Shea Langeliers has become one of baseball’s best backstops. Building on a 2024 season in which he hit 29 home runs while registering a 109 wRC+, the 27-year-old slashed .277/.325/.536 with 31 home runs and a 132 wRC+. Additionally, he lowered his strikeout rate from 27.2% to 19.7%, and increased his WAR from 2.0 to 3.9. Those numbers came from the Athletics, who acquired Langeliers in the March 2022 trade Matt Olson to the Braves.
Langeliers was drafted ninth overall by Atlanta in 2019, behind Baylor University, and was called “the consensus best catcher in history.” [that year’s] design not mentioned Adley Rutschman” by Eric Longenhagen and Kevin Goldstein. When Langeliers was drafted fifth overall in the Braves’ system in the spring of 2021, our then-analyst duo also opined that “offensive development will dictate his ultimate value, as his defense is currently big-league ready.” As the numbers show, the right-handed hitter’s offense has developed nicely.
Langeliers sat down to talk when the A’s visited Boston in September.
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David Laurila: How have you changed as a hitter over the years? For example, is your swing and alignment different than when you went to pro ball?
Shea Langeliers: “Those haven’t changed much. What has changed is the way I’m mentally ready to hit faster, throughout the process, if that makes sense. A good way to explain it would be that before I release, I can physically pull the trigger on my swing. Because I’m ready to hit earlier in the loading process, I have more time to see the pitch and react to it. It’s a good mental cue for me, too.”
“Another thing is, when I first got into the big leagues, I tried to hit everything as hard as I could, all the time. I’ve dialed that back a little bit. There’s a little more bat control now, so I miss fewer pitches.”
Laurila: Can you explain how you can be ready to strike sooner?
Langeliers: “I guess I’d say I start with it to see. For me, that means starting the loading process earlier. Everything blends together, so if you start it later, you’re rushing through your swing. I like the feeling of… I mean, obviously everyone throws hard, but the slower and earlier I can be, the swing comes out smoother. It’s not as rushed.
“I want to be at the height of my leg kick before the pitcher releases the ball. If the pitcher has released the ball and my leg is still going up in my load – if I start a little late – my launch will be rushed, and a few things can happen. I’m either in and out of the zone, or I dump a little early, back here, so I’m underneath.”
Laurila: Have you always had a leg kick?
Langeliers: “Since I got drafted, yeah. I was a toe tap guy in college, but then got drafted and made a few changes. That’s probably when I made the most changes, when I came up with the Braves.”
Laurila: Has the height of the leg kick changed?
Langeliers: “That’s not something I consciously think about. I let it be what it is, pretty much anywhere my body is comfortable. And really, it starts with being strong on my back leg. If I rush, I’m going to dive forward. Conversely, if I have a good amount of weight on my back foot, I can hold the leg kick long enough to read the pitch.”
Laurila: In terms of approach, do you want to drive the ball towards the middle, or do you want to pull it more to the side?
Langeliers: “It can depend on the pitcher, or it can be based on how I’m feeling that day, but more often than not I think left-center. That said, sometimes when you do that you can get rotational and get in and out of the zone a little too quickly. Then you have to start thinking center field and go straight through the ball. You’ll have some mental cues for that.”
Laurila: Do you normally try to catch the ball in front?
Langeliers: “Yes and no. I think I’ve done a better job of being more adaptable this year. Throughout the at-bat, I’ve been able to adapt better on the fly, whether that’s going to the ball in front or letting it travel a little bit more. Some of that comes from the first and second reads of the pitch.”
Laurila: Do you ever think like a catcher when you’re in the box, or do you try to avoid that?
Langeliers: “I try to keep them completely separate. If I try to think about what their pitch plan is, or what I would throw myself, I just get into trouble. I end up thinking about it instead of just being there to hit.”
Laurila: You talked about dialing back your swing. How exactly do you deal with that?
