Patience a virtue for hitters who are counted on in clutch

MIAMI -- When Martin Prado came to the plate for the decisive 12-pitch at-bat against New York Mets reliever Tyler Clippard last Sunday, the Miami Marlins couldn't think of a better person in that situation.

Prado delivered, sending a line drive deep enough to left field that Yoenis Cespedes couldn't throw JT Realmuto out as the game-winning run. It marked Prado's second walk-off of the weekend and eighth of his career.

Afterwards, Prado admitted his heart rate felt like a race car, though he tried to treat it like a normal at-bat. He tuned out the noise coming from inside the dugouts, the stands and on the field, but his adrenaline still pumped. He remained locked in and took advantage of his current hot streak.

Still, why did his teammates and coaching staff have supreme confidence in him? As Prado even admitted, he's not a natural three-hole hitter born with hitting DNA like Miguel Cabrera.

According to FanGraphs, Prado's ability to be "clutch" -- how well a player performs in high-leverage situations in relation to a context neutral environment -- calculates at 1.23, which falls into the "great" category and puts him 14th out of all major leaguers.

"Guys late in a game stick to their plan and don't let the pitcher dictate what they're going to look for and swing," hitting coach Frank Menechino said. "They really stick to their approach and they concentrate. A lot of times young hitters and guys that aren't good in the clutch try to do too much. That pitcher out there doesn't want him to beat him. When the hitters recognize that they stick to their approach. No. 1, they take their walks, and No. 2 fight off bad pitches and wait for their pitch."

The 31-year-old infielder -- an All-Star in 2010 -- has played 10 big-league seasons with four organizations, compiling a respectable .283 average with runners in scoring position. His professionalism and demeanor set examples for the inexperienced players on the ballclub.

Last season, Casey McGehee held that distinction and earned the nickname "Hits McGehee" for his penchant for timely hitting as the cleanup batter behind Giancarlo Stanton. It seemed every time he stepped to the plate he would come through with the clutch hit.

After seeing his big-league career dry up in 2013, McGehee had gone to Japan for a year and returned with the Marlins. He boasted an .814 OPS with runners in scoring position. With enough success, confidence played a key role. He stayed selective and inside the ball, not getting fooled or chasing pitches out of the zone.

"That's the biggest thing I think," McGehee said. "When you get confidence in those situations you start having success. Any extra pressure or whatever goes away. You're able to go up there with a clear head and have an approach and be able to work your approach a little bit better. If you're not feeling that good at the plate or whatever those situations sometimes can get you out of it, too, though by throwing all the stuff you may be feeling out the window and just compete. Try to figure out a way to get the job done. Sometimes it can jumpstart you. But once you do get that confidence those situations definitely become easier."

Three months ago, Cole Gillespie had played in just 113 games since 2010 with six organizations. Miami selected his contract from Triple-A New Orleans and provided him with a fresh start.

Unlike Prado and McGehee, he doesn't have the benefit of knowing the pitchers around the league as well because he hasn't been around as long. While film study can help, it still doesn't stack up to actually seeing the repertoire in the on-deck circle or batter's box.

The key to his success (though with a small sample size of 34 at-bats for a .382 average) lies in a consistent approach: finding a pitch up to elevate for a sacrifice fly or on the outside part of the plate to send to the opposite field. His 0.88 clutch meter is considered above average.

"Baseball is baseball wherever you're at," Gillespie said. "I've been playing for a while now, too. I understand the situation. Prado's at-bat -- I felt like with him at the plate, at the time -- he's our best guy to get the guy in less than two outs. He just has great at-bats one after the other. Nothing changes in my approach, really. Just got to know the pitcher's the one in trouble there, so they're going to try and make pitches and you've got to be able to lay off the ones you can't handle as well.

"It helps to see a pitcher in an at-bat. You could look at as much video as you want until you see the guy in the batter's box. It's still a little bit different. It happens with a lot of guys whether it's the minors or big leagues. Lot of guys I haven't seen in the past -- just stay within your approach, see something up with less than two outs. You want to see a pitch up and elevated to go something with. Them being the one in trouble trying to nibble rather than coming right at you."

But that's easier said then done. 

In the case of the Prado-Clippard matchup, Clippard threw pitches that would induce a ground ball and prevent the winning run from scoring. Prado, meanwhile, wanted to get a pitch into the air to end the ballgame. Naturally, both missions conflict.

Upon a full count, Prado fouled off six straight pitches. He shortened his swing and battled, waiting for a mistake until he got hold of a 79 mph changeup. Per FanGraphs, Prado ranks second among the Marlins -- behind Ichiro Suzuki (91.9%) -- in putting the ball in play at an 88.6 percent rate.

"The guys that aren't good at it try to do too much," Menechino said. "The guys that are good at it stick to their approach, stay within themselves and just keep fighting. They basically have the attitude of, 'I will or I won't. I do or I don't. There's no pressure on me. The pressure's on that pitcher.' The more you face the guy the more comfortable you're going to be and when you have the confidence that this guy can't beat you that's when you'll be more selective and that's when you'll be able to foul pitches off and wait for your pitch."

Added Prado: "One of the things that I would remember is I gave the pitcher a hard time. Sometimes the way I say it, 'Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose, but I always go all-in in those kind of situations.' One of the things is God gave me the patience to just be calm. Until you learn this through years of being in that situation, you might not come through, so you learn from mistakes. It's not like I came up to the bigs and did this kind of stuff. It's always a learning process. 

"There might be a couple of guys who are just natural in a situation who are just fearless and have no fear. For me, that's not the case. For me, it's an experience I've been learning because as much experience and situations you can get you get more conscious about the big situation you get into and how you approach yourself. You got to understand that sometimes you might succeed, sometimes you might not. That's the beauty of baseball. It's not like you're always going to come through. The only thing you can is just go that situation up there and do your best."

You can follow Christina De Nicola on Twitter @CDeNicola13 or email her at cdenicola13@gmail.com.