New swing has Pirates first baseman Travis Ishikawa in a better place at plate

Travis Ishikawa came to spring camp with no guarantees.

He was a nonroster invite with scratch-off lottery ticket odds of making the 25-man roster. The only reason he was invited at all was the Pirates failed to find a left-handed platoon partner for Gaby Sanchez via trade or free agency.

What he did have was a new swing.

The altered approach helped Ishikawa make a Cinderella run to a roster spot in March, beating out Andrew Lambo to become an unlikely platoon fit for Sanchez. Ishikawa is off to a strong start, batting .308 with a home run in the first week of the season. He has started five of the first six games at first base as the Pirates have faced all right-handed starters to begin the season. The Pirates return to play against another right-hander in the Cubs’ Edwin Jackson at 8:05 p.m. Tuesday at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Ishikawa’s swing adjustment was born in a nondescript warehouse-type structure near Ishikawa’s offseason home in Southern California. It is there that private hitting instructor Craig Wallenbrock has studied the swings of nearly every successful major league hitter over the last 25 years. Ishikawa was introduced to Wallenbrock by his agent when Ishikawa was drafted by the Giants the 21st round in 2002 out of a Seattle-area high school.

“He’s watched so…

via New swing has Pirates first baseman Ishikawa in a better place at plate | TribLIVE.