Gavin Sheets Reveals Major Change Padres Coaches Made With Him That Led to Success

Gabe Smallson | Apr 8, 2025

Mar 15, 2025; Peoria, Arizona, USA; San Diego Padres designated hitter Gavin Sheets against the Seattle Mariners during a spring training game at Peoria Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The San Diego Padres are watching a non-roster spring training invite from a 121-loss team rapidly come into his own as a designated hitter.

Gavin Sheets has taken the league by storm after his four previous seasons on the Chicago White Sox. In 10 games so far in 2025, he has 10 hits, six RBIs, and a home run.

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Sheets recently revealed that Padres hitting coach Victor Rodriguez, assistant hitting coach Mike McCoy, and sports science director Nathan Landau are all responsible for a huge shift in his productivity.

The biomechanics layer of his hitting assistance was new for the 28-year-old, but Sheets spoke on the undeniable data.

“It just showed me some stuff in my posture with my body, getting it to move in a better direction, getting it to be in a better spot to where I can fire off my ‘A’ swing,” Sheets said. “If I can clean up my posture and know where my body is at all times, I feel like I can get off my ‘A’ swing. Just getting my body more athletic and using it in my swing in the right way.”

Sheets also touched on trying to ensure he could create the consistency needed to keep up the more efficient swing.

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“You’re trying to break an old habit,” Sheets said, “so I just sat there and hit and hit and hit and hit. … We were just trying to make the muscle memory as quick as possible.”

Six spring training home runs later, he earned a spot in the big league dugout on Opening Day. After enduring a year with the franchise that lost the most games in the modern era of MLB, the love for the game seems to have also returned to Sheets as well.

“It’s been so much fun coming to the ballpark every day, just the excitement I have, waking up, getting ready to come to the ballpark,” Sheets said. “It’s brought the fun back in baseball for me. I kind of lost it there for a year and a year or two, and to get it back and just the excitement of coming every day and being with this team and playing in front of this fan base has been something that I have not taken for granted.”

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