Earlier this week, we explored how modern baseball organizations increasingly build themselves around prototype players, not just stars, but complete offensive systems wrapped inside one athlete. These prototypes don’t merely anchor a lineup. They shape how a team drafts, develops, coaches, and eventually sustains winning at scale.
Several readers, especially TexasGus, asked the natural follow-up question:
“Can you break down the different kinds of prototypes across the league?
I want to see how these elite hitters compare.”
So that’s exactly what this article does. Before we go deep into the mechanics in Part 2, we start with a high-level tour of the seven elite offensive prototypes shaping modern baseball: Soto, Ohtani, Judge, Witt, Guerrero, Tatis, and Acuña.
Think of this as the organizational “map” that sets the stage for next week’s deep dive.
I want to see how these elite hitters compare.”
1. Juan Soto: The Discipline Engine
Organizational Identity: Control, clarity, decision dominance.
Soto is the purest version of a modern plate-discipline prototype. His ability to shrink chaos, extend decision windows, and repeat his swing without mechanical noise makes him the most stable offensive engine in baseball.
Teams built around the Soto prototype emphasize:
strike-zone control
selective aggression
OBP superiority
lineup length through pressure ABs
This model is the foundation the Mets must now build around.
strike-zone control
selective aggression
OBP superiority
lineup length through pressure ABs
2. Shohei Ohtani: The Whip-Based Two-Plane Destroyer
Organizational Identity: Athletic elasticity, sequencing efficiency.
Ohtani’s swing is a whip — loose hands, deep coil, explosive ground-up energy transfer. He covers high fastballs and low breaking balls with equal violence. His prototype prioritizes athlete movers who generate adjustability through sequencing, not stiffness.
Teams aligned with this model look for:
fluid movers
whip-style acceleration
hitters with late adjustability across planes
The Dodgers have fully operationalized this.
fluid movers
whip-style acceleration
hitters with late adjustability across planes
3. Aaron Judge: The Leverage Physics Prototype
Organizational Identity: Height-management, posture precision, controlled violence.
Judge solves a gigantic strike zone through an early-barrel shallowing system built on ulnar deviation and posture maintenance. When that engine is right, he’s the most dangerous power hitter in the sport.
Teams who follow this blueprint emphasize:
posture stability
early flattening mechanics
power with zone control
hitters who understand leverage angles
posture stability
early flattening mechanics
power with zone control
hitters who understand leverage angles
4. Bobby Witt: The Elastic Athleticism Prototype
Organizational Identity: High-speed adjustability.
Witt represents the future: elite athleticism paired with contact consistency and broad zone coverage. His moves are big, but remarkably efficient. He wins with adjustability first, power second.
Organizations following this model prioritize:
athletes who maintain posture at high speed
broad coverage versus multiple pitch shapes
modern contact quality rather than old-school launch mandates
The Royals are building an entire identity around him.
athletes who maintain posture at high speed
broad coverage versus multiple pitch shapes
modern contact quality rather than old-school launch mandates
5. Vladimir Guerrero: The Ground-Force Rotational Prototype
Organizational Identity: Low posture, torque generation, controlled elevation.
Vlad Jr. generates elite impact from ground force and rotational torque. When his posture holds, his launch angle stabilizes. When posture collapses, his GB% spikes.
Teams who use this model emphasize:
hip-hinge stability
posture height
rotational sequencing
controlled, repeatable LA bands
hip-hinge stability
posture height
rotational sequencing
controlled, repeatable LA bands
6. Fernando Tatis: The Elastic Chaos Prototype
Organizational Identity: Explosive movement patterns capable of MVP-level damage.
Tatis stores energy through massive coil, stride length, and fast-twitch elasticity. When timed correctly, he’s unstoppable. When timing drifts, volatility shows up.
Organizations aligned with this engine look for:
elite athletes with high-movement patterns
upside through synchronizing chaos
explosive rotation plus aggression
This is a high-ceiling prototype requiring strong development infrastructure.
elite athletes with high-movement patterns
upside through synchronizing chaos
explosive rotation plus aggression
7. Ronald Acuña: The Torque-Based Athletic Aggressor
Organizational Identity: Aggressive freedom + rotational violence.
Acuña blends loose athleticism with elite rotational torque. His engine generates top-tier EV almost effortlessly. His one vulnerability: over-aggression in shadow zones.
Teams following this model build hitters who:
rotate with ease
keep hands loose at high speeds
maintain controlled aggression rather than passive discipline
The Braves’ system is built to support this exact approach.
rotate with ease
keep hands loose at high speeds
maintain controlled aggression rather than passive discipline
Why These Prototypes Matter
These seven hitters aren’t just great players. They are organizational decision models — templates for how teams can design:
their amateur scouting filters
their minor-league development pathways
their selection biases
their hitting philosophies
their long-term capital allocation strategies
Some prototypes emphasize discipline and decision-making. Others emphasize athletic looseness or torque. Others emphasize posture, leverage, adjustability, or controlled chaos. Each one represents a different pathway to sustainable elite offensive output.
