Pittsburgh Pirates | New plate approach pushes Jaff Decker toward Pirates roster

BRADENTON -- Like most position players growing up, Jaff Decker wanted to be a guy who could smash home runs.

But Decker spent this past offseason making adjustments to his swing and coming to terms with his role as an on-base specialist.

Both are reasons why he is seeing the ball better this spring, and it could help the left-handed batter add depth to the Pittsburgh Pirates' stellar outfield.

"I had a long talk with (hitting coach Jeff) Branson and worked real hard with a buddy from back home and my pops and just figured out what I need to do to be successful," said Decker, who is hitting .313 with a .421 on-base percentage. "I made some tweaks with my swing. And thank God the hard work is paying off right now, because it's feeling pretty good."

The adjustments at the plate meant ended his toe tap and being more consistent hitting toward the middle of the field.

The results have raised eyebrows in Pittsburgh's front office.

"Given the front three that we have in McCutchen, Marte and Polanco, Jaff would be a very good supplement to those guys," Pirates General Manager Neal Huntington said. "In trading Travis Snider, we took the left-handed bat off the bench. Decker or (Andrew) Lambo could be that. Decker can play all three. He's a good base runner. He's made some really good adjustments with his approach this spring, and it's playing out."

An Arizona native, Decker was drafted out of high school in the first round of the 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the San Diego Padres, which had adopted "Moneyball" principles made famous in Oakland under GM Billy Beane's leadership.

"I got brought up to be a complete baseball player, and I feel like if you can do all aspects of the game, then you have the chance to play anywhere," said Decker, who went 0-for-2 with a walk on Tuesday. "I've gotten dogged a lot for saying, 'A walk is just as good as a hit.' But I feel like it is when you can read a ball in the dirt and steal two, then it becomes a double. A lot of the old-school guys don't see that. But you're getting on base for an Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez, Neil Walker, you are doing something right."

In the minors, Decker was a part of teams that won 100 games on three occasions, proving the Beane tactics that trickled into the San Diego system had worked.

The Pirates acquired Decker, whose father, Kent, has baseball academies all around Arizona, via a trade in 2013.

Last season was his first with the Pirates at the major-league level, and he played in only five games.

A change in his attitude, where he got back to adopting the approach his idol, Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, this past offseason has paid dividends this spring and given Decker a real shot at earning playing time with the Pirates out of camp or later this season.

"I'm 5-10, 190 pounds ... playing at the top of the lineup or the bottom of the lineup and finally accepted that," Decker said. "It was a hard thing to swallow, just because of being that guy, younger, in the middle of the lineup guy. Now swallow that pride a little bit and help this team win in other ways."

Decker's approach at the plate has him trying to hit line drives to get on base.

"For me, it sounds bad, but I'm trying to hurt an infielder," Decker said. "If I think hard one-hopper to short, I'm going to be low on my sights all the way around the infield. That seems to be working lately."

This story was originally published March 18, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Pittsburgh Pirates | New plate approach pushes Jaff Decker toward Pirates roster."