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Flaherty: hot streak, or improved hitter?

Frobby

By Frobby
in Orioles Talk

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spiritof66 Hangout Grand Counsel

spiritof66

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Creative approach for a chronic slow starter who has battled for playing time: spend April and part of May on the DL, then come off it when the other middle IFs are hurt.

I think he looks better at the plate, especially when he hits to LF and CF. Still more of a free swinger than he should be (hey, he's an Oriole) but seems to be fouling off some pitches out of the zone, especially the high heat, that he used to miss.

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sportsfan8703 Hangout Grand Counsel

sportsfan8703

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Creative approach for a chronic slow starter who has battled for playing time: spend April and part of May on the DL, then come off it when the other middle IFs are hurt.

I think he looks better at the plate, especially when he hits to LF and CF. Still more of a free swinger than he should be (hey, he's an Oriole) but seems to be fouling off some pitches out of the zone, especially the high heat, that he used to miss.

He takes pitches and hits to all fields. That's a breath of fresh air. Has +power and defense for a 2nd basemen. He might be a solution at leadoff or the 2 spot.

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DrungoHazewood Hangout Grand Counsel

DrungoHazewood

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Ryan Flaherty is hitting .276/.364/.517 so far this season. On the one hand, it is only 21 games and 66 PA, so obviously, a very small sample size. On the other hand, the early part of the season has always been Flaherty's kryptonite. His stats through June 2 in prior seasons:

2012: .148/.175/.204 (59 PA)

2013: .152/.233/.248 (117 PA)

2014: .206/.280/.289 (107 PA)

At a minimum, Flaherty has avoided putting himself in an early season statistical hole from which it is impossible to completely dig out of. This has a chance to be a decent offensive season for him thanks to his good start. I feel like he is seeing the ball better this year and isn't as vulnerable to swinging at bad pitches.

I think you already know my answer. When a 29-year-old with 750 PAs of a .600-something OPS has a 66-PA stretch of an .881 there's a very high likelihood that he's playing over his head. But his two triples have reminded me why I want the Orioles to modify OPACY to include a 500 ft sign on some outfield fence, probably where the hitting background currently is.

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Pheasants Major Leaguer Cup of Coffee

Pheasants

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I think you already know my answer. When a 29-year-old with 750 PAs of a .600-something OPS has a 66-PA stretch of an .881 there's a very high likelihood that he's playing over his head. But his two triples have reminded me why I want the Orioles to modify OPACY to include a 500 ft sign on some outfield fence, probably where the hitting background currently is.

Arguing with Drungo makes me feel like an idiot already, but if we start with the assumption that the Ryan of the second half is the real potential Ryan, then we have someone who has averaged just below .500 OPS for @380 PA and over .700 for another @380 plate appearances. So .881 is above his head, but could it be possible/probable that he'll be able to hold together at over .700?

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Ohfan67 Hangout Grand Counsel

Ohfan67

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Show me a hitter that is working with Coolbaugh and doing worse and maybe I'll give him some blame. If he convinced Pearce to change what he was doing last year, I would have a problem with that.

Pearce is not hitting worse than last year?

I was mainly just teasing. You cited three players that may have benefited and two that have not. That's basically a coin toss.

Honestly I believe the effect of a hitting coach on performance is very small and often highly overstated, even by the players involved. This is especially true with very small sample sizes. Likewise, I think batting coaches have been overly criticized on this board and in general.

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weams Hangout Grand Counsel

weams

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I think batting coaches have been overly criticized on this board and in general.

I think that they are overly emphasized. Most are pretty good. None are much different. The Red Sox are complaining that they are always batting with a strike or two on them. The tide changes.

Most major leaguers have a clue by the time they make the majors. I think a hitting coach helps a small bit with the adjustments that players need to make on an ongoing bases. I do not think they modify approach generally.

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El Gordo Hangout Grand Counsel

El Gordo

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Arguing with Drungo makes me feel like an idiot already, but if we start with the assumption that the Ryan of the second half is the real potential Ryan, then we have someone who has averaged just below .500 OPS for @380 PA and over .700 for another @380 plate appearances. So .881 is above his head, but could it be possible/probable that he'll be able to hold together at over .700?
Not sure what you are trying to say here but Flash's career numbers for June ,752OPS, July .649, August. 713, Sept./Oct. .859, are OK by me for a decent fielding MIF/UTIF
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CA-ORIOLE Hangout Grand Counsel

CA-ORIOLE

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Arguing with Drungo makes me feel like an idiot already, but if we start with the assumption that the Ryan of the second half is the real potential Ryan, then we have someone who has averaged just below .500 OPS for @380 PA and over .700 for another @380 plate appearances. So .881 is above his head, but could it be possible/probable that he'll be able to hold together at over .700?

i think it's reasonable to believe that Flaherty could become something better than 660 and less than 880 OPS hitter, perhaps falling into the low to mid 700 OPS range.

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Frobby Hangout Grand Counsel

Frobby

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Arguing with Drungo makes me feel like an idiot already, but if we start with the assumption that the Ryan of the second half is the real potential Ryan, then we have someone who has averaged just below .500 OPS for @380 PA and over .700 for another @380 plate appearances. So .881 is above his head, but could it be possible/probable that he'll be able to hold together at over .700?

I think that's a reasonable hope. He shouldn't be defined by his first 750 PA in the majors anyway, since they say it takes about 1500 PA to really get over the experience hump and be the best you can be (of course, there are many exceptions to that rule of thumb).

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DrungoHazewood Hangout Grand Counsel

DrungoHazewood

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I think that's a reasonable hope. He shouldn't be defined by his first 750 PA in the majors anyway, since they say it takes about 1500 PA to really get over the experience hump and be the best you can be (of course, there are many exceptions to that rule of thumb).

Who is they?

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