David Vidal had a strong 2011 season with the Dayton Dragons and carried that success over to Bakersfield in 2012 before having some struggles after a quick promotion to Double-A Pensacola. Over the last two seasons there have been some swing mechanic changes made. The two videos that I looked at here were from April of 2011 with Dayton and from August of 2012 with Pensacola.
Here in the first frame, pre-swing we can see a few different things going on.
Two things jump out immediately here. First is the position of the elbow. On the left, in 2011, Vidal had a bit of a flap that he did with his elbow. That in turn caused his hands to also be set up a little bit lower in his pre-swing set up (this was eliminated at some point during the 2011 season while with Dayton). As he began his swing, his elbow got into a matching position to the 2012 position, though his hands were slightly lower than they were in 2012.
In this comparison we see the big changes made in what Vidal did with his front foot. In 2011, he employed a big leg kick and then transferred his weight forward. In the 2012 season he had gotten rid of the large leg kick and replaced it with a slight step backward, plant, then step forward as he transferred his weight forward system. Once his foot landed in each set up, things remained the same. His feet are the same distance apart, same rotation, hand position and swing plane.
The numbers between Dayton and Bakersfield were similar and they declined in Pensacola, so we can’t exactly attribute any numerical benefits to his changes. As I have said before in this series, I am not a hitting coach but I do know what I like. Vidal is more quiet in his set up than he used to be, and his step back then step forward weight transfer looks more traditional than his high leg kick he was using in 2011. I like seeing those things.
Video
2011 with the Dayton Dragons
2012 with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Good adjustment in theory (should lead to better timing by getting the front foot down more consistently), but then again, it didn’t show up in the stats (similar but slightly worse in all statistical categories).
That said, I’ll take a third baseman who can give me a near .800 OPS. He just needs to prove he can do it at the upper levels. 2013 will be a make or break year IMO.
Important to remember that Vidal was forced up to AA when H-Rod got hurt. In Bakersfield, he had reduced his K rate and increased his BB rate. In Pensacola those rate went the wrong way, but he still showed solid power. I’m with others who like his swing.
Yeah, I am on the side that Vidal was promoted earlier than he should have been, but circumstances weren’t ideal because of the injury to Rodriguez. Had Rodriguez stayed healthy, I don’t think Vidal would have been in Pensacola until at least mid to late June.
I think Vidal is a very solid prospect, strong glove, potentially solid hitter with solid 3B power. Need to see performance at AA and higher but agree he was a little rushed to AA last year. Will be interesting to see what Reds do with H-Rod if Vidal has a good year and shows he will be the next 3B in pecking order and ready for Louisville in 2014. Watching 3B this year will be interesting, Frazier deserves a full shot at job but if he struggles especially in the field, I could see Dusty playing Hannahan a lot, he is a veteran left handed batter with a very solid glove.