Kris Bryant Firehose of Splooge Thread

[Slaky]

Through 8 games in August after an abysmal July that seems to have been just as much about bad batted ball luck (.214 BABIP in July vs. .341 on the season) as it was about his many K's (which never really got much worse than his season average even in his good months anyway):

.304/.484/.478/.962.

Pretty great to see Kris Bryant in a lineup where he's hitting like that and might be just the third biggest threat (and that might be unfair to Jorge and his .370/.469/.407 line this month).

I still just do not understand Jorge's piss poor slugging average.

I think it's two factors: he is a lot like young Castro in that he can hit basically anything within reach of the strike zone. The problem is that he tries to do just that, and doesn't always wait for the ones he can smack into the seats.

The other is that he hits balls so fucking hard into the outfield that they roll straight to the outfielders and don't ever let him take an extra base. It feels like he has to hit one down the line or off the wall to get extra bases.

And I certainly wouldn't be trying to change his swing to get more lift during the season. Hell if he's going to continue to hit the ball harder than anyone not named Baez and it's going to drop in somewhere, just let him be. They can work on swing adjustments in the offseason if need be. There's no question the strength and talent is there. We all know it. He knows it.

It's terrifying to imagine a lineup with Soler realizing his power potential. I hope he does at some point.

[SKO]

Through 8 games in August after an abysmal July that seems to have been just as much about bad batted ball luck (.214 BABIP in July vs. .341 on the season) as it was about his many K's (which never really got much worse than his season average even in his good months anyway):

.304/.484/.478/.962.

Pretty great to see Kris Bryant in a lineup where he's hitting like that and might be just the third biggest threat (and that might be unfair to Jorge and his .370/.469/.407 line this month).

I still just do not understand Jorge's piss poor slugging average.

I think it's two factors: he is a lot like young Castro in that he can hit basically anything within reach of the strike zone. The problem is that he tries to do just that, and doesn't always wait for the ones he can smack into the seats.

The other is that he hits balls so fucking hard into the outfield that they roll straight to the outfielders and don't ever let him take an extra base. It feels like he has to hit one down the line or off the wall to get extra bases.

The first one makes sense. The second does not.

How doesn't it make sense? One example I can think of came in the Thursday night game against the Giants if I remember correctly. Rizzo was on second and Jorge smoked a 2 out single that couldn't get Rizzo home because he hit it 114 MPH and it went directly to the left fielder. If he hit the thing 90 MPH it probably dies in the grass and there's not even a chance to throw Rizzo out at the plate. He hits it almost too hard for extra bases sometimes, and he seems to have just bad luck with finding gaps so far.

[InternetApex]

Through 8 games in August after an abysmal July that seems to have been just as much about bad batted ball luck (.214 BABIP in July vs. .341 on the season) as it was about his many K's (which never really got much worse than his season average even in his good months anyway):

.304/.484/.478/.962.

Pretty great to see Kris Bryant in a lineup where he's hitting like that and might be just the third biggest threat (and that might be unfair to Jorge and his .370/.469/.407 line this month).

I still just do not understand Jorge's piss poor slugging average.

I think it's two factors: he is a lot like young Castro in that he can hit basically anything within reach of the strike zone. The problem is that he tries to do just that, and doesn't always wait for the ones he can smack into the seats.

The other is that he hits balls so fucking hard into the outfield that they roll straight to the outfielders and don't ever let him take an extra base. It feels like he has to hit one down the line or off the wall to get extra bases.

The first one makes sense. The second does not.

How doesn't it make sense? One example I can think of came in the Thursday night game against the Giants if I remember correctly. Rizzo was on second and Jorge smoked a 2 out single that couldn't get Rizzo home because he hit it 114 MPH and it went directly to the left fielder. If he hit the thing 90 MPH it probably dies in the grass and there's not even a chance to throw Rizzo out at the plate. He its almost too hard for extra bases sometimes, and he seems to have just bad luck with finding gaps so far.

That holds for guys trying to score because the fielders have to make the long throw(s) home. So there is an element of timing involved. That's rarely true at second, an easier throw from  everywhere. The harder you hit a ball, the more likely it will find a gap or elude a mitt. Thus allowing balls on certain trajectories to become singles that would be outs. I'll need to check but it's probable that outfields are playing Jorge extremely deep in order to cut off the power allies. Hitting it slower so they have to come running in while he tries to leg out doubles is not the way he's going to improve his slugging percentage. That will hai when the balls start leaving the joint.

