Spencer Horwitz Talks Hitting

Spencer Horwitz is hoping to show that what he did in the minors can be replicated in the majors, and so far, he’s off to a strong start. Displaying what my colleagues Eric Longenhagen and Tess Taruskin called “a patient, contact-driven approach at the plate,” the lefty-hitting Blue Jays utilityman has slashed .310/.430/.479 with an equal amount of walks and strikeouts over 86 plate appearances since being called up from Triple-A in early June. By comparison, his numbers down on the farm include a .307/.413/.471 slash line and roughly the same number of strikeouts and free passes over parts of five professional seasons. The extent to which Horwitz can continue having this level of success against major league pitching remains to be seen — last season’s 15-game cup of coffee yielded lesser results — but his skillset and upside are promising.

In the latest installment of our Talks Hitting series, the 26-year-old Horwitz discussed how he’s learned and evolved as a hitter over the years, from watching Manny Machado flicking the barrel to challenging himself with high velocity off of machines.

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David Laurila: Let’s start with one of my favorite ice-breaker questions in this series: Do you view hitting as more of an art or as more of a science?

Spencer Horwitz: “Oh, good question. I would say a blend of both. I’ve been blessed in a lot of ways with some hitter-ish things that I can’t explain, but I’ve also learned a lot through the science of hitting.”

Laurila: When did that learning start?

Horwitz: “I think it started when I was in high school, not really knowing what I was looking at, but watching really good hitters and trying to emulate them. Later, I was able to put some true numbers to the data that I was collecting in my mind.”

Laurila: When you watch hitters — especially at a younger age — what are you actually looking at? Moreover, what are you seeing that can be implemented into your own game?

Horwitz: “So, it started with just trying to emulate my favorite players’ swings, because they were obviously doing something right. I wanted to be like them, and then as I got to pro ball and more data was coming out, it was understanding what I was looking for.

“I was watching Manny Machado — I’m from Baltimore — as he was taking off for the Orioles. I loved watching Michael Brantley hit. Matt Carpenter. Those last two are lefties, and I thought they were pretty similar in stature to me — not the biggest guys, not the smallest guys. But yeah, watching those guys and taking little pieces from them.”

Laurila: What were some of the little pieces?

Horwitz: “What I really noticed with Manny was how he kind of flicked the barrel. That was when I was in high school. I remember watching him release the barrel, and I tried to emulate that. And then in High-A, I was really watching Michael Brantley and Matt Carpenter in their setups. I didn’t want big moves — I just wanted some simple moves — and those guys were that. I noticed that they got their knob to the catcher in their setups. I was like, ‘I need to do that.’

Laurila: Can you elaborate on knob to the catcher?

Horwitz: “When you’re standing in there… so, I used to stand with my knob facing toward the third base dugout, from the left-handed batter’s box. Now I’m more trying to get my knob pointed to the catcher as if there was a flashlight at the bottom of my bat.”

Laurila: You mentioned flicking the bat. Can you elaborate on that as well?

Horwitz: “When I was watching Manny, it looked like he was never swinging super hard. It was just effortless power. I remember trying to do that in college and then at the start of pro ball, just like flicking the ball. That’s part of, I guess, the art of hitting. I don’t really know what that means, but to me it stuck.”

Laurila: Hitters typically want a smooth, efficient bat path through the zone. I think of flicking as quick and without much follow through…

Horwitz: “When I think of flicking, I think more of letting your body relax and letting the bat do the work.”

Laurila: In a sense, you’re simplifying your swing by reducing excess effort.

Horwitz: It’s more that what I’m doing is simplifying my setup and getting into a position to where I can swing whenever I want. It’s being in what a lot of people call a launch position. You want to be in a position where you can get your best swing off. I want to be in that as soon as I can.”

Laurila: Ideally getting off your A-swing…

Horwitz: “We’re always chasing our A-swing, but we’re not always going to have it. I’d say that probably 90% of the time we’re not going to have it. I think that goes to competing and to game-planning.”

