Mike Trout Topic

MikeT23
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Posted by burnsy483 on 2/27/2015 4:02:00 PM (view original):
Posted by MikeT23 on 2/27/2015 3:57:00 PM (view original):
Anyone saying that striking out less could be detrimental to the other parts of his game is arguing otherwise.
Two different things, of course. If someone strikes out, it's obvious that putting a ball in play would be a better situation than that.

If doing that means that you have to change your approach to atbats, there is a chance that it could be detrimental to other parts of your game.
If you're striking out 180 times a year, how can you not change your approach during some AB to strike out less?   Just saying "I'm not going to strike out as much" doesn't do much good unless you do something to make that happen.   Doing the same thing as last year isn't going to work because you've stated your desire to whiff less.
2/27/2015 4:07 PM
burnsy483
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Posted by MikeT23 on 2/27/2015 4:07:00 PM (view original):
Posted by burnsy483 on 2/27/2015 4:02:00 PM (view original):
Posted by MikeT23 on 2/27/2015 3:57:00 PM (view original):
Anyone saying that striking out less could be detrimental to the other parts of his game is arguing otherwise.
Two different things, of course. If someone strikes out, it's obvious that putting a ball in play would be a better situation than that.

If doing that means that you have to change your approach to atbats, there is a chance that it could be detrimental to other parts of your game.
If you're striking out 180 times a year, how can you not change your approach during some AB to strike out less?   Just saying "I'm not going to strike out as much" doesn't do much good unless you do something to make that happen.   Doing the same thing as last year isn't going to work because you've stated your desire to whiff less.
If Mike Trout can change his approach, while keeping the other parts of his game just as dominant, that's perfect. Maybe it's something mechanical, mental, I don't know. He struggles with the high fastball. If he starts to hit that pitch better, while not letting it affect how he does against all other pitches, he'd be better as a player, and would strike out less.
2/27/2015 4:15 PM
burnsy483
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If what he decides is, for example, choking up, so he can get around on the high fastball and make more contact, and he does make more contact, great. Except that by choking up, he probably has less power. That could be detrimental to his game. Batting .330 with 110 strikeouts, but with only 18 homers, might not be the best thing for him. 

Maybe he's only choking up with 2 strikes? OK, maybe that's a better scenario. I'm curious to see what happens.
2/27/2015 4:18 PM
MikeT23
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I'll say again, like I did 15ish pages ago, it's situational.   There are times when it's just better to put the ball in play than to swing from your heels.   I'm sure he knows this and I'm almost positive that's what he's saying.   Down by 1, with 2 out and a runner on first, I doubt he becomes a slap hitter.    But, same situation except down by 3, being a baserunner is more important than putting one in the stands.  
2/27/2015 4:20 PM
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He said he was striking out on the high fastball too much, and he needs to do a better job of making contact on the strikes up and the zone, and not swinging at the fastball up out of the zone. I suppose you can make the assumption you made, but I'm not sure if that's what he's thinking. He knows his strikeouts are up, and he knows he struck out on a lot of high fastballs.
2/27/2015 4:22 PM
MikeT23
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I'm assuming that he just lays off high fastballs unless there are two strikes and you know it's a strike.   That makes the most sense.   You don't swing at what you can't hit.    Hell, I learned that as a child.
2/27/2015 4:26 PM
bad_luck
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In terms of percentages, Trout already lays off the high fastball.

This is from Fangraphs:

In fact, I’m not even going to cite numbers. I’m looking at numbers, here on my own laptop, but I’m not going to write them. Numbers are ugly to read and oftentimes they’re unnecessary. I can just give you some true statements, based on PITCHf/x.

Against elevated pitches out of the zone, Trout finished with one of the lowest swing rates in baseball.

Against elevated pitches in the zone, Trout finished with one of the lowest swing rates in baseball.

Looking at the same things, but with two strikes, Trout finished with some of the lowest swing rates in baseball.

2/27/2015 4:30 PM
burnsy483
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Posted by MikeT23 on 2/27/2015 4:26:00 PM (view original):
I'm assuming that he just lays off high fastballs unless there are two strikes and you know it's a strike.   That makes the most sense.   You don't swing at what you can't hit.    Hell, I learned that as a child.
Maybe that's the adjustment he makes, then. He said he swings too much at high fastballs.
2/27/2015 4:31 PM
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Posted by bad_luck on 2/27/2015 4:30:00 PM (view original):
In terms of percentages, Trout already lays off the high fastball.

This is from Fangraphs:

In fact, I’m not even going to cite numbers. I’m looking at numbers, here on my own laptop, but I’m not going to write them. Numbers are ugly to read and oftentimes they’re unnecessary. I can just give you some true statements, based on PITCHf/x.

Against elevated pitches out of the zone, Trout finished with one of the lowest swing rates in baseball.

Against elevated pitches in the zone, Trout finished with one of the lowest swing rates in baseball.

Looking at the same things, but with two strikes, Trout finished with some of the lowest swing rates in baseball.

Yes, except that he gets a much higher percentage of high fastballs than most. Hence, the increase in Ks.
2/27/2015 4:32 PM
bad_luck
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Posted by burnsy483 on 2/27/2015 4:32:00 PM (view original):
Posted by bad_luck on 2/27/2015 4:30:00 PM (view original):
In terms of percentages, Trout already lays off the high fastball.

This is from Fangraphs:

In fact, I’m not even going to cite numbers. I’m looking at numbers, here on my own laptop, but I’m not going to write them. Numbers are ugly to read and oftentimes they’re unnecessary. I can just give you some true statements, based on PITCHf/x.

Against elevated pitches out of the zone, Trout finished with one of the lowest swing rates in baseball.

Against elevated pitches in the zone, Trout finished with one of the lowest swing rates in baseball.

Looking at the same things, but with two strikes, Trout finished with some of the lowest swing rates in baseball.

Yes, except that he gets a much higher percentage of high fastballs than most. Hence, the increase in Ks.
Yep. That's the deal. He sees a shitload more high fastballs than most players.
2/27/2015 4:35 PM
bad_luck
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I think a good argument could be made for Trout to change nothing. Assuming that it won't get worse (how many more high fastballs could he really see?), a .287/.377/.561 line is great, even with 184 K's.
2/27/2015 4:37 PM
MikeT23
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Posted by burnsy483 on 2/27/2015 4:31:00 PM (view original):
Posted by MikeT23 on 2/27/2015 4:26:00 PM (view original):
I'm assuming that he just lays off high fastballs unless there are two strikes and you know it's a strike.   That makes the most sense.   You don't swing at what you can't hit.    Hell, I learned that as a child.
Maybe that's the adjustment he makes, then. He said he swings too much at high fastballs.
There are plenty of adjustments to make.   A lot of guys chase high fastballs because they look good.   Then they can't get around on them.   Maybe he moves deeper in the box if they're tying him up.   Maybe he just slows his swing a fraction. 
2/27/2015 4:39 PM
MikeT23
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Anyway, I don't expect to see him choke up 2 inches on the bat.   Maybe to experiment in ST but I can't see that being an adjustment he'd make.   I imagine his HC would say "WTF is that about?" 
2/27/2015 4:41 PM
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Posted by MikeT23 on 2/27/2015 4:26:00 PM (view original):
I'm assuming that he just lays off high fastballs unless there are two strikes and you know it's a strike.   That makes the most sense.   You don't swing at what you can't hit.    Hell, I learned that as a child.
Write this in a letter to Adam Jones.
2/27/2015 4:49 PM
MikeT23
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They look good because they're eye-level.   It's just hard to get your hands up there if your load point is chest-level.

2/27/2015 4:52 PM
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