Mullins’ speed game has been on the blink a little

[Frobby]

Only 1 for 4 on attempted bunts for hits (was 9 for 15 last year).

Was thrown out stealing today, 4th CS this year against 6 steals.

Was picked off 2B last night.   

Was thrown out trying to score from 1B on a double on Monday night.    

Has made four outs on the bases outside of pickoffs and caught stealing, most on the team (one at 2B, one at 3B, two at home).

I don’t expect these numbers to last, but it hasn’t been the best baserunning season for Mullins so far.   Despite his speed, he’s -2 runs on the bases per BB-ref.  

 

[Gentile4]

I've noticed this as well and really don't understand what's going on. The poor bunting bothers me more than the base running blunders though obviously both are important.

[Legend_Of_Joey]

Hays, Santander and Stewart have all gone down with leg injuries this season (along with Diaz in AAA.) Maybe he is trying to make sure he isn’t next.

Nah, really though...He is making some blunders, more “fundamental” issues, especially noticeable after his torrid start. 

[Cokeman]

How many of those bunts last year was he batting right-handed?

[Aristotelian]

I have not watched closely but got the feeling teams have been playing him to take away the bunt. Fortunately he is having success swinging away so why not? The other stuff seems like bad luck and will hopefully even out. 

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, Aristotelian said:

I have not watched closely but got the feeling teams have been playing him to take away the bunt. Fortunately he is having success swinging away so why not? The other stuff seems like bad luck and will hopefully even out. 

Well, he’s clearly bunting way less. So yes, I do think other teams are crowding him.   Also, he’s swinging the bat well so no need to bunt so often.   

[Frobby]

On 5/26/2021 at 3:00 PM, Frobby said:

Only 1 for 4 on attempted bunts for hits (was 9 for 15 last year).

Was thrown out stealing today, 4th CS this year against 6 steals.

Was picked off 2B last night.   

Was thrown out trying to score from 1B on a double on Monday night.    

Has made four outs on the bases outside of pickoffs and caught stealing, most on the team (one at 2B, one at 3B, two at home).

I don’t expect these numbers to last, but it hasn’t been the best baserunning season for Mullins so far.   Despite his speed, he’s -2 runs on the bases per BB-ref.  

 

In the month since I started this thread, Mullins has stolen 8 bases without getting caught, raising his success rate to a healthy 78%.   He’s also 1 for 1 on attempted bunt hits.  

[ChrisP]

9 minutes ago, Frobby said:

In the month since I started this thread, Mullins has stolen 8 bases without getting caught, raising his success rate to a healthy 78%.   He’s also 1 for 1 on attempted bunt hits.  

I'm glad he took this thread to heart.

[Ruzious]

Yesterday, he not only stole 2 bases, he would have had a 3rd on Hays' homer - he got a tremendous jump - I think that caused the pitcher to lose his concentration - as he threw a big fat hanging slider that Hays crushed.  

[Tony-OH]

On 5/27/2021 at 8:02 PM, Frobby said:

Well, he’s clearly bunting way less. So yes, I do think other teams are crowding him.   Also, he’s swinging the bat well so no need to bunt so often.   

When you are hitting with the power that Mullins has this year, there is little need to bunt. Mullins is still in the 90th percentile for spring speed so although he has dropped a tick from two years ago, he's still one of the fastest players in the league. He has 8 straight steals since his last caught stealing on May 26th. I think he's fine.

[Yossarian]

Mullins seems to be reading pitchers and getting much better jumps on his stolen base attempts now.  I don't know if he is now taking base stealing more seriously by watching film and studying pitcher's movements while in the dugout, or what.  But he is a much better base stealer now than he was in April.  He is such a fun player to watch play.  I could watch Mullins and Altuve play every day.

[interloper]

4 hours ago, Ruzious said:

Yesterday, he not only stole 2 bases, he would have had a 3rd on Hays' homer - he got a tremendous jump - I think that caused the pitcher to lose his concentration - as he threw a big fat hanging slider that Hays crushed.  

That was a SILLY good jump. He would have that base stolen before the catcher could get the ball out of his glove, practically. But Hays said no need. 

[LocoChris]

Got picked off but Astros screwed it up and he got back to first.