[SKO]

Through 8 games in August after an abysmal July that seems to have been just as much about bad batted ball luck (.214 BABIP in July vs. .341 on the season) as it was about his many K's (which never really got much worse than his season average even in his good months anyway):

.304/.484/.478/.962.

Pretty great to see Kris Bryant in a lineup where he's hitting like that and might be just the third biggest threat (and that might be unfair to Jorge and his .370/.469/.407 line this month).

I still just do not understand Jorge's piss poor slugging average.

I think it's two factors: he is a lot like young Castro in that he can hit basically anything within reach of the strike zone. The problem is that he tries to do just that, and doesn't always wait for the ones he can smack into the seats.

The other is that he hits balls so fucking hard into the outfield that they roll straight to the outfielders and don't ever let him take an extra base. It feels like he has to hit one down the line or off the wall to get extra bases.

The first one makes sense. The second does not.

How doesn't it make sense? One example I can think of came in the Thursday night game against the Giants if I remember correctly. Rizzo was on second and Jorge smoked a 2 out single that couldn't get Rizzo home because he hit it 114 MPH and it went directly to the left fielder. If he hit the thing 90 MPH it probably dies in the grass and there's not even a chance to throw Rizzo out at the plate. He its almost too hard for extra bases sometimes, and he seems to have just bad luck with finding gaps so far.

That holds for guys trying to score because they have to make the long throw home so there is an element of timing involved. The harder you hit a ball, the more likely it will find a gap or elude a mitt. Thus allowing balls on certain trajectories to become singles that would be outs. I'll need to check but it's probable that outfields are playing Jorge extremely deep in order to cut off the power allies. Hitting it slower so they have to come running in while he tries to leg out doubles is not the way he's going to improve his slugging percentage. That will hai when the balls start leaving the joint.

I didn't say he should change what he was doing. Over time it'll all even out, I just meant to this point there've been a handful of examples where he's smoked the ball into the outfield without finding a gap. Some people can still leg out doubles in those scenarios because the ball dies in the grass. Jorge has no such opportunity as it keeps carrying till it can be fielded on the run.

It was more of a "bad luck in a small sample size" argument I was making, not a "he should change what he's doing".

[InternetApex]

Through 8 games in August after an abysmal July that seems to have been just as much about bad batted ball luck (.214 BABIP in July vs. .341 on the season) as it was about his many K's (which never really got much worse than his season average even in his good months anyway):

.304/.484/.478/.962.

Pretty great to see Kris Bryant in a lineup where he's hitting like that and might be just the third biggest threat (and that might be unfair to Jorge and his .370/.469/.407 line this month).

I still just do not understand Jorge's piss poor slugging average.

I think it's two factors: he is a lot like young Castro in that he can hit basically anything within reach of the strike zone. The problem is that he tries to do just that, and doesn't always wait for the ones he can smack into the seats.

The other is that he hits balls so fucking hard into the outfield that they roll straight to the outfielders and don't ever let him take an extra base. It feels like he has to hit one down the line or off the wall to get extra bases.

The first one makes sense. The second does not.

How doesn't it make sense? One example I can think of came in the Thursday night game against the Giants if I remember correctly. Rizzo was on second and Jorge smoked a 2 out single that couldn't get Rizzo home because he hit it 114 MPH and it went directly to the left fielder. If he hit the thing 90 MPH it probably dies in the grass and there's not even a chance to throw Rizzo out at the plate. He its almost too hard for extra bases sometimes, and he seems to have just bad luck with finding gaps so far.

That holds for guys trying to score because they have to make the long throw home so there is an element of timing involved. The harder you hit a ball, the more likely it will find a gap or elude a mitt. Thus allowing balls on certain trajectories to become singles that would be outs. I'll need to check but it's probable that outfields are playing Jorge extremely deep in order to cut off the power allies. Hitting it slower so they have to come running in while he tries to leg out doubles is not the way he's going to improve his slugging percentage. That will hai when the balls start leaving the joint.

