the like the process, we like the defense. ... You see him in spring training, it's different. The way he goes about his business is very unique, he's really good, and we're very pleased with how he's handling the big leagues this month."
Casas approach at the plate has seen him work many counts against opposing pitchers. He has seen 18 free passes since his promotion to the majors.
Prior to the Blue Jays series, the 22-year-old has been seeing 4.31 pitches per plate appearance. Casas owns a 21.2 base on balls percent, .376 on-base percentage and a .824 OPS.
The American Heritage High School product has been focusing on the organization’s philosophies on hitting and conditioning while sticking true to what he learned growing up.
Casas added size to his frame, he’s gained 25 pounds since he was drafted. The added size will help him at the plate as he continues to evolve as a hitter while show casing his power.
“I feel like to be a power-hitter you shouldn’t have to hit home runs, one thing that was preached to me at a young age was to spray the ball all over the field” said Casas in an interview back in November 2021 with MLB Network.
“Take what’s given to you not only by the pitcher but the defense and really just have an approach up there and try to execute on a gameplay. I’m big and strong I’m more than capable enough to hit home runs,” added Casas.
He’s been controlling the strike zone, going deep into counts and he’s been trying to focus on finding the middle of the barrel.
"I know a lot of people say it all evens out and this and that, but I like to take every at-bat individually," Casas said. "I felt like early on, my at-bats were pretty lengthy, but I still wasn't making good contact. I wasn't finding the middle of the barrel. Lately I have been. Yeah, I've been grinding out the pitches the same and grinding out at-bats the same, but I've been having a little more results and I'm happy about that."
Casas has been hitting home runs to the opposite field, working counts and playing great defense since his promotion. The Florida native owns first base heading into 2023. Don’t worry that his batting average is low to finish the season, Dustin Pedroia hit .191 over his first 31 games in 2006 and he wound up becoming a .299 lifetime career hitter.
