The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Freeman healthy, hitting again
Last year, Guardians second base/shortstop prospect Tyler Feeman was in the middle of one of the best seasons of his pro career at Double-A Akron, not far from the big leagues and a few months away from needing to be added to the club’s 40-man roster for the first time.
But in July, his season came to an early end due to a small tear of the labrum in his left shoulder. It ended up requiring surgery. He finished the 2021 season hitting .323/.372/.470 with 14 doubles, a pair of homers, and four steals in 180 plate appearances. He missed time at the end of June with the injury, then tried to play through it a little longer before his season ended early later in July. It was the second time Freeman had surgery to repair the labrum in his left shoulder. The previous one was done over the offseason, so this was the first time it interrupted his season. At least this round, Freeman knew what to expect and was mentally prepared for it.
“The rehab process, everyone knows it’s not fun,” Freeman said. “You try to pick out a win every day. Maintain positive vibes. That got me through it. I had good resources, through talking to our mental performance coaches. They got me through it.”
Even with the second surgery, Cleveland added Freeman to its 40-man
roster during its busy November, making moves to create room to add 11 prospects. It took a few months for Freeman to get back into game action in 2022. The Guardians sent him to Triple-A in late April, where he hit just .232/.339/.343 in 116 plate appearances in his first taste of the highest level of the minors.
“The difference from any level now, they’ll try to find your weakness and once they do, they’ll keep going to it and they won’t stop,” Freeman said of the difference he’s seen in TripleA. “At other levels, they’ll make a mistake or go to something different. But here, they’ll stick with it and they’ll expose you as much as you can. As a hitter, that’s when you have to outsmart the pitcher. That’s the biggest difference.”
In June, Freeman found his footing and took off quickly once he did, showing his ability to put the bat on the ball and rack up hits like he has the rest of his minor-league career. Through June 29, Freeman was hitting .319/.413/.404 with two doubles, two homers and 17 RBI for the month.
“It’s going great,” Freeman said about how his shoulder feels now and how he’s hitting. “The first few weeks were more getting back into the groove. Seeing pitchers. Getting atbats under my belt. Flowing into the season. It
wasn’t a great start. But I
think I’m feeling my swing is back and it’s starting to show.”
Freeman’s strongest skill is his ability to put the bat on the ball. It’s why he has a .312 average in his minorleague career. In 2022, he’s taken his plate discipline to a higher level as well.
He’s walked 17 times this year in 230 plate appearances. His previous careerhigh was 26 walks in 493 plate appearances in 2019. It’s a big reason why he’s getting on base at a .371 rate this season.
“It’s more trusting myself with two strikes,” Freeman said of his approach at the plate. “Trying to get a pitch I can do damage with and shrinking my zone, and getting a pitch I can handle. That’s helped up my walks. It’s taking sliders away that I would roll over to short on, I’m taking them for balls instead of putting them in play. Being selfish with the zone is what me and our hitting coach (Jason Esposito) have been working on.”
Though Freeman isn’t a power hitter, he’s already set a career-high in homers with four despite missing a month of the season and starting out slow in May.
“We’ve been grinding and looking at how to make a better version of myself,” Freeman said. “We’ve been working on getting that pull side open a little more. It’s shown some hidden power I never knew I had.”