MILWAUKEE – As teammates stretched and played catch in left field before Saturday’s game at American Family Field, Jose Barrero was summoned for early work with hitting coach Alan Zinter at home plate.
For about 30 minutes, it was one-on-one instruction for Barrero, who was called up from Triple-A to be the Cincinnati Reds’ everyday shortstop for the final two months of the season.
Barrero took a lot of swings with Zinter. He hit off a tee. He swung at underhand tosses with Zinter protected by an L-screen 15 feet away. He sprayed balls to left field, center field and right field, knowing he needs to cut down on his strikeouts and improve his approach against breaking balls.