Sweeney hoping 'minor swing changes' lead to sustained success

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Trey Sweeney arguably helped save the Tigers¡¯ season with his work filling in for an injured Javier B¨¢ez at shortstop down the stretch and into the postseason. Now that B¨¢ez is back healthy and in camp, Sweeney (Detroit's No. 18 prospect) isn¡¯t looking at a shortstop competition, even if there¡¯s a ton of attention around the spot.

¡°At the end of the day, that comes down to the decisions they make,¡± Sweeney said. ¡°I¡¯m just going to come here and keep working hard and competing, and see where that takes me and what my assignment is after that. I¡¯m not too focused on the specifics of it, just continue to work hard and compete.¡±

That doesn¡¯t mean Sweeney is resting on past achievements as the Tigers try to build on last year¡¯s stretch-run success. Sweeney posted a 0.7 bWAR in just a month and a half of play after his mid-August promotion from Triple-A Toledo, with the bulk of his value coming on defense. He slashed .218/.269/.373 with four home runs and 17 RBIs in the regular season, but posted a 32-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 119 plate appearances.

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¡°Obviously there were some struggles there,¡± Sweeney said when asked if fans saw the type of hitter Sweeney believes he is. ¡°Once I started feeling good, I¡¯d like to say yeah, but obviously there¡¯s still a lot to improve on. Just looking to build off that.¡±

¡°Obviously there were some struggles there,¡± Sweeney said when asked if fans saw the type of hitter Sweeney believes he is. ¡°Once I started feeling good, I¡¯d like to say yeah, but obviously there¡¯s still a lot to improve on. Just looking to build off that.¡±

All four of Sweeney¡¯s homers came off breaking balls, despite a 45.5 percent whiff rate against that pitch category, according to Statcast. More concerning for him was a .245 average and a 19.8 percent whiff rate on fastballs. By comparison, he hit .310 off tracked four-seam fastballs at the Triple-A level with a 24 percent whiff rate, and .302 off sinkers with a 15.2 percent whiff rate.

That prompted some work for him this offseason.

¡°Just some minor swing changes, trying to be more on time for the big-league fastball and being ready to hit that,¡± Sweeney said. ¡°That was one thing I struggled with when I got called up last year. I hit some of the offspeed well, but struggled on some of the heaters.¡±

Venti arrival for Spring Training

Tigers players were greeted by a pop-up coffee stand in their parking lot as they walked into the facility for the first day of full-squad workouts. It was a gesture of appreciation from the team for players arriving early in the morning for the start of a long campaign.

¡°The players love it,¡± manager A.J. Hinch said. ¡°We actually did that a few times last season. Everybody needs a boost every now and then, and then you get guys up for physicals at 5 a.m. or whatever.¡±

There was one catch: The specialty on the menu was iced coffee, which is more popular among the players than the coaches.

¡°You know my feelings: Your first cup of coffee should always be hot,¡± Hinch said. ¡°It¡¯s a running dialogue with our players. They know how I feel, and they know how they feel, and we disagree.¡±

Coincidentally, the coffee stand was set up where shortstop B¨¢ez usually parks his Lamborghini. Once the pop-up trailer pulled away, his car was back in its usual spot near the entrance to the facility.

Day 1 highlights

• While pitchers don¡¯t face hitters on the back fields until later this week, Ryan Kreidler stood out in traditional batting practice with some impressive drives to left field.

? Matt Vierling and Andy Ib¨¢?ez got a workout at third base in early infield drills, but both were ready for the task, making acrobatic throws on the run on slow rollers down the line.

? Bligh Madris saw most of his playing time at first base in his midseason callup to Detroit last year, but the non-roster invite is no slouch in the outfield. He helped wrap up Monday¡¯s workout with a leaping catch on a drive to the right-field fence. A young fan was waiting for the ball to land on the other side of the fence, but Madris flipped the ball to him.