Meoli on Rutschman’s swing adjustments

[Frobby]

So Jon Meoli’s new substack gig is free for now and I’m trying it out.   He has a piece today on swing adjustments Adley Rutschman made after hitting a 5-6 week slump at Bowie.   Since it’s free, here’s a little excerpt:

“But if there’s anything about his swing that Rutschman has seemed to be searching for since joining the Orioles back in 2019 as the top pick from Oregon State, it was how he loads to begin his swing. He broke down all aspects of his swing at the alternate site in 2020, including his load, and this year at Bowie he and the hitting staff took that a step further.

“The idea was there are two different schools of thought, with elite examples of each. Juan Soto, the precocious All-Star outfielder with the Washington Nationals, owing to his superlative batting eye and bat speed, allows the ball to travel before catching it deep. Former National League MVP Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers is similarly prolific while being much more aggressive in his swing, starting earlier and attacking the ball out front.

“Rutschman gravitated toward the former, which allowed him to control the barrel and match planes with the pitch better. That’s the recipe for harder contact and the kind of elevated batted balls that do damage. It’s unclear exactly when the adjustment took hold, but there’s a steep uptick in production after that month-long skid that indicates something started to click. 

“He spent three more weeks in Bowie and had a 1.005 OPS with six home runs in 18 games before making the jump to Triple-A Norfolk. And while it’s hard to parse out the batted ball data from each of those phases of his time in Bowie, Rutschman’s jump to Triple-A featured a better batted ball profile than the whole of his time at Bowie. In Double-A, Rutschman had a 38.1 percent ground ball rate, which dropped to 30.6 percent at Norfolk. His line-drive rate climbed from 17.2 percent to 26.6 percent. And though he hit for less power overall, the better contact profile meant a higher batting average and thus, on-base percentage. (Rutschman walked slightly less at Triple-A than in Bowie). 

“All that makes his spike in batting average on balls in play (BABIP) in Norfolk, up to .364, seem like there’s something to it, even in a small sample size.”

https://jonmeoli.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=substack_profile

Meoli also writes: “I will soon have another job that will get my full focus, but the plan going forward will be for 2-3 articles here per week.”   So, it sounds like substack will be a side gig for him.   His substack page also says he is Head Women's Ice Hockey Coach at Loyola University Maryland.   I don’t know if that’s his full time job, but I guess so.  

[Jammer7]

Thanks for sharing. I will go read the whole article in a bit. A great breakdown of the point of contact, in relation to the hitter’s load. I’ve felt it made sense to let the ball travel, as that kept your head more stationary. It allows the body to maintain balance and have the proper finish, which allows the ball to be elevated. It also allows for more barrel control, in my opinion. It’s harder to hit a moving object when your head is moving as well.  

Some schools of thought want the hitter “out in front.” They talk about gaining ground. I find that very difficult to stay in rhythm and timing, and it leads to imbalance and lunging. Obviously, it works for some.

I remember looking at Adley’s swing in the Spring of 2021 and thinking it was a dramatic uppercut. I thought it was a terrible swing, honestly. I thought he would swing and miss a lot. But he changed things to be more on plane and the results speak for themselves. The elevation of the ball occurs at the finish when the hitter stays through the ball and finish high. 

[interloper]

Meoli out here writing better articles than the guys with beat access. He's legit and I hope he keeps it up despite what appears to be a non writing gig. 

[Tony-OH]

50 minutes ago, Jammer7 said:

Thanks for sharing. I will go read the whole article in a bit. A great breakdown of the point of contact, in relation to the hitter’s load. I’ve felt it made sense to let the ball travel, as that kept your head more stationary. It allows the body to maintain balance and have the proper finish, which allows the ball to be elevated. It also allows for more barrel control, in my opinion. It’s harder to hit a moving object when your head is moving as well.  

Some schools of thought want the hitter “out in front.” They talk about gaining ground. I find that very difficult to stay in rhythm and timing, and it leads to imbalance and lunging. Obviously, it works for some.

I remember looking at Adley’s swing in the Spring of 2021 and thinking it was a dramatic uppercut. I thought it was a terrible swing, honestly. I thought he would swing and miss a lot. But he changed things to be more on plane and the results speak for themselves. The elevation of the ball occurs at the finish when the hitter stays through the ball and finish high. 

Yes, if you recall I was mentioning the pronounced upper cut and his inability to get to inside pitches in spring training and early in the season. It was clear he made swing adjustments and he covered that inside holes which led to pitches getting him out with offspeed down and away. It was a constant adjustment year for him which is good, because it will be magnified at the major league level.

[Jammer7]

1 hour ago, Tony-OH said:

Yes, if you recall I was mentioning the pronounced upper cut and his inability to get to inside pitches in spring training and early in the season. It was clear he made swing adjustments and he covered that inside holes which led to pitches getting him out with offspeed down and away. It was a constant adjustment year for him which is good, because it will be magnified at the major league level.

Yep, I remember you saying as much. A great adjustment like this gets me excited for the future of our PD group. They took a the #1 prospect, and made him better. Much better.

I hope some folks understand now why they did not bring him up last June as many fans were clamoring for. It takes time. This is how winning organizations are built. 

[Sports Guy]

4 minutes ago, Jammer7 said:

Yep, I remember you saying as much. A great adjustment like this gets me excited for the future of our PD group. They took a the #1 prospect, and made him better. Much better.

I hope some folks understand now why they did not bring him up last June as many fans were clamoring for. It takes time. This is how winning organizations are built. 

I wanted him up in early July…still feel he should have been brought up.

Plenty of winning organizations do that too.

[Yossarian]

Is it too late to get Chris Davis in on this new swing thing?

[Can_of_corn]

1 hour ago, Yossarian said:

Is it too late to get Chris Davis in on this new swing thing?

It doesn't work if you don't swing.

[coe76]

I think part of the hitting adjustment philosophy discussion may be influenced by the age and level of play of the players.  In discussing hitting with both college and high school coaches, staying back and letting the ball travel is the predominate coaching style.  If you have a player as talented as Adley, getting it out front may be a better approach.  IMO, each player needs an individual plan, so coaches need to be able to teach both.

[interloper]

This is a pretty decent endorsement of Fuller, by the way. 

[RZNJ]

22 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

I wanted him up in early July…still feel he should have been brought up.

Plenty of winning organizations do that too.

What's the upside of calling him up last July?  Is that worth the extra year of service time (we can't assume what the next CBA will say)?

[Sports Guy]

1 minute ago, RZNJ said:

What's the upside of calling him up last July?  Is that worth the extra year of service time (we can't assume what the next CBA will say)?

Yes it would have been if they were actually going to attempt to try and win sooner than later.

Had I known they were going to continue with the idiocy of tanking again, I would have said to leave him down as they did.

[LookinUp]

6 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

Yes it would have been if they were actually going to attempt to try and win sooner than later.

Had I known they were going to continue with the idiocy of tanking again, I would have said to leave him down as they did.

No doubt. It was the best kept secret in baseball.