Yasmani Grandal focused on right-handed swing

PEORIA, Ariz. -- In the opinion of Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal, there's no such thing as seeing too much left-handed pitching in spring.

Grandal, in his first big league camp with the team after being acquired from the Reds in December in the Mat Latos deal, is a switch-hitter who is looking to get as many right-handed at-bats as he can this month because once the season starts, left-handed pitching is harder to come by.

"If you're lucky, you might see one or two lefties a week," he said. "But not too many teams have back-to-back lefty starters."

So Grandal is focusing as much on his right-handed swing as he can in camp. And if he sees a few left-handed pitchers this spring, well, that's a bonus.

"During the season, the right-hand side doesn't usually get as many at-bats as the left-hand side. That's why you see a lot of guys being better from the left-hand side than the right," Grandal said.

"In Spring Training, you concentrate on that right-hand swing because it's the one swing that takes the longest to get good with. Lefty, it's more natural."

At this point of his career, the more at-bats Grandal gets, the more comfortable he feels. Grandal was the Reds' first-round pick (12th overall) in 2010, and last season was his first full professional season. He hit a combined .305/.401/.500 with 14 home runs and 68 RBIs in 2011.

Grandal hit .307 against right-handed pitchers and .274 against left-handed pitching.

"Lefty, I'm more a gap-to-gap guy, more contact," Grandal said. "Righty, I have way more power than lefty."


(mlb.com)