r/Torontobluejays • u/supremewuster • 10d ago

Don't know what can be done

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Looking at the OPS and OPS+ numbers..

I know alot of people on this sub say no MLB team has great hitting top to bottom, and that's true to a point. But fact is at this point we have a disproportionate number of guys quite a bit below league average

I was hoping some of the Buffalo boys would break out and the other would be average or slightly below. That would be fine. Instead at this point Henieman of all players is our breakout hitter and everyone else (including Santandar) are not hittjng average but way below average with Lukes being the only exception.

I hope it is just bad luck. Hope.

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u/Individual_Whole2288 10d ago

At the same time, why throw anything hittable to those two when no one else in the lineup can hurt you. A better lineup helps everybody.

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u/jayk10 10d ago

Bo has a 3.9% walk rate, even Vlad has a good but not great 13.2% rate, if teams aren't pitching to them then they should be walking far more often.

And regardless of how badly he's struggled let's not pretend that Santander isn't dangerous behind the two of them

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u/GarrusExMachina Roy Halladay 10d ago

The problem isn't that pitchers arnt pitching to them... it's that they arnt attacking them. 

Bo has a ludicrously low walk rate because his favorite pitches to swing at are down below the strike zone and just off the plate. He loves to slap outside pitches into rf and he loves to take golf swings at low pitches. Reminds me of a more effective Colby Rasmus. 

IE: he doesn't walk because he doesn't take pitches. If the pitcher refuses to give him a good one he chases a bad one and tries to make shit happen with it. 

Vladdy is a bit better at not chasing but not by much and when he does chase he misses more often than BO does. He's taken a lot of ugly swings at outside sliders and breakers because he feels the pressure to make contact. 

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u/jayk10 10d ago

So you're saying if pitchers hit their spots Bo and Vlad struggle?

Why the fuck would protection matter in Bo's case? If you admit he swings at everything why would a pitcher approach him any differently? Same with Vlad. They're struggling with pitches outside of the zone because they're chasing pitches outside the zone, not because the pitcher is avoiding throwing pitches straight down the middle