L.J. Hatch, infielder
Anchorage Bucs
New Mexico State
Hatch, of Shawnee, Kansas, hit .270 with 35 RBIs in 56 games as a junior at New Mexico State.
What is something you try to emulate from a Major League player?
"I've taken a bunch of stuff from a bunch of different players. I don't really try to focus on one player, I just try to take bits and pieces from each one of them because they're all similar.
"Most of the time if I'm trying to fix something with my hitting, I'll fix something with my stance, like open it up a little bit, or try a leg kick like Jose Bautista or Josh Donaldson (both with the Blue Jays) — just to change it up a little bit so I get a little bit more feel."
What is a bad habit you need to break?
"Probably one of my bad habits is kind of lunging at the ball when I'm hitting. Sometimes I'll get too eager to hit it so I'll go try to get it instead of letting it come to me."
Do you have any baseball superstitions?
"I wear the same the same thing everyday. Not everything, but the bare-basics like I just keep everything the same. I listen to the same music and all that stuff."
Gum, sunflower seeds or chew?
"I'm neither. Not on turf, but if we're on a natural field I'll chew seeds, but that's about it."
Brady Batten, right-handed pitcher
Chugiak Chinooks
Northeast Texas Community College
Batten, of Bryan, Texas, had a team-high 57 strikeouts in 51 innings and was 0-8 in his freshman season at Northeast Texas CC.
What is a tip you've learned from watching Major Leaguers?
"Mainly just how they control themselves and how they pitch each batter is the main thing I watch. You learn a lot from watching those guys 'cause they're there for a reason."
"(I watch) Felix Hernandez, Colby Lewis, I also like to watch Cole Hamels pitch a lot."
What is a bad habit you need to break?
"I just gotta stay calm, that's the main thing. You want to tense up sometimes, but you just gotta stay relaxed and chill up there."
Do you have any baseball superstitions?
"I always put my left shoe on first. That's the main one. That's about it. If I don't it's not gonna (be) good, I guess, in my head. I don't know."
Gum, sunflower seeds or chew?
I love Copenhagen. I love tobacco. Can't do it on the field, but that's my choice."
Hunter Davis, right-handed pitcher
Anchorage Glacier Pilots
Duke University
Davis, of Atlanta, saw 13 innings of action in his freshman season, striking out 12 and posting a 4.15 ERA while registering no decisions.
What are your initial thoughts on Alaska and the league?
"It's been awesome so far. A lot of cool guys on the team, pretty relaxed, so it's been a lot of fun."
How is it pitching to wood bats?
"It's nice to throw to wooden bats, because (there are) less cheap hits, sort of. It makes the games a little cleaner and (there are) more strikes. It's easier to throw in the zone and not have to worry about guys getting cheap hits (like) Texas leaguers with metal bats. It's nice."
What are you looking forward to most while you're in Alaska?
"Looking forward to going fishing for sure. I've heard a lot of stories, Jack Labosky, he's a Duke guy who was up here last year, I got to hear all his fishing stories for a whole year, so I'm really looking forward to that."
What is a tip you've learned from watching Major Leaguers?
"I would say there's a lot of guys, not necessarily watching, but you read stories about their routines and things like that. It's cool to come up here and have guys from all different schools and see what they're routines are like and pick up things here or there."
Gum, sunflower seeds or chew?
"I would say I'm a seeds guy for sure. They've got a good selection up here. Salted caramel is new for me, from the East Coast."