I didn't say he should change what he was doing. Over time it'll all even out, I just meant to this point there've been a handful of examples where he's smoked the ball into the outfield without finding a gap. Some people can still leg out doubles in those scenarios because the ball dies in the grass. Jorge has no such opportunity as it keeps carrying till it can be fielded on the run.

It was more of a "bad luck in a small sample size" argument I was making, not a "he should change what he's doing".

I don't have the math in front of me to carry this point to resolution but the number of doubles that players get  that become possible because they were hit so softly the outfielder had to run a mile to get them won't significantly affect their slugging, not in a week, a month or a season. Now, if Jorge played in Boston and pelted the monster so hard and often that he lost a baker's dozen bases, that'd be a thing.

[Bort]

Through 8 games in August after an abysmal July that seems to have been just as much about bad batted ball luck (.214 BABIP in July vs. .341 on the season) as it was about his many K's (which never really got much worse than his season average even in his good months anyway):

.304/.484/.478/.962.

Pretty great to see Kris Bryant in a lineup where he's hitting like that and might be just the third biggest threat (and that might be unfair to Jorge and his .370/.469/.407 line this month).

Still, I look forward to you whingeing on twitter the next time he strikes out on what you deem to be an unacceptable pitch.

Stop trying to impress Tonker with your fancy Australo-Belgian slang just because he's in town.

[CT III]

Through 8 games in August after an abysmal July that seems to have been just as much about bad batted ball luck (.214 BABIP in July vs. .341 on the season) as it was about his many K's (which never really got much worse than his season average even in his good months anyway):

.304/.484/.478/.962.

Pretty great to see Kris Bryant in a lineup where he's hitting like that and might be just the third biggest threat (and that might be unfair to Jorge and his .370/.469/.407 line this month).

Still, I look forward to you whingeing on twitter the next time he strikes out on what you deem to be an unacceptable pitch.

Stop trying to impress Tonker with your fancy Australo-Belgian slang just because he's in town.

No.

[Bort]

Through 8 games in August after an abysmal July that seems to have been just as much about bad batted ball luck (.214 BABIP in July vs. .341 on the season) as it was about his many K's (which never really got much worse than his season average even in his good months anyway):

.304/.484/.478/.962.

Pretty great to see Kris Bryant in a lineup where he's hitting like that and might be just the third biggest threat (and that might be unfair to Jorge and his .370/.469/.407 line this month).

Still, I look forward to you whingeing on twitter the next time he strikes out on what you deem to be an unacceptable pitch.

Stop trying to impress Tonker with your fancy Australo-Belgian slang just because he's in town.

No.

Cheerfully withdrawn!

[Saul Goodman]

Through 8 games in August after an abysmal July that seems to have been just as much about bad batted ball luck (.214 BABIP in July vs. .341 on the season) as it was about his many K's (which never really got much worse than his season average even in his good months anyway):

.304/.484/.478/.962.

Pretty great to see Kris Bryant in a lineup where he's hitting like that and might be just the third biggest threat (and that might be unfair to Jorge and his .370/.469/.407 line this month).

I still just do not understand Jorge's piss poor slugging average.

I think it's two factors: he is a lot like young Castro in that he can hit basically anything within reach of the strike zone. The problem is that he tries to do just that, and doesn't always wait for the ones he can smack into the seats.

The other is that he hits balls so fucking hard into the outfield that they roll straight to the outfielders and don't ever let him take an extra base. It feels like he has to hit one down the line or off the wall to get extra bases.

And I certainly wouldn't be trying to change his swing to get more lift during the season. Hell if he's going to continue to hit the ball harder than anyone not named Baez and it's going to drop in somewhere, just let him be. They can work on swing adjustments in the offseason if need be. There's no question the strength and talent is there. We all know it. He knows it.

It's terrifying to imagine a lineup with Soler realizing his power potential. I hope he does at some point.

Didn't Ryne Sandberg talk about some coaching advice he got once about hitting balls on an incline with topspin (or backspin, I'm no physicist) and how it changed his career by making him more of a power hitter?  Some Googling turned up nothing but am I hallucinating?  Could've sworn I've read that somewhere.  Maybe in "Second to Home"?

[SKO]

Through 8 games in August after an abysmal July that seems to have been just as much about bad batted ball luck (.214 BABIP in July vs. .341 on the season) as it was about his many K's (which never really got much worse than his season average even in his good months anyway):

.304/.484/.478/.962.

