After a breakout 2014 season, Lucas Duda has performed even better this year. Hitting in the third spot of the order, Duda is blistering hot with a .347 average and 8 RBI.
“He is on the verge of absolute stardom, right on the cusp,” Mets hitting coach Kevin Long said. “He has strength and size and ability and aptitude and work ethic. He is hitting lefties and he is going to keep hitting lefties. I think he is close to having no deficiencies.” (Joel Sherman)
Duda is in fantastic physical shape, which is a direct result of Mike Barwis’ intense training program.
As Barwis explains, Duda moved from his home in Southern California to Port St.Lucie this off season in order to “put in every hour to be there to make it work”.
“If you drive a VW Bug and then you drive a Ferrari, you will notice the difference,” Barwis said. “The reality is that [for a body] Lucas Duda now has a Ferrari.”
“There is no baby fat in that body any more,” Long said.
Despite Duda’s outstanding production, he still shies away from the spotlight.
“That,” Duda said about being a star, “has never crossed my mind one bit. This is a humbling game.”
“He is a modest man and wouldn’t say it himself, but if I am a pitcher, that is a big boy that can turn on a ball now and send it to whatever village he wants to send it to” Barwis said,
Thoughts:
Duda is also continuing to be more aggressive at the plate. He’s attacking more pitches early in the count, and he is drawing fewer walks.
I think this change in approach is an underrated factor in Duda’s development into a dangerous power threat.
In the past under former hitting coach Dave Hudgens, he would often be too passive.
As soon as the Mets moved on from Hudgens, Duda started to flourish.
Duda struggled with a .236 average and a .710 OPS in 2014 before Hudgens was fired. However, he posted a .874. OPS under Lamar Johnson, and he currently looks fantastic with Kevin Long as the new hitting coach.
