By Coach Billy Kehoe, Athletic Hitting Development
Complete Hitters Are Built… It’s Earned!
A hitter does not need a new move because it looks different. He needs a new move only when it gives him a better chance to hit a baseball.
The AHD read
- Name the baseball problem first. Ground-ball rate, timing, balance, adjustability—something real.
- Give the change one job. Don’t change five things and call it development.
- Use video and ball flight together. The swing has to work when the ball is moving.
Walcott changed to change the ball flight
Rangers prospect Sebastian Walcott is a useful example because the report is about purpose, not style. After returning from internal-brace surgery, he and the Rangers worked to simplify his setup, adjust his bat angle and help him stay behind the baseball. The reported target was clear: stop living on the ground and create more damage in the air.
MLB.com reported that Walcott’s ground-ball rate dropped from 46% over 124 games in 2025 to 33.9% across 41 games after his return, while his line-drive rate and power numbers improved. That does not prove a universal mechanical formula. It does show the right development question: what specific baseball problem are we trying to solve?
A swing change has to earn its place.
“Get more uphill” is not a plan
Too many young hitters hear one sentence—“get more loft,” “stay back,” “get your hands inside”—and turn it into a full swing rebuild. That is how hitters lose their best move while chasing somebody else’s look.
AHD does not teach one visual model. We teach a process: establish the hitter’s current pattern, identify what is costing them at the plate, create one clear adjustment, then test whether it makes the hitter more athletic, on time and adjustable.
- Baseline it. Save five to ten normal swings from the same angle. Write down the problem you actually see.
- Change one thing. A quieter move, a better gather, a different bat angle—one thing with one job.
- Move it. Test it beyond the tee: mixed locations, changing speeds and decisions.
- Prove it. Compare before/after video and a baseball result: better takes, more line drives, harder contact or better timing.
What to assess before you “fix” anything
| If you see this | Ask this before changing the swing | Don’t assume |
|---|---|---|
| Rollovers | Is the hitter early, pulling off, or delivering the barrel from a bad position? | “His hands are too fast.” |
| Weak fly balls | Is he under the ball, late, or not creating force? | “He needs more launch angle.” |
| Late contact | Is the decision late, the move late, or both? | “He needs more bat speed.” |
That is the difference between random advice and player development. It is also why every hitter needs a baseline. Your eyes remember feelings. Video remembers the move.
Use SwingChecker as the starting line
Run a few normal swings through SwingChecker™. It is not there to hand a kid a hundred cues. It helps organize what to look at first, so the work has a reason. Then compare the old and new clip from the same angle. If you cannot name the job, you are not ready to rebuild the move.
Great hitting is built, not found. Find the reason. Make the change. Make it earn its place.
Quick answers
What makes a swing change worth keeping?
It must improve a real baseball outcome: timing, contact quality, adjustability or a batted-ball problem. A prettier screenshot is not enough.
Should a young hitter copy a pro hitter’s adjustment?
No. Use the pro example to learn the process: identify the problem, make one intentional change, compare video and test it in game-like work.
Source: MLB.com: Sebastian Walcott’s swing adjustment (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.
