Donaldson says Bichette ‘has the gift’

ATLANTA Josh Donaldson loves the baseball swing. Frame by frame, pitch by pitch, batter by batter.

He studies it, refines it and, attempts to perfect it.

He has a kindred spirit in developing Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette, who is off to a stunning start in his major-league career.

The Bringer of Rain is among the many who are impressed with Bichette’s electrifying debut at the sport’s highest level.

“To see how he moves, to see how athletic he is and how conscious he is at the plate, especially that young, you can see he’s pretty special,” Donaldson said in an interview with Postmedia. “Obviously, he’s a very talented hitter. Some of it he got from his father (former major-leaguer Dante Bichette), but most of it’s on him.”

Despite their differences in age and experience, talking about the swing with both Donaldson and Bichette reveals their intelligence and commitment to learning as much about the art as possible.

In fact, Bichette says he carries a thought from Donaldson with him to every plate appearance.

“I took one thing away from Josh when I talked to him the first time I met him. He said your hands and your lower body always have to be in sync,” Bichette recalled. “That’s something that, ever since that day, I’ve tried to do.”

So how good can Bichette be? Donaldson believes the ceiling is high, providing the young

Jay continues his intellectual approach to one of the basic movements of the sport.

“He has the gift. It’s going to be mental from here on out, being able to stay constantly in the right frame of mind.”