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SURPRISE, Ariz. —If this is the year Luke Hochevar realizes the potential that made him the first overall pick in the 2006 draft, the first step likely occurred last week on a bullpen mound at the Royals' year-round complex.
It is, quite literally, an extra step in Hochevar's windup.
He adjusted his motion at the suggestion of pitching coach Bob McClure by tapping the rubber with his right foot before launching into his delivery.
"It keeps my foot square to the rubber," Hochevar said, "so my heel doesn't come away from the rubber. That makes my direction better. It's a matter of being square to the hitter.
"Plus, it gives me a good rhythm. It's actually really comfortable."
The tap-intro to the windup was once common among pitchers, but its use dwindled over the years. McClure saw it as an easy way for Hochevar to ensure he maintains proper alignment and loads his full power and momentum for maximum effectiveness.
"It keeps you from starting forward before you're loaded," McClure said. "I just felt he wasn't loading, that he was going forward (early) and his arm was having a little trouble catching up.
"When you're in the windup, there's no rush. Get loaded. Take your time to get loaded, so you have all of the time you need to make that pitch."
The tap only works on the full windup. The need to shorten delivery time with runners on base prevents its use from the stretch.
McClure fastened onto the idea of a tap-intro after reviewing tapes in the offseason from each of Hochevar's starts. It is all part of an effort to unlock a 26-year-old right-hander who might rank as the club's most-perplexing enigma.
Hochevar flashed potential on numerous occasions last season but most notably in three dominant starts: an 80-pitch complete game June 12 against Cincinnati; a 13-strikeout performance July 25 in seven innings against Texas; and a three- hit shutout Sept. 18 against the White Sox in Chicago.
And, still, Hochevar finished 7-13 with a 6.55 ERA that ranked as the highest posted by anyone in either league who pitched at least 140 innings.
"Obviously, that's not where I want to be or am going to be," he said. "It pushes you so much to work so much harder to make sure it doesn't happen again. You just get to the point where you say, 'Enough.'
"I threw a lot of good games last year. I threw some games that showed I can really control a game. I feel like I have the stuff to do so, and I feel I have the mentality to do so. It's just a matter of doing it consistently."
The main problem was an inability to limit damage.
Hochevar permitted 109 runs last year in 143 innings — but 67 came in just 17 innings. Had he held opponents to just two runs in each of those innings, his ERA would have been more than two runs lower at 4.47.
"It usually wasn't a matter of getting hit the whole game," he said. "I'd throw five or six good innings but have one inning where I gave up four runs. That's what killed me."
The solution, Hochevar believes, is mental, not mechanical.
"Say I give up two hits to lead off an inning," he said. "I'd let my competitive nature take over and say, 'OK, screw this. Hit this one!' I'd start going harder instead of smarter. I need to step back and go, 'OK, this is what I need to do.' "
The harder-is-better approach worked until Hochevar reached the majors simply because he had the tools to overmatch hitters.
"If I got in trouble," he agreed, "I could just blow it by the next hitter. But not at this level. Now, I've still got to have that competitive nature, but I've got to be smart with it. I've got to find that right level, and that's been an issue for me ever since I came up."
McClure contends critics are too hard on Hochevar; that includes Hochevar himself.
"Doggone it," McClure said, "the guy doesn't even have two years in the major leagues as a starter. Think of yourself in your job when you didn't have two years of experience. You had to be scrambling a little bit. It takes time.
"There's no question in my mind that he's going to figure this out. His mentality and his makeup just tell me that it will happen. I think it will happen this year, too."
Hochevar might already be one step closer.
