Looking at the guys Klentak has brought in, I think plate discipline will be a must among hitters, not necessarily 100 walk guys, but I doubt he'd have taken Williams and Alfaro from the Rangers, they're getting Williams to be more disciplined, but Alfaro is really a long way from being a ML hitter. I'm surprised they're that high on Kingery, he struggled with discipline in the minors and the same this season.
The key to hitting in today's ML is not necessarily driving up pitch counts per se, but rather working a count, taking pitches you know you can't hit and hoping they're called balls, and looking for a pitch you can drive. It's not about launch angles, etc., but going to the plate with a strategy and understanding how pitchers are trying to get you out - and knowing how to hit, for example, off speed stuff on the outer part of the plate, too many hitters try to pull that pitch and roll it over to SS, instead you have to take it the other way. Pitchers are adjusting to launch angle hitting with low breaking balls away and high FBs inside, so hitters will learn to adjust or find a new way to make a living.
You have to have bat speed to handle the flood of 95+ FBs you're gonna see, especially later in games, but with pitchers throwing fewer FBs (b/c self-selection of hitters has resulted in most ML hitters able to pound FBs over the plate), but also see and adjust to sliders, curves and changeups. The big, powerful hitter with the long swing is practically obsolete in today's game.