I was a J.I.C (just in case) guy in a big league spring training game. We were playing Cinncy in Peoria. This man took one at bat, got a hit, checked himself out of the game and left. It was the first inning…
Minor league pay has changed significantly in just a few years.
In 2019, players at the lowest levels made as little as $290 per week and were only paid during the season, in some cases totaling under $4,000 for the year.
In 2026, salaries range from $710 to $1,250 per week, with most players earning between $18K and $44K annually.
Players are now paid nearly year-round, with housing and meals covered for much of that time.
It’s real progress.
But for many, it still means tight budgets, shared housing and a long grind chasing a big league opportunity.
https://t.co/SWszIyZOVG
Team Venezuela manager Omar López tells the story of "discovering" Jose Altuve when he was just a young ballplayer in Venezuela 🤯
MLB Network + @CapitalOne
The hitter’s swings, foul balls, and takes give you a good idea of his approach. What do I mean?
Fastballs:
Is he late on the FB? Where are his foul balls? Pulled foul? Or over the opposite dugout? Or, is he taking them?
So, if late, this means that we pitch FB in, up, and expand down. If he’s taking them, he might be sitting strike offspeed.
Also, if he’s late on FB, be careful throwing a get me over strike offspeed pitch. You will be doing him a favor.
A good question to ask is, where can we go where his barrel can’t square the ball up?
Offspeed: is he pulling them foul? Are his takes good or bad? Does his swing look comfortable on the offspeed? Where does he chase?
A good tidbit to follow is that we should chase bad swings.
The best hitters in the world can make the adjustment pitch to pitch.
Most players, especially at the HS and below level, can’t do that. So if he takes a bad swing on a pitch, throw it again. If he takes it, throw a different pitch, then go back to bad swing pitch.
Another tidbit is that if the hitter fouls a ball straight back to the backstop, be very careful repeating that, because he just missed it.
Many more nuances to this but this is basic food for thought.