Interestingly Mounty had more BBs in fewer PA than Baines in their respective first 4 seasons. I’ve heard rumblings of guys on the team say that Ryan is the best pure hitter on the squad. The guy can hit. His xwOBACON is elite. He can’t lay off some pitches, sure. But he puts the ball in play at elite EV levels often. If he takes the next step (big if) he will be an Elite bat. With that said, history has shown those types of profiles (bad pitch recognition) don’t improve much.
First four seasons:
Baines 6% walk rate & 13% K rate.
.272/.315/.447
Moutcastle 7% walk rate & 25% K rate.
.263/.319/.457