It is interesting to look at his numbers so far in May.
The BABIP has normalized to .316.
The walk rate has jumped sharply 21.6%, helped undoubtedly by hitting in the eight spot.
Yet his OPS remains an anemic .593.
The obstacle to his becoming a productive hitter is the strikeout rate. 27% in May. Just a little higher than what is has been so far in his major league career. This is what he has to bring under control Watching him the last few series, it is clear to me he has to cut down his swing with two strikes. Become more of a Punch and Judy hitter with two strikes. I also think he takes too many good pitches early in the count. He needs to jump on those more aggressively.
The BABIP will bounce up and down from month to month. He will have occasional spikes of power. But we need to look past all that and focus on the strikeout rate. He has to bring that down to become a productive major league hitter.
Last edited by nsacpi; 05-14-2017 at 10:02 AM.
Swanson by month since call up...
August: .279/.319/.326, 6.4% bb 19.1 k
Sept: .313/.378/.500, 9.9 bb 25.3 k
April: .156/.200/.233, 5.3 bb 25.2 k
May: .286/.403/.449, 17.7 bb 27.4 k
Obviously we're dealing with SSS, but could this indicate Swanson is a slow starter? It appears as his bb rate goes, so goes he
I think that showing better selectivity and laying off some of that heavy diet of sliders was a helpful adjustment, and I'm sure it's contributed to his resurgence. I have to say, though, that batting eighth has probably had something to do with the increased walk rate, as well. Still, it's great to see him picking it up.
bravesfanMatt (05-20-2017)
He's had 300 career plate appearances in the majors now. While not a large sample, his overall career numbers probably provide the best picture of who he is as a hitter.
.246/.316/.384 with a 9.6% walk rate and 24.8% strikeout rate.
The walk rate will probably be a bit higher as long as he stays in the 8 spot.
Career BABIP so far is .316, which seems about right.
I agree that he will be ok if he can get his K% down. I don't think the problems he is having can be solved by sending him to AAA. AAA will just mask the problem. Most likely he would see maybe one pitcher a night that could really challenge him. I'm sure he would be hitting at a high level if he was in AAA this year and no one would know he couldn't hit a slider.
In general that usually is the issue for players like Swanson. Above average walk rate and moderate power. A high K% will make them mediocre at best. Get that into the upper teens and they will be good hitters. Lower that into the low teens and your looking at players like Jeter.
auyushu (05-20-2017), Managuarantano's Volunteers (05-20-2017), nsacpi (05-20-2017)
Given that he wasn't hitting at a high level in AA when he was called up last year this is clearly not a logical conclusion. Not that I want him sent down to AAA, it'd be nearly pointless at this juncture, but acting like he wasn't being challenged in the minors is complete BS.
Bregman had a whopping 78 ABs in AAA, and his numbers are actually better across the board from last year in the majors except for his power. Which I doubt he stays at a .100 ISO all year. He's actually an example of someone who should have stayed in AAA for a while longer I'd say, much like Swanson. Anyone can have a 100 AB hot streak and put up insane numbers in short stretches.
Including Renfroe as an example in this discussion is a bit off I'd say, he struggled in the minors for years before breaking out last year, and had major swing and miss issues even then. He's always been a huge bust candidate, which is why he's never been higher than a 40ish ranked prospect.
Last edited by auyushu; 05-20-2017 at 03:36 PM.
Which is about what should be expected of him. They are both 15ish HR power kind of guys, though Bregman probably has a smidge more upside. Who was predicting Bregman to be more than that though? Most the scouting reports I've seen on him had him in the 50-55 power range.