Adley Rutschman 2021

[Frobby]

Thanks Tony.   Hope you understand I’m not disputing anything you said.   One thing I’m wondering about is I recall a member of the O’s staff saying last year that they were working on adjustments to Rutschman’s swing plane at the alternate site.   So, there’s two ways to interpret that:

1.   Rutschman had some problems with his swing plane when he arrived here, and the O’s have been working with him on it, but he hasn’t completely addressed the issue yet, so we are still seeing a work in progress.   

2.   The O’s have screwed around with the swing plane he had in college, so now there’s more swing and miss in his game than there was when we drafted him.  

So, we’ll see what happens.   Meanwhile he’s OPSing .872 after three games, so if he can cut down the strikeouts, maybe we’ll have something.   

 

[jabba72]

55 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Thanks Tony.   Hope you understand I’m not disputing anything you said.   One thing I’m wondering about is I recall a member of the O’s staff saying last year that they were working on adjustments to Rutschman’s swing plane at the alternate site.   So, there’s two ways to interpret that:

1.   Rutschman had some problems with his swing plane when he arrived here, and the O’s have been working with him on it, but he hasn’t completely addressed the issue yet, so we are still seeing a work in progress.   

2.   The O’s have screwed around with the swing plane he had in college, so now there’s more swing and miss in his game than there was when we drafted him.  

So, we’ll see what happens.   Meanwhile he’s OPSing .872 after three games, so if he can cut down the strikeouts, maybe we’ll have something.   

 

Torkelson, the 2020 #1, is 1-12 with 9 K's. Witt Jr also has 5 K's in 12 PA's, so AR isnt alone with his K's. He is showing some serious ability early on. Looks like there is alot of talent to work with.

[hatter]

So if the bat speed is not an issue I would think the swing path can be adjusted. Not sure bat speed can be adjusted without quicker pitch recognition.

 

[OriolesMagic83]

7 hours ago, jabba72 said:

Torkelson, the 2020 #1, is 1-12 with 9 K's. Witt Jr also has 5 K's in 12 PA's, so AR isnt alone with his K's. He is showing some serious ability early on. Looks like there is alot of talent to work with.

Torkelson is already a failed prospect.  Detroit fans must be so angry.

[OriolesMagic83]

11 hours ago, Frobby said:

What I find strange is I never heard any reservations about Rutschman hitting top fastballs prior to the draft.   You’d certainly think that would be near the top of the list of things scouts are looking for.    Of course, there may be a steadier diet of high velocity stuff in the high minors and majors than there is in the Pac-12, so there’s a bigger sample size to examine.  But still, you’d think we would have heard at least a hint of this before draft day, if there had been any issue.    

For now, I’m going to assume that Rutschman is making adjustments and will eventually hit top velocity as well as other good hitters do.   
 

It seems like there is a lot of top pitchers in the PAC-12, many of them must throw in the mid and upper 90's.  It seems like it would have been obvious if he couldn't hit a good fastball.

[Sports Guy]

2 more Ks tonight 

[Hazmat]

11 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

2 more Ks tonight 

8 Ks in 17 ABs.

[webbrick2010]

21 hours ago, Frobby said:

Thanks Tony.   Hope you understand I’m not disputing anything you said.   One thing I’m wondering about is I recall a member of the O’s staff saying last year that they were working on adjustments to Rutschman’s swing plane at the alternate site.   So, there’s two ways to interpret that:

1.   Rutschman had some problems with his swing plane when he arrived here, and the O’s have been working with him on it, but he hasn’t completely addressed the issue yet, so we are still seeing a work in progress.   

2.   The O’s have screwed around with the swing plane he had in college, so now there’s more swing and miss in his game than there was when we drafted him.  

So, we’ll see what happens.   Meanwhile he’s OPSing .872 after three games, so if he can cut down the strikeouts, maybe we’ll have something.   

 

So they are making swing adjustments to a 1-1 pick? To me that is very surprising and scary

 

 

[Number5]

27 minutes ago, webbrick2010 said:

So they are making swing adjustments to a 1-1 pick? To me that is very surprising and scary

 

 

Predictable.  Home run and double?  Stay under the bridge.  Two strikeouts?  Come out and scream that the sky is falling.  LOL

[LTO's]

1 hour ago, Number5 said:

Predictable.  Home run and double?  Stay under the bridge.  Two strikeouts?  Come out and scream that the sky is falling.  LOL

Of all the players taken in the top 10 after Adley only Josh Jung currently has a higher OPS. Pitchers are ahead of batters currently and AA is a tough place to hit. It seems the expectations are a little too high.

[DocJJ]

I feel bad about all the hype he has gotten....that added stress can't help....

 

but 8 K's in 17 AB's is giving me a panic attack....  

[Tony-OH]

15 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

2 more Ks tonight 

Both fastballs in mid-90sm up in the zone after pounding him inside early. The book is certainly pound him inside early in the count then get him to chase breaking balls low or fastballs up in the zone. 

Right now I see a guy who either fouls off pitches inside, takes them for strikes, or swings and misses ion there.

He can't get to that inside pitch because of the big upper cut swing. Unless he makes adjustments I'm going to bet team will continue to pitch him there.

[UMDTerrapins]

He doesn’t strike me as a guy who will be unwilling to make adjustments. My biggest concern with him is if we accelerate his advancement too quickly. Let him take whatever time he needs now in the minors....players don’t generally make big adjustments in the majors. If the O’s are hovering around .500 later in the season I hope they’re not tempted to call him up while he’s still finding himself as a hitter. Becoming more clear there’s more work to be done than we expected. 

[higgybaby]

23 hours ago, hatter said:

So if the bat speed is not an issue I would think the swing path can be adjusted. Not sure bat speed can be adjusted without quicker pitch recognition.

 

Bat speed can be adjusted. Depending on the reason for the problem with their bat speed. If the problem is not being short enough to the ball(rotational swing vs linear swing) that can be fixed. 

Edited May 8, 2021 by higgybaby

[ShoelesJoe]

0-4 on Saturday with one strike out and one walk.