Pretty great to see Kris Bryant in a lineup where he's hitting like that and might be just the third biggest threat (and that might be unfair to Jorge and his .370/.469/.407 line this month).

I still just do not understand Jorge's piss poor slugging average.

I think it's two factors: he is a lot like young Castro in that he can hit basically anything within reach of the strike zone. The problem is that he tries to do just that, and doesn't always wait for the ones he can smack into the seats.

The other is that he hits balls so fucking hard into the outfield that they roll straight to the outfielders and don't ever let him take an extra base. It feels like he has to hit one down the line or off the wall to get extra bases.

And I certainly wouldn't be trying to change his swing to get more lift during the season. Hell if he's going to continue to hit the ball harder than anyone not named Baez and it's going to drop in somewhere, just let him be. They can work on swing adjustments in the offseason if need be. There's no question the strength and talent is there. We all know it. He knows it.

It's terrifying to imagine a lineup with Soler realizing his power potential. I hope he does at some point.

Didn't Ryne Sandberg talk about some coaching advice he got once about hitting balls on an incline with topspin (or backspin, I'm no physicist) and how it changed his career by making him more of a power hitter?  Some Googling turned up nothing but am I hallucinating?  Could've sworn I've read that somewhere.  Maybe in "Second to Home"?

The story I've always heard is that sometime after 1983 Jim Frey or whatever said "hey, you ever think about pulling the ball?" and ta-da, MVP. I'm guessing it was probably more complicated than that.

[Eli]

Through 8 games in August after an abysmal July that seems to have been just as much about bad batted ball luck (.214 BABIP in July vs. .341 on the season) as it was about his many K's (which never really got much worse than his season average even in his good months anyway):

.304/.484/.478/.962.

Pretty great to see Kris Bryant in a lineup where he's hitting like that and might be just the third biggest threat (and that might be unfair to Jorge and his .370/.469/.407 line this month).

I still just do not understand Jorge's piss poor slugging average.

I think it's two factors: he is a lot like young Castro in that he can hit basically anything within reach of the strike zone. The problem is that he tries to do just that, and doesn't always wait for the ones he can smack into the seats.

The other is that he hits balls so fucking hard into the outfield that they roll straight to the outfielders and don't ever let him take an extra base. It feels like he has to hit one down the line or off the wall to get extra bases.

And I certainly wouldn't be trying to change his swing to get more lift during the season. Hell if he's going to continue to hit the ball harder than anyone not named Baez and it's going to drop in somewhere, just let him be. They can work on swing adjustments in the offseason if need be. There's no question the strength and talent is there. We all know it. He knows it.

It's terrifying to imagine a lineup with Soler realizing his power potential. I hope he does at some point.

Didn't Ryne Sandberg talk about some coaching advice he got once about hitting balls on an incline with topspin (or backspin, I'm no physicist) and how it changed his career by making him more of a power hitter?  Some Googling turned up nothing but am I hallucinating?  Could've sworn I've read that somewhere.  Maybe in "Second to Home"?

Not about Sandberg, but this is a good read about backspin/topspin:

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/players-view-is-creating-backspin-a-skill/

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

Through 8 games in August after an abysmal July that seems to have been just as much about bad batted ball luck (.214 BABIP in July vs. .341 on the season) as it was about his many K's (which never really got much worse than his season average even in his good months anyway):

.304/.484/.478/.962.

Pretty great to see Kris Bryant in a lineup where he's hitting like that and might be just the third biggest threat (and that might be unfair to Jorge and his .370/.469/.407 line this month).

I still just do not understand Jorge's piss poor slugging average.

I think it's two factors: he is a lot like young Castro in that he can hit basically anything within reach of the strike zone. The problem is that he tries to do just that, and doesn't always wait for the ones he can smack into the seats.

The other is that he hits balls so fucking hard into the outfield that they roll straight to the outfielders and don't ever let him take an extra base. It feels like he has to hit one down the line or off the wall to get extra bases.

And I certainly wouldn't be trying to change his swing to get more lift during the season. Hell if he's going to continue to hit the ball harder than anyone not named Baez and it's going to drop in somewhere, just let him be. They can work on swing adjustments in the offseason if need be. There's no question the strength and talent is there. We all know it. He knows it.