Langeliers: “The way I’ve thought about it is I don’t tone it down very much. When you’re in a match, the adrenaline kicks in, so you’re still swinging pretty hard. But instead of going up there and thinking, ‘I’m going to swing as hard as I can,’ it’s more about how your body reacts to the pitch. How can I be in time, as we talked about, to hit this ball to left-center.”
Laurila: With a smooth and smooth swing…
Langeliers: “Precisely.”
Laurila: I don’t mean to put words in your mouth…
Langeliers: “No, that’s exactly what it is. If you swing as hard as you can up there, your leg kick might get a little bit bigger. You might start a little later. You might get jerky. It’s one of those feeling things. It’s, ‘How do I get this done with 75% feeling with my swing, like I did at BP?’ Everything starts early and slow, and it goes from there.”
Laurila: Any final thoughts on hitting?
Langeliers: “Besides getting caught up in trying to hit the ball as hard as possible, I was almost obsessive about trying to hit the ball to right-center. If you try to force the ball there… there are a lot of guys who are really good at that, but for me it doesn’t work. Over time, with enough at-bats, you slowly figure out who you are. You find your strengths and lean into them a little bit.”
Laurila: Why did you focus on right-center?
Langeliers: “I wanted to be a complete hitter and use the whole field. But with the swing that I make, even if I’m a little late on a pitch, when I think left-center, I hit the ball hard the other way. When I think right-center, I tend to drop my barrel a little bit early, get under it and kind of carve balls there. That’s obviously not what I want. I want to get behind it, stay through it and hit the balls. hit hard.”
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Previous “Talks Hitting” interviews can be found at these links: Jo Adell, Jeff Albert, Greg Allen, Nolan Arenado, Aaron Bates, Jacob Berry, Alex Bregman, Bo Bichette, Justice Bigbie, Cavan Biggio, Charlie Blackmon, JJ Bleday, Bobby Bradley, Will Brennan, Jay Bruce, Triston Casas, Matt Chapman, Michael Chavis, Garrett Cooper, Gavin Cross, Jacob Cruz, Nelson Cruz, Paul DeJong, Brenton Del Chiaro, Josh Donaldson, Brendan Donovan, Donnie Ecker, Rick Eckstein, Drew Ferguson, Justin Foscue, Michael Fransoso, Ryan Fuller, Joey Gallo, Paul Goldschmidt, Devlin Granberg, Gino Groover, Matt Haag, Andy Haines, Mitch Haniger, Robert Hassell III, Austin Hays, Nico Hoerner, Jackson Holliday, Spencer Horwitz, Rhys Hoskins, Eric Hosmer, Jacob Hurtubise, Tim Hyers, Walker Jenkins, Connor Joe, Jace Jung, Josh Jung, Jimmy Kerr, Heston Kjerstad, Steven Kwan, Trevor Larnach, Doug Latta, Dillon Lawson, Brooks Lee, Royce Lewis, Evan Longoria, Joey Loperfido, Michael Lorenzen, Mark Loretta, Gavin Lux, Dave Magadan, Trey Mancini, Edgar Martinez, Don Mattingly, Marcelo Mayer, Hunter Mense, Owen Miller, Paul Molitor, Colson Montgomery, Tre’ Morgan, Ryan Mountcastle, Carlo Mullins, Daniel MurphyLars Nootbaar, Logan O’hoppe, Vinnie Pasquantino, Graham Pauley, David Peralta, Luke Raley, Julio Rodríguez, Brent Rooker, Thomas Sgese, Anthony Santander, Drew Saslor, Nolan SchanuelMarcus Semien, Giancarlo Stanton, Spencer Steer, Trevor Story, Fernando Tatis Jr., James Tibbs III, Spencer Torkelson, Mark Trumbo, Brice Turang, Justin Turner, Trea Turner, Josh VanMeter, Robert Van Scoyoc, Chris Valaika, Zac Veen, Alex Verdugo, Mark Vientos, Matt Vierling, Luke Voit, Anthony Volpe, Joey Votto, Christian Walker, Jared Walsh, Jordan Westburg, Jesse Winker, Bobby Witt Jr. Mike Yastrzemski, Nick Yorke, Kevin Youkilis
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