Yogi Berra once said, “90 percent of the game is half mental,” and heading into last year, it became apparent the mental side of baseball was holding Yankees prospect Kyle Roller back from a breakthrough.
Roller, an eighth-round draft pick in 2010 from East Carolina University, had seen his numbers plateau in 2013, hitting .253/.347/.427 at Double-A Trenton.
“Paralysis by analysis,” is how former Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre hitting coach Butch Wynegar termed Roller’s plight. “Maybe he analyzed a little bit too much.”
“He had some moves in his pre-swing movement that did not allow him to be in a good position and keep his bat through the hitting zone,” said Yankees vice president of player development Gary Denbo.