Andrelton Simmon

[zitothebrave]

Some weird stuff I was looking at today.

From 2012-2014 there were 7 batters in baseball who've struck out under 10% of the time and qualified as hitters. 4 of the 7 hit over .300, 6 of the 7 hit over .280. Then there's Simmons who was at .252. He has more power than some of the guys there, only V-Mart, Brantley, and Reyes hit more total homers than Simmons, Reyes mind you hit 3 more homers in 300 more PA so less power per PA.

Simmons seems to be in a weird quandary. He has shown some pop, but he doesn't seem to make consistent enough hard contact. For a non-power hitter, he pops out too much, he hits a lot of grounders, but they don't seem to go very far. He possesses seemingly a weak dead pull. When I look at his spray chart, from where the SS usually plays to the line is just peppered with ground balls, there's also an obscene amount infront of and around the pitching mound.

Given Simmons's ability to make contact, I cannot help but wonder if he wouldn't be better served playing less like Jimmy Rollins and more like Placido Polanco. I don't mind Simmons taking cuts at pitches he can take out, but he seems to be swinging for the fences all of the time. You see the other people populating the under 10% K rate list, Simmons winds up being the worst offensive player there. Yes even worse than Ben "5 year old power" Revere. To me it indicates that something has to change. Simmons will always be a fine player because of his defense. But if he can get his offense to stick at that 100 wRC+ value, he could be a fantastic player. At the 90 level he's a good player. But overall his numbers have slipped to basically being identical to 2013, though he had more power then but a higher BABIP now.

[nsacpi]

One of these years the BABIP gods will smile on him and he will finish top 5 in the MVP voting.

His BABIP luck is weirdly bad. I know some of it reflects weak contact. But he's also had some bad luck in that department. It seems he goes through stretches where he hits the ball very well but a lot of them get caught.

[50PoundHead]

I agree zito. There was a lot of hubbub in here a couple weeks ago when some folks were calling Simmons a Top 10 position player, but that's not going to happen unless he re-builds himself offensively. I think having Prado around as an offensive role model would have helped him. Simmons is just too pull-happy for my tastes. I don't want him to turn into a Punch-and-Judy slap hitter, but if he learns to drive the ball the other way, it will make him a better all-around hitter.

[weso1]

Nice post zito.

Also, in regards to Simmons, one thing I've noticed is that his value as an elite defensive SS is cut down a bit if you have a good defensive 3b. Uribe is able to get to balls now that CJ had no chance at.

[zitothebrave]

I agree zito. There was a lot of hubbub in here a couple weeks ago when some folks were calling Simmons a Top 10 position player, but that's not going to happen unless he re-builds himself offensively. I think having Prado around as an offensive role model would have helped him. Simmons is just too pull-happy for my tastes. I don't want him to turn into a Punch-and-Judy slap hitter, but if he learns to drive the ball the other way, it will make him a better all-around hitter.

I don't mind pull happy if he's hitting ropes through the hole. Sure it will result in some hard outs but more often than not as a righty it results in a hit about a third of the time which is more or less what we're looking for. I just think he has a bit of an identity crisis. He's not a power hitter but he swings through everything like he's a power hitter. I'm also not in love with his stance and wonder if that's the reason why. But I fully admit, I'm not an expert on swings. I can point out obvious losses of power in hitches but my brain doesn't quite process the correlation between start and stop and stance and result. Especially having watched so many greats do it in so many different ways I think any starting point can be custom tailored to your stengths.

[zitothebrave]

Nice post zito.

Also, in regards to Simmons, one thing I've noticed is that his value as an elite defensive SS is cut down a bit if you have a good defensive 3b. Uribe is able to get to balls now that CJ had no chance at.

Well it helps usually. If Simmons can now shade a little more to 2B he'll get to more balls up the middle. Also I'm guessing it wipes out a percentage of his outs but not a large one.

[mfree80]

I agree zito. There was a lot of hubbub in here a couple weeks ago when some folks were calling Simmons a Top 10 position player, but that's not going to happen unless he re-builds himself offensively. I think having Prado around as an offensive role model would have helped him. Simmons is just too pull-happy for my tastes. I don't want him to turn into a Punch-and-Judy slap hitter, but if he learns to drive the ball the other way, it will make him a better all-around hitter.

I have to stop for a moment and compliment 50 Pound Head. This may be one of the first times I have seen "Punch and Judy" used correctly in a post.

Well done!

[striker42]

It just seems like Andrleton will scuffle, work at it, start putting it together, start hitting the ball well, and then drive it out of the park. At this point he goes homer happy and trys to launch everything and his average falls.

