Chris Hatcher, P

[THE_REAL_MIBS]

Full Name: David Christopher Hatcher
Born: 01/12/1985
Birthplace: Kinston, NC
College: North Carolina-Wilmington
Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 190
Bats: R
Throws: R

Selected by the Florida Marlins in fifth Round (155th overall) of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft.

[emkayseven]

Nice fluff piece on his transition to pitcher. He's doing well in AA this year.

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/n...=news_farmalmc

[emkayseven]

Chris Hatcher has pitched parts of the past two seasons in the major leagues for the Miami Marlins.

A former UNCW baseball catcher, Hatcher is up with the big club for the second time in 2012, and with better command that the previous callups.

Before, he sacrificed speed for control, often hitting 96 mph. Now he pitches comfortably at 94. The turning point followed a June return to the minors after allowing four hits, four runs and three walks in 1 2/3 innings of relief at Fenway Park in Boston.

To return to the big leagues, he had to change the way he thinks. Instead of raring back and firing, he went back to Triple-A New Orleans to harness his stuff.

After compiling an 0.77 earned-run average in 37 appearances, the Marlins recalled him Aug. 3. He caught a red-eye flight from Salt Lake City, where New Orleans was playing, to join the Marlins in Washington for a doubleheader with the Nationals.

Since the Marlins brought him back up, he has not given up in a run in four appearances.

However, he still remembers the advice the Marlins gave him while optioning him back to Triple A two months ago.

"They wanted me to go through the order more than once,'' he said. "So I went down there and just really wanted to pitch better.''

Rather than try and overpower hitters with every pitch, he forces contact in early counts to record outs. It allows him to reach back for that extra when the situation, such as runners on second and third and one out, calls for a strikeout.

He also discovered it is OK to pitch around a dangerous hitter and load the bases to set up a possible inning-ending double play.

It is part of his education as a pitcher. We sometimes forget he has only been a pitcher since spring training 2011. In 2010, he played for the Marlins briefly behind the plate before they converted him into a pitcher.

Now he realizes throwing harder is not always smarter, that keeping hitters off balance with well-placed pitches is effective.

"I finally got it through my head that I am a power pitcher, but I still have to pitch,'' he said.

Being a former catcher, he also believes, has accelerated his development on the mound. As a receiver, he could see when a pitcher was rushing his delivery.

Now when he senses he is hurrying, he tells himself to slow the speed of the game down and stick with the game plan.

If the batter wins one confrontation, he no longer dwells on it, but readies for the next hitter.

"I have a mental checklist on how to pitch and I feel like I went down to the minors and got better at that,'' Hatcher said. "My stuff did not change, though. It is the exact same. It is having a plan and sticking to it and I have done a better job of that.''

But he was not in the best frame of mind in the initial outing following his latest recall.

Against the Nationals, he admitted worrying about not making mistakes and blamed his disposition on first-outing jitters.

In fairness, he barely had time to check into the team hotel and arrive at the park for the doubleheader.

"I was a little foggy, but after that first outing it usually clears up a little bit,'' Hatcher said.

I expect Hatcher to remain in the majors the rest of the season. Rosters can expand from 25 to 40 players on Sept. 1.

The rest of the season is an audition for a spot on next year's roster out of spring training.

"If I do what I am supposed to do, the rest will take care of itself,'' he said.

http://www.starnewsonline.com/articl...cher-in-Year-2

[emkayseven]

Chris Hatcher spent the final two months of the major league baseball season on the Miami Marlins' roster.

The numbers – three earned runs in nine appearances – indicate he did well in limited outings during his second stint with the team.

He held right-handed hitters to a .226 batting average and gave up only one walk in his final eight appearances.

However, he only threw in consecutive games twice and had gaps of eight, 15 and 18 days between appearances.

"I think he learned a lot and we think he will be a quality big league pitcher,'' said Jim Fleming, a special assistant to the Marlins president of baseball operations.

Fleming acknowledged it is a difficult transition to excel when pitching sparingly.

The Marlins saw enough to recall Hatcher in June, but returned him to Class AAA New Orleans after allowing four hits, four earned runs and three walks in less than two innings at Boston.

Back in the minors, he continued to overmatch hitters, posting a 0.77 ERA, .196 opponents' average and 11 saves in 47 innings.

"He had a great Triple-A year, but was a little up and down in the big leagues,'' Fleming said. "He has really become a good pitcher and his pitches are getting a lot better, with his slider and changeup. So he has more weapons.

"If you look at his numbers in Triple A, he was dominant. Both times I saw him in Triple A, it was impressive. And anytime you get to the big leagues, especially as a back end of the bullpen guy, you have some good and bad nights.''

Hatcher believes that, in order to start his 2013 season with the Marlins, he must have a good showing in spring training, plus any off-season pitching moves.

While he might end up playing winter baseball in the Caribbean, he felt he threw well to bypass it.

"The only reason I feel like I would go, and this is strictly my own thought process, is to work on my off-speed stuff,'' he said. "But I also thought I threw the ball well enough to where people can see I can get guys out at the major league level.''

Hatcher only became a pitcher two years ago after the Marlins signed him as a catcher in 2006 following his junior season with the Seahawks. As a full-time pitcher, Hatcher has only thrown 120 innings.

"Sometimes I forget too,'' he said. "It is the competitor in me. I want to go out there and be sharp every time. I have to, though, sit back and evaluate and remind myself I have not been pitching that long. I have to build off what I have done.''

http://www.starnewsonline.com/articl...CLES/121019773

[Miamarlin21]

What Chris has done this off-season:

[Miamarlin21]

Apparently he was in a bar fight with Sam Dyson and broke his jaw. Dyson is out six weeks.