By Coach Billy Kehoe, Athletic Hitting Development
Complete Hitters Are Built… It’s Earned!
“Be aggressive” does not mean “be in a hurry.” The most dangerous hitters are calm enough to see the pitch and ready enough to hit it.
Three approach rules worth keeping
- Be ready early for a pitch you can drive.
- Trust the zone instead of trying to create a hit.
- When the count gets deep, stay connected to the same simple plan.
Ready early. Not reckless early.
Marlins prospect Max Williams described two changes after time away from the field: visualization and a smaller, more intentional early-count attack area. He also talked about stopping the habit of being too hard on himself and trying to do too much.
That is a clean mental-performance lesson for every hitter. Confidence is not pretending every pitch is yours. Confidence is knowing what you are looking for, being ready for it, and staying composed when the pitcher gives you something else.
Relaxed mind. Ready body. Violent decision.
What “trying too hard” looks like
For younger hitters, trying to do too much rarely looks dramatic. It looks like swinging at the first ball close to the zone because they want a hit now. It looks like changing the swing after one bad at-bat. It looks like taking a good pitch because they were still thinking about the last one.
An approach gives the hitter a smaller job. Instead of “get a hit,” the job becomes: find the pitch you trained to attack and make a good decision. That job is controllable. It also creates better baseball.
- Before the at-bat. Pick a simple hunt: a zone, a speed or a first-pitch visual—not a speech.
- At release. See the ball. Tell yourself yes early without committing to a bad pitch.
- At the decision. Attack the pitch in your window. Take the one that is not.
- After the pitch. Reset fast. Grade the decision, not your worth as a hitter.
Practice the mind like the swing
Give the hitter a scorecard for a short round. One point for naming the plan before the pitch. One for a good take. One for an on-time aggressive swing at the right ball. No points for outcomes alone. The player learns that a line drive can come after a good decision, but a bad decision can occasionally get lucky. We are building the process that travels.
Make confidence observable
Use video to make the conversation less emotional. Does the hitter look prepared when the ball is released? Does the body stay under control in a deep count? Does he give himself a chance to make the same move when he is 0–2 as when he is 1–0?
Use SwingChecker™ to establish the movement baseline, then use the AHD Masterclass to build the processor and mental habits around it. A better approach is not passive. It is a hitter with a plan who is ready to make the pitcher pay.
Quick answers
What is an early-count approach?
It means being prepared to attack a hittable pitch early—not deciding in advance to swing at every first pitch.
How does a hitter stop trying to do too much?
Shrink the job to the next pitch: see it, recognize it, make one honest decision and trust the swing you trained.
Source: MLB.com: Max Williams on his 2026 approach (October 2026). The coaching read is AHD’s; the MLB example is not a universal mechanical prescription.
Don’t collect drills. Build a complete hitter.
