Earlier than free agent frenzies and a flurry of trades, the Yankees added a director of hitting earlier this offseason.
Jarret DeHart introduced that he had accepted the job in November. The 30-year-old, who final served because the Mariners’ hitting coach, was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and grew up in Medford whereas rooting for the Bombers.
The nephew of former massive leaguer Invoice Laxton, DeHart performed faculty ball at LSU, Howard and Tulane. He didn’t play professionally, as an alternative becoming a member of Seattle’s group as a coach out of faculty in 2018.
With an strategy that intends to cater to particular person hitters, DeHart will concentrate on participant growth whereas mixing in some main league work. He can be primarily based out of Tampa, the place the Yankees have their participant growth advanced, however will rove across the group all through the season.
Under, DeHart mentioned his profession, rising up a Yankees fan, which prospects he’s most desirous to work with and extra.
*This interview has been edited for readability and size.*
DAILY NEWS: What are your main tasks on this position?
Jarret DeHart: “It’s basically overseeing all of our hitting systems on the player development side. All of our processes, all of our programs. Just making sure that we’re aligned philosophically, moving in the right direction and getting guys ready to perform at the major league level.”
DN: How’d you find yourself within the job? What led you to the Yankees?
JD: “I was with Seattle since 2018 and was in the big leagues with them for the last five years. I was the major league hitting coach/director of hitting strategy. So I guess half of my job was the same as what I’m doing right now, and the other half was being a major league hitting coach, which was very, very challenging. The time constraints of a major league season make it really hard to do anything other than be a hitting coach during the season. So when I got let go in August, and as I was talking to other teams and people were asking me what I wanted to do, I did have interest on both sides. Obviously, there’s things about the big leagues that I really enjoy, but more than that, I really enjoyed the process and the systems and being able to influence the entire player development space, as opposed to just the 13 hitters that are on the major league roster.
“I was talking to a bunch of teams about different opportunities. Some of them were big league jobs. Some of them were roles that were similar to this. The Yankees thing happened pretty quickly. I started talking to them when Migliaccio left for Miami, but then the postseason started rolling, and it kind of got put on the back burner. Once the postseason wrapped up, they got back in touch quickly. I flew down to Tampa for an interview, and the rest was history.”
DN: You held just a few completely different teaching jobs with the Mariners, working your manner up from the minors earlier than turning into their MLB hitting coach in 2021. For you, what’s the largest distinction between working with main league and minor league hitters?
JD: “It’s funny, before I worked in the big leagues, I definitely put the big league guys on a pedestal. You think that they’re super dialed in with their mental game, swing mechanics, all of these things. You just kind of assume they know what they’re doing, and a lot of them do. But the coaching aspect of it was shockingly the same. They fight similar battles. Even going back to when I was coaching in college, it’s very, very similar. The biggest difference is that the stakes are much higher.
“In the lower levels, you’re trying to develop skills. And once guys get to the point where they’re in the big leagues, a lot of the time, you can still improve their skill set, but not to the extent that a 17-year-old is gonna improve. So at that point, it’s much more about optimization, in my opinion, than it is true development. Obviously, you’re always trying to do both.”
Jarret DeHart, as a member of the Seattle Mariners, seems to be on throughout a recreation in opposition to the Chicago White Sox at T-Cell Park on June 10, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Picture by Steph Chambers/Getty Photos)DN: How, if in any respect, do analytics affect your teaching?
JD: “I think you’re crazy if you don’t use them. To me, there’s a distinction between being data-driven and data-informed. A lot of the time, we make assumptions or conclusions off of data that lacks context. Nowadays, we have so much information. It’s so granular. We can look at in-game motion capture and in-game bat-tracking and assess every single movement and micro movement and every piece of a swing’s path. Those things are incredibly valuable, but when you really think about it, even the most granular piece of data is still just the tip of the iceberg.”
DN: Which prospects are you most trying ahead to working with?
JD: “The first one that definitely comes to mind is Spencer Jones. When I was in Seattle, I did draft analysis, and I remember his name because I desperately wanted us to draft him. Clearly, the upside there is huge. Incredible athlete. He’s a great human being based on the conversations I’ve had with him so far.
“I’m really excited about George Lombard Jr. He’s another one that, just going through draft stuff, I really liked him.”
DN: Being from New Jersey, did you develop up a Yankees fan?
JD: “I did. My dad is a diehard Yankees fan. I spent most of my childhood in Medford, which is closer to Philly, but my dad lived in New Brunswick for a long time and was a big Yankees fan. I had pinstriped wallpaper in my bedroom, so I was a diehard too.”
DN: Who was your favourite participant? Did you attend any memorable video games?
JD: “I love a lot of players from that era. Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams, but it’s hard not to say Derek Jeter.
“I went with my uncle to the Phillies-Yankees World Series in 2009 in Philly. To be honest with you, I can’t even remember what happened, but that was the biggest one that I went to. I didn’t go to a ton of Yankees games. Actually, I played at Yankee Stadium at a pre-draft event my senior year of high school. So that was probably my coolest Yankee Stadium memory. I remember playing there and taking dirt and throwing it in a water bottle.”
