Redbird5 I totally respect you thoughts on this, all your success speaks for itself. Thanks for chiming in.
The Dr. I understand that there are several key factors in hitting and I would probably scrap the rapid fire aspect. I honestly threw that in as an effort to keep the drill moving along while others watched. But I think the competition element of this would keep the team engaged. Just like an effective change up you would want the batter to still look he's making a full swing. Again this is just one more club in the bag. (can you tell I want to get out and play some golf?)
We have a local team (state champs last year) that is know for the fake bunt and slash swing. They are very effective with it. The philosophy behind this drill take a bit of a cue from them. Now certainly the corners are not crashing but the hitter is not fully loaded in that case either.
I had the good fortune to attend a spring training game between The Rays and Red Sox. Will Myers ruled the day hitting. Fact is, he didn't hit the ball out of the park but he didn't look like he was trying to kill it either. He reminded me of the pro golfers I have played with who's swing is seemingly effortless.
Here again, players would need to be trained when to take the club out of the bag. Never on a 3-0 or 3-1 count but on an 0-2 etc.