.172/.276/.314. (Not his father's Sunday-beer-league line.)
― clemenza, Saturday, 6 April 2024 13:32 (one month ago) link
I feel like I like Vladdy more than you do, and it’s still very early! Took a long at his unqualified (cos it’s early) 24 statcast numbers.https://i.postimg.cc/KYWyN08j/IMG-8699.jpgIs he pressing? He’s smoking the ball when he’s making contact and he’s walking a lot so his eye’s still great and the chase rate is too but he’s striking out well above his normal rate - he’s not normally a high strikeout guy. The sweet spot % (basically hitting the ball with a good launch angle that gets it off the ground and more likely to find grass rather than a glove) makes me think he’s missing his spots because he’s behind and maybe it’s a timing issue?Assuming I’ve understood xwOBA correctly (I will welcome correction cos expected stats & me are not a happy match), he’s making good quality contact when he does make contact, maybe he’s just unlucky?https://www.mlb.com/glossary/statcast/expected-woba
― Roman Anthony gets on his horse (gyac), Saturday, 6 April 2024 14:39 (one month ago) link
You probably do at this point--the closer you are, the more exasperating he can be. It was the same last year: all his advanced metrics suggested he was hitting in bad luck. All year we heard that. I'm like Jeff Blair (local radio guy) at this point: enough. (Directing that at Vlad, not you.) The thing that really changed me with regards to Vlad was learning how dispropotionately his big year was driven by those minor-league parks.
He's definitely pressing. And I'm sure he's got a few dozen people whispering in his ear what he needs to do, from his father on down, and they're all telling him different things.
― clemenza, Saturday, 6 April 2024 15:19 (one month ago) link