I'd love to see Andrleton take the Tony Gwynn approach. He said he would always try to knock the pitcher off the mount with a hit. If he's early, he pulls it, if he's late, he hits it the other way. Just make solid contact with as much as possible. With his contact ability and natural talent, he should be hitting over .300.

[stpeteirish]

It just seems like Andrleton will scuffle, work at it, start putting it together, start hitting the ball well, and then drive it out of the park. At this point he goes homer happy and trys to launch everything and his average falls.

I'd love to see Andrleton take the Tony Gwynn approach. He said he would always try to knock the pitcher off the mount with a hit. If he's early, he pulls it, if he's late, he hits it the other way. Just make solid contact with as much as possible. With his contact ability and natural talent, he should be hitting over .300.

True, and my completely unsubstantiated theory as to why is that since he is the best glove in the game he knows he's got a job forever so he just does what he wants to at the plate. None of our various hitting coaches have been able to get thru to him. Now I know these hitting coaches have by and large stunk but Simmons has been a constant since he came up. Bad results, but still talented enough to not swing and miss.

[Millwood1Hitter]

True, and my completely unsubstantiated theory as to why is that since he is the best glove in the game he knows he's got a job forever so he just does what he wants to at the plate. None of our various hitting coaches have been able to get thru to him. Now I know these hitting coaches have by and large stunk but Simmons has been a constant since he came up. Bad results, but still talented enough to not swing and miss.

It just seems like Andrleton will scuffle, work at it, start putting it together, start hitting the ball well, and then drive it out of the park. At this point he goes homer happy and trys to launch everything and his average falls.

I'd love to see Andrleton take the Tony Gwynn approach. He said he would always try to knock the pitcher off the mount with a hit. If he's early, he pulls it, if he's late, he hits it the other way. Just make solid contact with as much as possible. With his contact ability and natural talent, he should be hitting over .300.

I think it's a Curacao "thing"

[Julio3000]

I think it's a Curacao "thing"

Please elaborate, sir.

[jpx7]

I have to stop for a moment and compliment 50 Pound Head. This may be one of the first times I have seen "Punch and Judy" used correctly in a post.

[thethe]

I hate when I don't get what of your references. I feel like I missed out on life when that happens.

[Millwood1Hitter]

Please elaborate, sir.

In summary, stubborness. They seem set in their ways. See Andruw Jones or Randall Simon. Moreso in Jones case, the guy was ubertalented and could hit a lot of homers by flicking his wrists and peppering the ball to right field. Many hitting coaches tried to get him to change his approach throughout the years, and at times it seemed that he bought in and had success, only to fall into his flailing ways and trying to pull everything and hit 600 ft bombs, resulting in excessive strikeouts and bad at bats.

Andelton is the same way. He's never going to be a great offensive force in my mind and certainly doesn't have the power or ability as Andruw BUT he seems to fall back into bad habits after small periods of success doing it the right way.

I'm not trying to pigeonhole or sterotype "Curaco" players, just reference the similarities.

[gilesfan]

It is easy for message board posters to think that changing a hitters approach is simple. Hell, my swing coach keeps telling me to change my golf swing, but it's pretty difficult to do so. Im sure Simmons is working his but off to improve his hitting.

Simmons is in such a funk that he lost the second S in his name.

[gilesfan]

Please elaborate, sir.

Because fans were disappointed in Andruw Jones (not me) so it s a Curacaon thing, bro.

[MadduxFanII]

It's a point I've made before, but I think no one in the organization (including Andrelton) knows what sort of hitter Simmons can and should be. It's easy to say, "Oh, he should cut down his swing and focus on slapping the ball," but the pop he showed in 2012 and 2013 was what made him an intriguing offensive player. And while his ability to make contact is a great asset, we've also seen over the last couple years what happens when a guy with mediocre speed makes a ton of mediocre contact with runners on base.

You've got a guy who can do a few different things offensively, but none of them really cohere into a positive whole. And realistically, he has a 91 OPS+ this year and put up a 90 OPS+ in 2013. That's more than fine for a guy like Simmons.

[jpx7]

I hate when I don't get what of your references. I feel like I missed out on life when that happens.

If you mean me, that's just a photograph of an actual Punch and Judy show, which is an old, weird, violent, and rather neat theatrical tradition. You can read about it at your local wikipedia.

[Hawk]

My OCD has been killing me with the title of this thread.

[jpx7]

My OCD has been killing me with the title of this thread.

If he doesn't snap out of this funk, I have reason to believe he'll lose his second "m" as well.