Understanding the prototypes helps you understand the teams built around them; and what the Mets must now become with Soto as the organizational anchor.
their amateur scouting filters
their minor-league development pathways
their selection biases
their hitting philosophies
their long-term capital allocation strategies
16 comments:
VROOM!
I'll take 1 from Column A and 1 from Column B.
More realistic
#1 & 6
Combining 1 & 6 would be a very powerful combination. There is another lens in how great trans combine these archetypes (maybe not at the electric level across the combination to build a powerful engine.
O.K. then why is Tatis available and if so DS has to pounce.
I would expect that with some of these approaches, there may be holes that can be exploited, so I would not build an organizational approach around them - Guerrero for instance. In Soto's case though, a disciplined approach at the plate can fit many players as long as they have the twitch to get around on the ball with the late decision making that is required.
He isn't on the market but that team needs a lot in the future to compete with LAD
I will outline that in my next RANDOM THOUGHTS post
The youngsters are going to listen more to Juan than the Vets
We need sluggers, not sluggards
I read this and pondered it for a while before I responded. Obviously, the talent level of these players mentioned here has to be the biggest variable by far to a player’s production, because no matter the effort, hard to expect a Matt Franconir Joe McEwing to turn into a consistent all-star. Too, how a player treats themselves and their body will play a role (Guerrero).
But, even Michael Jordan worked his butt off. Juan Soto has and keeps working on his craft. To quote my favorite basketball coach of all time, “success comes before work only in the dictionary.”
I’m glad the Mets have one of these guys. Having two would be exciting but having the pitching staff will win championships.
100%
Nicely done: Worth noting however that this is not a set of prototypes with regard to movement patterns, etc. They are prototypes with regard to different aspects of successful hitting approaches, plans and ways of executing efficiently, while mentioning some of the risks and pain points of each. Also some require refinement, for example, Judge, who I had discussed previously in connection with Vientos. There are argued that though for different reasons Vientos and Judge face the problem of a steep path to the ball (Judge due to his height and the need to cover a large strike zone), Judge deals with it, as I specifically noted, by beginning his transition to the forward swing by ulnar deviation of his wrists. Ulnar deviation shallows the plane of a swing and should also work for someone like Vientos. This suggests that a good coach can pick and choose useful adaptations from a wide range of prototypes. It also suggests that while a prototype (in the sense defined above) it is probably a mistake to build an entire hitting philosophy around one particular prototype who happens to be in your system. After all, how many Yankees are over 6'5". In contrast, looking at Judge's approach to shallowing may well be helpful to Wood of the Nationals. and perhaps to players throughout the league whose paths are too steep.
In fact, I might have classified prototypes differently than RVH choosing instead to focus on different aspects of the essential contributors to successful hitting. I haven't thought this through yet, but I would likely include start with a division between Cognitive elements and Physical attributes. The former would include approach, planning, decision making and execution. The latter would include overall athleticism, sequencing, efficiency of movement and energy transfer, use of the ground, and source of power. I personally would find this more useful in constructing templates. Let me give an example by contrasting Piazza with Alvarez. They share the fact that the dominant source of their power is their upper core (to use a distinction first introduced by Dr David Wright who had been a major league pitcher with the Angels and is now a biomechanist working primarily with baseball players and pitchers and is based in Laguana, California). But the difference is that Piazza was amazingly efficient in his sequencing. His lower body created stability and he used a wide stance and shifted pressure forward without a big leg kick, etc. He also generated torque for rotation properly (in a manner I discussed in a previous post by hitting into an internally rotated mid core (upper legs and pelvis) creating a terrific shortened stretch cycle that transferred to upper torso and arms in a way that created a quick bat that arrived with remarkably good timing to the zone. His source of power was his upper core, but he stabilized his movements and transfered energy to his upper body almost elegantly and with virtually no undue movements. Everything he did down below was additive, and it is no surprise therefore that he was able to characterize his swing intention as 'see the ball and hit it'. In this regard, he was similar to Jim Rice. No one is saying Alvarez should have the overall mechanics of someone like Tatis, Acuna or Witt (one of my favorites), but he should be modeled by a good coach to build around his upper core source of power in ways that involve proper sequencing, use his lower body to stabilize his swing and especially his balance (which is terrible), and so on.
Addendum to cognitive elements: swing intention; visualization, discipline. The cognitive elements are too infrequently appreciated. Most take place before you get in the box; then, in my experience as a golfer and working with a lot of good ones, you have to calm your nerves, settle on an intention and it is that intention that determines the mechanics designed to execute it. The entire process of piecing the cognitive and the physical/mechanical together normally goes from not being aware of what you are doing to become alert to what you are doing, to building up the cognitive side while working on drills, to make you consciously aware of what it is like to be more effective, and ultimately to your just being able to do it with a clear mind and peaceful yet directed focus, so that, at the end of the day, you can just be confident that you see it, and if its what you want, hit it.
Jules, great adding you reality-based understanding as a practitioner is so insightful. Love the discourse & expertise.
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