WEST PALM BEACH http://www.marlinsfanproshop.com/authentic-starlin-castro-jersey , Fla. (AP) — A dreadful 2018 season in a way led to LewisA key piece in the trade that sent NL MVP Christian Yelich to Milwaukee prior to the 2018 season, Brinson made the Marlins opening-day roster last season in large part because of a strong exhibition season.That turned out to be part of the problem.“It’s hard to have a guy come in from another organization, has a pretty good spring, you know you see things that you don’t like, but when do you broach that subject?” Miami manager Don Mattingly explained. “When a guy fails, that’s when you are able to broach the subject, and to Lewis’ credit he was open to listening as the season went on and then worked on it in the winter.”After hitting .328 during spring training Wei-Yin Chen Jersey , Brinson managed only a .199 average during his first major league season — and he had to hit .239 over the final month to get the average that high.“He had so many open holes,” Mattingly said. “We’re just trying to close some holes down so he can handle more pitches.”Watching Brinson hit, Mattingly and the Marlins coaches saw a player whose lower body lacked stability. Brinson had a tendency to collapse his lower backside early, throwing his swing off kilter.During the offseason, the 24-year-old Brinson focused on strengthening his lower body and added 15 pounds to his 6-foot-3 frame.“The power’s always been there,” Brinson said. “It’s just getting in a good position to hit and being able to get your ‘A’ swing off all the time. When I connect I know have power, I know I have leverage.”Hard spring contact isn’t new for Brinson. He’s never hit lower than .294 in a spring where he’s received at least 20 at-bats Jeff Locke Jersey , dating back four years.Brinson’s .421 average entering Wednesday’s game against Houston included two multi-homer games.“I think they show the progress you’ve made in the offseason and the hard work that I’ve put in,” Brinson said. “Obviously these games don’t mean a whole lot but for me they do, just showing that I’m ready to compete and ready to solidify my spot.”Mattingly expects Brinson’s progress this summer to resemble his spring statistics more closely.“I think you see a little more solid approach, probably a better understanding of what’s coming,” Mattingly said. “It’s getting ready to happen at the big league level.” Start your week with some of the best Astros links around"Astros NewsFor one hot minute back in July, Bryce Harper was on his way to Houston (Houston Chronicle)And now the Astros might be setting their sights on James Paxton (Climbing Tal’s Hill)With at least one package that would be able to land him (House of Houston)Of course, the need for starting pitching is just one part of the Astros’ offseason outlook (MLB Trade Rumors)Carlos Correa has undergone surgery for a deviated septum that was impairing his breathing (Yahoo Sports)Altuve Cameron Maybin Jersey , also recovering from surgery, says he’ll be 120% ready for Spring Training (CBS Sports)And just to cover all the recent surgery patients, LMJ had a Q&A session with Jake Kaplan (The Athletic, $$$)Astros #21 prospect Abraham Toro has been trending up in the AFL this year (MLB.com)Justin Verlander and Kate Upton welcome their daughter Genevieve to the world (ESPNW)Alex Bregman has added wedding crasher to his resume (ABC 13)Around the LeagueSomeone is going to make Manny Machado a very rich dingus (SB Nation)But he may still get less than Bryce Harper, who was right to turn down that monster contract from the Nats (Beyond the Box Score)Which placed him squarely in the spotlight for free agency this winter (Sports Illustrated)If there’s one thing Joe Mauer did during his career, it was live up to the hype (Baseball Prospectus)There’s a lot on baseball’s agenda this winter (Boston Globe)But on most team’s agendas is signing free agent Patrick Corbin (CUT4)Those who don’t land him may end up offering a bigger haul for Sonny Gray than one would expect (New York Post)They would do well to use FanGraphs’ updated prospect valuation system when doing so (FanGraphs)Mookie Betts is just playing in all sorts of World Series this year (CUT4)