It's terrifying to imagine a lineup with Soler realizing his power potential. I hope he does at some point.

Didn't Ryne Sandberg talk about some coaching advice he got once about hitting balls on an incline with topspin (or backspin, I'm no physicist) and how it changed his career by making him more of a power hitter?  Some Googling turned up nothing but am I hallucinating?  Could've sworn I've read that somewhere.  Maybe in "Second to Home"?

The story I've always heard is that sometime after 1983 Jim Frey or whatever said "hey, you ever think about pulling the ball?" and ta-da, MVP. I'm guessing it was probably more complicated than that.

Yeah Frey and Zimmer supposedly helped Sandberg swing for more power in Spring Training in 1984.   

Would've been nice if Castro could've taken that same step but he seemed to have gone the other way when the organization supposedly tried tinkering him with in 2013's Spring Training.

[Tony]

Through 8 games in August after an abysmal July that seems to have been just as much about bad batted ball luck (.214 BABIP in July vs. .341 on the season) as it was about his many K's (which never really got much worse than his season average even in his good months anyway):

.304/.484/.478/.962.

Pretty great to see Kris Bryant in a lineup where he's hitting like that and might be just the third biggest threat (and that might be unfair to Jorge and his .370/.469/.407 line this month).

I still just do not understand Jorge's piss poor slugging average.

I think it's two factors: he is a lot like young Castro in that he can hit basically anything within reach of the strike zone. The problem is that he tries to do just that, and doesn't always wait for the ones he can smack into the seats.

The other is that he hits balls so fucking hard into the outfield that they roll straight to the outfielders and don't ever let him take an extra base. It feels like he has to hit one down the line or off the wall to get extra bases.

And I certainly wouldn't be trying to change his swing to get more lift during the season. Hell if he's going to continue to hit the ball harder than anyone not named Baez and it's going to drop in somewhere, just let him be. They can work on swing adjustments in the offseason if need be. There's no question the strength and talent is there. We all know it. He knows it.

It's terrifying to imagine a lineup with Soler realizing his power potential. I hope he does at some point.

Didn't Ryne Sandberg talk about some coaching advice he got once about hitting balls on an incline with topspin (or backspin, I'm no physicist) and how it changed his career by making him more of a power hitter?  Some Googling turned up nothing but am I hallucinating?  Could've sworn I've read that somewhere.  Maybe in "Second to Home"?

The story I've always heard is that sometime after 1983 Jim Frey or whatever said "hey, you ever think about pulling the ball?" and ta-da, MVP. I'm guessing it was probably more complicated than that.

Brilliant strategy.

[Quality Start Machine]

As long as he keeps hitting the ever-loving shit out of the ball, it's all good. The extra base hits will come eventually.

[Shooter]

Through 8 games in August after an abysmal July that seems to have been just as much about bad batted ball luck (.214 BABIP in July vs. .341 on the season) as it was about his many K's (which never really got much worse than his season average even in his good months anyway):

.304/.484/.478/.962.

Pretty great to see Kris Bryant in a lineup where he's hitting like that and might be just the third biggest threat (and that might be unfair to Jorge and his .370/.469/.407 line this month).

I still just do not understand Jorge's piss poor slugging average.

I think it's two factors: he is a lot like young Castro in that he can hit basically anything within reach of the strike zone. The problem is that he tries to do just that, and doesn't always wait for the ones he can smack into the seats.

The other is that he hits balls so fucking hard into the outfield that they roll straight to the outfielders and don't ever let him take an extra base. It feels like he has to hit one down the line or off the wall to get extra bases.

The first one makes sense. The second does not.

How doesn't it make sense? One example I can think of came in the Thursday night game against the Giants if I remember correctly. Rizzo was on second and Jorge smoked a 2 out single that couldn't get Rizzo home because he hit it 114 MPH and it went directly to the left fielder. If he hit the thing 90 MPH it probably dies in the grass and there's not even a chance to throw Rizzo out at the plate. He hits it almost too hard for extra bases sometimes, and he seems to have just bad luck with finding gaps so far.

How does Rizzo not scoring from second on a Soler single cause him to have a low slugging percentage?