Gunnar came in with RAW TOOLS

Gunnar started with an athletic setup, good balance, and an average bat speed of 62.5 mph. The raw tools were easy to see.

The concern was how he used them. He showed a pronounced hand cast and swayed past his back foot during the load. This created head instability and made his forward move difficult to control. His head continued moving throughout the swing.

Together, these issues lengthened his swing path and limited his ability to adjust.

He didn’t need more tools. He needed them working in the right order.

More speed was part of it. The bigger change was that he could deliver the barrel efficiently when his sequence was connected. His best swings were above 70% on-plane efficiency.

By April the video showed a strong rear-hip coil and hinge, hands staying back while the lower half moved forward, and good rhythm and balance. His hands were creating separation during the stride instead of moving forward with his body.

A major focus was improving Gunnar’s hitting mechanics by developing a firm front side. He worked on landing under control, stabilizing his lead leg, and maintaining his posture through contact. This gave him a stronger base to rotate around, helping him stay behind the ball instead of drifting forward and losing power.

In his JV season Gunnar hit .290 with a .361 on-base and .452 slugging, an .813 OPS. Five of his nine hits were doubles. He drove in 11, scored 13, went 7-for-8 stealing bases, and had quality at-bats 44% of the time.

That summer he hit .365 with a .468 on-base and .530 slugging over 49 games: 42 hits, 12 for extra bases, 42 RBIs, 26 steals in 28 tries, and a 59% quality at-bat rate.

Gunnar has shown he can deliver the barrel efficiently, adjust to velocity, and compete in a big spot.

The remaining work is doing it on every swing: controlling how far he sways back in his load and how much momentum he carries forward.