June 7th, 2016 at 6:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka It’s a word that we often hear in the game of baseball and it’s as old as the game itself – “adjustments.”
Pitchers adjust to hitters, forcing hitters to readjust to pitchers, forcing pitchers to readjust to hitters … and so on and so on. It’s an endless cycle and the good ones – both pitchers and hitters – continue to do so throughout their entire careers. Those who do not usually aren’t in the game very long.
It also happens very quickly. One need look no further than Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson as a prime example of this. During Pederson’s rookie season last year, the then 23-year-old Palo Alto, California native slugged 20 home runs before the All-Star break. He hit only six after the break and tied a franchise record with 170 strikeouts. Clearly the pitchers adjusted to Pederson but Pederson was unable to readjust to the pitchers.
Enter Corey Seager – the Dodgers 2012 first-round draft pick and the guy who was ranked number one on nearly every prospect list this year.
Through the Dodgers first 59 games, Seager leads the team in games played (58), at-bats (230), runs (38), hits (65), doubles (12), home runs (14), RBIs (35), batting average (.283), and is second in triples (1), slugging percentage (.526) and OPS (866) … and he’s only 22 years old.
Seager has had three multi-home run games this season including two in his last four games. It appears that he is adjusting well to the adjustments being made on him. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)
How is this possible? How can a 22 year old kid in his rookie season be this good? Better still, how does he have the ability to adjust to the best pitchers in the world … and then readjust to the adjustments they’ve made on him?
“A little bit,” said Seager, when asked if he’s noticed adjustments already being made to him. “It’s one of those things going back and forth. It’s going to be like that the rest of the way out now, so it’s one of those things you’ve just got to make adjustments to.”
Sounds simple, right? But it most definitely is not – at least not for the majority of Seager’s teammates, who are hitting a combined .235 (including Seager’s .283) on the season – which ranks 12th in the National League and 27 in the MLB.
So what is it then? What has already made the Charlotte, North Carolina native one of the most feared hitters in the league?
“It’s one of those [things] where you’re getting good pitches, you’re putting good swings on them,” said Seager after his second multi-home run game in three days and third of the season. “It’s one of those things that you hope you get good pitches every night but you don’t. They’re good pitchers, they’re big league pitchers, that’s what they’re supposed to do, they’re supposed to make pitcher’s pitches. Right now they’re kind of over the plate and [I’m] getting some hits.”
Although pitchers will undoubtedly make adjustments and readjustments to Corey Seager in the coming days, weeks, months and years, it’s probably safe to say that he will make adjustments to their adjustments … and so on and so on.
…just as the great ones have done for 147 years.
Posted in 
Seager’s hitting mechanics are so fundamentally sound along with an approach where he uses the whole field that pitchers will find that his adjustments come quickly. Not to say that he will not have slumps as he did in the minors, but I think they will be short lived. Now that Trayce Thompson is playing regularly we will soon see how well he adjusts to pitchers adjustments.
Adjustments are made all year long. Except for Pederson. He always swings at strike one and strike three the same – like he’s still in the Home Run Derby. And all hitters need to hit. 1-3 at bats every few days doesn’t work. Unless you’re Tony Gwynn. He could hit in his sleep.
Does anyone know where De Leon is and what he’s doing? Timmons said something about him being stashed in a tank in a garage outside of Pacoima. Timmons says a lot of things.
Spot on about Pederson; cannot recall a player that appears to be either too stubborn, or lazy (perhaps both) to change bad mechanics. De Leon and Stripling are both at Camelback, still on DL, pitching in extended ST. Both appear to be healthy and perhaps just Dodgers trying to conserve their pitches.
That’s exactly what the Dodgers are doing with De Leon and Stripling. Both are at extended ST.
De Leon Tweeted that he would be returning to OKC “soon” and Stripling is ready right now (See article scheduled to post at 8 am PT).
Perhaps we see Stripling on Sunday in SF in place of Bolsinger.
J.P. Hoornstra
✔
@jphoornstra
Jose De Leon (shoulder inflammation) went on the AAA DL. Procedural. He isn’t scheduled to start before Saturday. Can be activated any time.
8:29 PM – 16 May 2016
Second DL stint this season. It is a bit troublesome that it taking so long to get back. Now three weeks.
Thanks. I did read Hoonstra, but I’m not in the twitterverse so hearing that De Leon is, and will be returning soon is encouraging. He by all accounts was the most ready pitching prospect in our system. Sure don’t want him to go McCarthy on us.
De Leon pitching tonight.
I’ll wait until, at least. the end of the regular season before I pass judgement on Seager, remembering what happened to Pederson in the second half last year. Of course I’m hoping that he remains successful.
That’s logical. But Seager does things that are far more advanced than Pederson. Seager shows discipline. He’s less likely to fall off a cliff. Slumps? Sure. But they won’t last a freakin year.
Spot on!
We all keep talking about Joc’s “2nd half”. It really was longer than that, more like 2/3. If my memory is accurate his numbers were already dropping by this time last year. The Home Run Derby, which many blame, had nothing to do with it.
Another thing: Don’t forget Corey’s month as an everyday player last September. He’s completed 3 months now: September amazing, April not quite so good, May kicking behinds. Yes, there was October too, but a small sample size.
Sounds like he’s making adjustments. As he gains experience he’ll be making them faster.
The derby sure didn’t help, just like it didn’t help Puig the season before. I hope they keep Seager out of it this year. Let Bumgardner screw himself up for a few hours of glory.
Corey Seager is about as close to “set it and forget it” as any young player who’s come up in the Dodger organization. I can’t remember any young Dodger, just coming into the league, who was so well put together in all aspects of the game.
Adrian Beltre comes to mind. But early on he wasn’t the complete package like Seager appears to be. Almost like Seager attended “MLB finishing school.” LOL
If you recall, Beltre was the opposite of Pederson. He always struggled in the first half and then went crazy in the second half.
I’ll never forgive the Dodgers for letting the future Hall of Famer get away.
Certainly that was a different Dodgers lifetime ago. It always seemed the Dodgers were the “AAA” farm team for Scott Boras to invade. The team didn’t appear to hang onto the good ones.
Wouldn’t it be great to have a 26 year old Adrian Beltre for five years and 64 million today?… and how insane did that seem 11 years ago?
Adrian likes the hot weather, it seems. When he gets to Cooperstown that will make hat trick for the front-office hall of shame–Pedro, Piazza, and Beltre.