Shaw rebounds at plate for River Cats

Entering Triple-A Sacramento's April 26 game with Reno, two Giants hitting instructors were making their rounds in Northern California. Alan Zinter, the new assistant director of player development, and Dave Hansen, the Giants organizational hitting coordinator, sat down with the team's No. 2 prospectChris Shaw.
The Boston College producted, who was drafted 31st overall in 2015, put together a solid resume in his Pacific Coast League debut a year ago, finishing with a .289/.328/.530 slash line in 88 games. This spring, however, Shaw found himself in a lull. His averge had dipped to .229 with one homer in his first 17 games.
So the Giants brass suggested adding a leg lift to his swing in hopes of finding a groove with his timing. Shaw, eager to continue his swift climb up the Minor League ranks, obliged. Ever since, his game has taken off.

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One night after going 0-for-5 with four strikeouts, Shaw went 3-for-4 with a pair of solo homers and a double before the River Cats dropped a 6-5 decision to the 51s on Wednesday at Cashman Field.
As Shaw explained, his new move at the plate corresponds to the start of the pitcher's leg kick, allowing him to feel like he's floating, able to get out in front of pitches and swing at ones he likes.
"I already feel really good with it, honestly," he said. "Obviously, there's going to be days where you don't feel good, and that's not necessarily the leg kick. Some days, you just don't feel good regardless. But the biggest thing is to buy into trying something new and let it take its course. With this little time committed to it yet, I feel good."

With a lengthy baseball career at the age of 24, Shaw said he's comfortable with brushing off bad games. And Monday's bump in the road was no different, even with the new swing on his mind. Still, he was proud to produce again Wednesday after a day off.
"The way I look at it, I'm not going to let this crappy game change how I've been feeling. Leading up to it for four games, I felt locked in. I'd been hitting missles," said Shaw, who was 6-for-16 in the four games before Monday. "That's going to happen though. I've been playing long enough to know you're going to have games where you hit a lot and some when you strike out four times."
Shaw began his bounceback night with a double to right field in the first inning, then put the Sacramento on the board in the fourth with a blast to center, his fourth of the season. Two innings later, Shaw followed teammate Orlando Calixte's two-run homer with his second of the night, giving the River Cats a 4-2 lead.

Sacramento took a 5-3 lead into the ninth. But Las Vegas used two singles and a walk to load the bases with nobody out and tied it when River Cats closer Madison Younginer gave up a two-run single to Mets No. 10 prospect Luis Guillorme. Colton Plaia sacrificed and reached safely to reload the bases and, one out later, Zach Borenstein knocked a game-winning single to right.
In 2016, his first full professional season, Shaw made it all the way to Double-A Richmond then spent 37 games there last spring before a promotion to Sacramento. With the River Cats, he found quick success against tougher PCL pitching staffs and returned hoping for a repeat performance that could translate into a big league callup.
But in a way, he's appreciative of the lumps he's taken, and meetings with Zinter and Hansen have been refreshing. Both were on Major League coaching staffs last season -- Zinter with the Padres and Hansen the Angels -- and Shaw said he's connected with their approaches on timing at the plate.
"I feel like I have a good swing and my hands work really well," he said. "But the biggest thing for me is always timing. When that's going good, everything is good; and when it's not, I'm chasing fastballs."

Moving forward, Shaw said he's not focused on the slow start, his recent resurgence or any specific game performance. Instead, he's concerned with the vision of a pitcher's leg rising from the mound. From there, he now has a better grasp on what to do. 
"More than anything, this has shown me that I need to keep building, keep learning and keep getting better," he said. "This was a really good indicator of needing to learn and adjust.
"The only thing I'm thinking about is being on time, not the pitch location or what pitch it is. Just be on time, and the rest will take care of itself."