Laurila: Going by your numbers, as well as your reputation, you do your best not to swing at pitches that aren’t in one of your happy zones. Is that accurate?

Horwitz: “Yes. I think that goes to preparing for what the pitcher does well and what he’s trying to do to me. It’s also understanding what I do well and what I don’t do well. And you can train swing decisions. Today, I’m going to be out there doing a machine that will probably be cranked up to about 95 [mph]. A lot of guys are just going to be doing arm. I’d say that probably 80-90% of the league is probably doing arm BP, but I like challenging myself in practice. I like getting the velocity and the different pitch shapes, whether it’s sinker, four-seam, cutter, slider, curveball. We can do all different sorts of things.”

Laurila: Changing direction, which of your numbers do you most care about?

Horwitz: “I’d say a combination of a few. I think line drive percentage is really important. I think chase rate is really important. I’d say hard-hit rate is important. Those three things. If you’re hitting the ball hard on a line and swinging at the pitches you should be swinging at, I think you’re a really good hitter.”

Laurila: Are you essentially the same hitter now that you were when you got to pro ball, or are you different in any meaningful ways?

Horwitz: “I would say I’m an evolved hitter. I have some traits that I’ve worked on, I have some traits that I fall back on, and there is all the in between. I’m just trying to keep growing as a hitter, just keep getting better and better.”

Laurila: You were a low-round pick, so you’ve had a lot to prove…

Horwitz: “Yes, 24th round out of Radford [University] in 2019. I had a lot to prove, and so far I think I’ve done a pretty good job. Hopefully I can keep it rolling.”

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Earlier “Talks Hitting” interviews can found through these links: Jo Adell, Jeff Albert, Greg Allen, Nolan Arenado, Aaron Bates, Jacob Berry, Alex Bregman, Bo Bichette, Justice Bigbie, Cavan Biggio, Charlie Blackmon, JJ Bleday, Bobby Bradley, Will Brennan, Jay Bruce, Triston Casas, Matt Chapman, Michael Chavis, Garrett Cooper, Gavin Cross, Jacob Cruz, Nelson Cruz, Paul DeJong, Josh Donaldson, Brendan Donovan, Donnie Ecker, Rick Eckstein, Drew Ferguson, Justin Foscue, Michael Fransoso, Ryan Fuller, Joey Gallo, Paul Goldschmidt, Devlin Granberg, Andy Haines, Mitch Haniger, Robert Hassell III, Austin Hays, Nico Hoerner, Jackson Holliday, Rhys Hoskins, Eric Hosmer, Jacob Hurtubise, Tim Hyers, Connor Joe, Jace Jung, Josh Jung, Jimmy Kerr, Heston Kjerstad, Steven Kwan, Trevor Larnach, Doug Latta, Royce Lewis, Evan Longoria, Michael Lorenzen, Gavin Lux, Dave Magadan, Trey Mancini, Edgar Martinez, Don Mattingly, Marcelo Mayer, Hunter Mense, Owen Miller, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins, Daniel Murphy, Lars Nootbaar, Logan O’Hoppe, Vinnie Pasquantino, Graham Pauley, Luke Raley, Julio Rodríguez, Brent Rooker, Drew Saylor, Nolan Schanuel, Marcus Semien, Giancarlo Stanton, Spencer Steer, Trevor Story, Fernando Tatis Jr., Spencer Torkelson, Mark Trumbo, Brice Turang, Justin Turner, Trea Turner, Josh VanMeter, Robert Van Scoyoc, Chris Valaika, Zac Veen, Alex Verdugo, Mark Vientos, Matt Vierling, Luke Voit, Anthony Volpe, Joey Votto, Christian Walker, Jared Walsh, Jordan Westburg, Jesse Winker, Bobby Witt Jr. Mike Yastrzemski, Nick Yorke, Kevin Youkilis.