Quote:
Originally Posted by jd1020
Not convinced Harper is a more disciplined hitter. They both are about equal when it comes to swinging at balls, but Machado makes waaaaaaaay more contact.
Machado is also much less of a dead pull hitter and can carry a respectable average. Bryce is getting murdered by the shift because he pulls the majority of his hits and pops up most of his opposite field hits.
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The shift isn't helping him, no doubt. But the shift was around in 2015 and he was a dead pull hitter then - didn't hurt him when he won his MVP. Moreover, his BABIP was great last year and the shift was around then.
It's approach. On the season his overall O-Swing, and contact rates haven't cratered yet because he was virtually impossible to catch off guard for his first 150 PAs. But since then, when his production has fallen to shit, it's because he's swinging at too much slop and especially because he simply can't keep the front shoulder in on pitches away.
Like I said - this is a new problem for him; it's not something he's demonstrated in the past. He's never gotten carved up by that outside pitch the way he has been for the last 10 weeks or so. And he looks completely healthy. I think he's simply pressing something awful and it's wrecked him.
I don't expect it is permanent. I could obviously be wrong.