Levine on Seaton

Good article from Zach Levine on Ross Seaton, and how he's trying to stay out of his own way at Lancaster.

Seaton:
"Just stay relaxed, let my body do everything and get out of my own way. I tend to overthink things a lot. Just get the ball, see where I want to throw it and just throw it there."

Ricky Bennett:
The mental approach isn't the only thing the Astros are trying to change. According to assistant general manager Ricky Bennett, who runs the farm system, they are working on a couple mechanical issues, trying to keep Seaton over the rubber longer and lower his arm slot.

"He's doing everything we've asked him to do, it just hasn't translated into games yet," Bennett said.

Manager Tom Lawless:
"This year he hasn't been able to find the command he had last year; he's gone through some changes. He's got plenty of velocity, it's just a matter of being able to throw it over the plate."

Levine points it out, but let's all remember that Seaton is 20, and won't be 21 until September. Yes, his ERA is up almost a run and a half from last year, and his hits are up 2.4H/9innings. His Ks are only down to 5.3 from 5.8 per nine innings, and his walks are up almost a full walk (3.4, as opposed to 2.6). But he has shown improvement this month. His groundball rate jumped to 45% from 40.5% from June to July. His WHIP is down from 1.95 to 1.36 in the same period, and he's struck out 14 batters and walked seven, as opposed to 9K:13BB in June. He's also been fairly unlucky this season, with July being the first month that his BABIP was under .300 (topping out at .387 in June).