Ryan Mountcastle 2022

[DrungoHazewood]

8 hours ago, FlaO'sFan said:

Point taken. I like Ryan and think he could be a great hitter, but imo he will never get there unless he changes his approach. 

Name an established major league hitter who completely changed his approach and went from a very aggressive hitter to a selective hitter.  

Guys like Sammy Sosa and Chris Davis don't count, they didn't really change their approach. The pitchers changed how they approached them when they started hitting every 5th ball 450 feet.

[luismatos4prez]

Mountcastle is Adam Jones at the plate.

He'll go through a stretch where he swings at every slider in the dirt and we'll all say "This guy can't hit" and then he'll go through a stretch where he mashes and we'll all say "He's finally turned a corner and learned how to hit" and repeat. The end result is an above average hitter though. Mounty's career wRC+ is 115 which plays at 1B as an average regular, but certainly not the straw that stirs the drink.

[FlaO'sFan]

1 hour ago, DrungoHazewood said:

Name an established major league hitter who completely changed his approach and went from a very aggressive hitter to a selective hitter.  

Guys like Sammy Sosa and Chris Davis don't count, they didn't really change their approach. The pitchers changed how they approached them when they started hitting every 5th ball 450 feet.

Sure, I get the point that maybe you just have to be who you are. I also don't think you give Sosa enough credit for the change in his approach, but of course I might be wrong on that.

I still think that Ryan is young enough that getting him to try to shrink the strike zone can only benefit him. It might be very hard, but imo is worth the try because of his talent for making good contact.

 

Edited July 25, 2022 by FlaO'sFan

[Just Regular]

I think Mountcastle could be helpful with lineup diversity for a while.

I believe Mark Trumbo was a really smart hitter, and the style he rested on to optimize his talents was a conscious choice.   He gave an opinion that influenced my take here, the gist of which was, "I tried being a more selective hitter and the result just wasn't a MLB player."     Some guys are Bruce Banner, some are the Hulk.     Hulk Smash! can be okay sometimes.    Mike Trout is Professor Hulk.

Mountcastle's about a year away from having Gunnar, Westburg and Cowser replace freer swingers in the lineup...he'll maybe get a little by osmosis.    Stowers I'm curious to see regularly...I'm honestly not sure if he's 80% Ryan Mountcastle or 80% Adley Rutschman in his strike zone command.

[ChuckS]

9 minutes ago, Just Regular said:

I think Mountcastle could be helpful with lineup diversity for a while.

I believe Mark Trumbo was a really smart hitter, and the style he rested on to optimize his talents was a conscious choice.   He gave an opinion that influenced my take here, the gist of which was, "I tried being a more selective hitter and the result just wasn't a MLB player."     Some guys are Bruce Banner, some are the Hulk.     Hulk Smash! can be okay sometimes.    Mike Trout is Professor Hulk.

Mountcastle's about a year away from having Gunnar, Westburg and Cowser replace freer swingers in the lineup...he'll maybe get a little by osmosis.    Stowers I'm curious to see regularly...I'm honestly not sure if he's 80% Ryan Mountcastle or 80% Adley Rutschman in his strike zone command.

The numbers indicate that his plate discipline is closer to Adley Rutschman than Ryan Mountcastle. 

Unfortunately his contact skills may be closer to Chris Davis. 

[InsideCoroner]

Something telling in his stats:
In '20 and '21 combined, his OPS when swinging at the first pitch was .952, and .748 when taking the first pitch.
This year, his first-pitch swing OPS is .688, and .844 when he takes the first pitch. 

So either his first-pitch swing choices have gotten worse, or the other teams learned to start him off with junk (or both).

[NCRaven]

I’m not ready to call an emergency meeting of the Ryan Mountcastle Fan Club.  He’s been cold lately.  But not Trey Mancini cold.

[Tony-OH]

14 hours ago, RZNJ said:

Mountcastle is what he is. I've noticed something from watching his AB's.  He'll swing at virtually anything before he has two strikes and then becomes more selective once he gets two strikes. I would imagine that Mountcastle gets behind in the count more than anyone besides Mateo (who seems to want to change).  I think the ultra aggressiveness is a choice Mountcastle has made as a hitter. He feels it works for him.  I need to look at his splits. We may find that he's not that good when ahead in the count and one of the better 2 strike hitters.

He's not my cup of tea as a hitter. 

I would guess that Mountcastle's style might not make him a nugget with the current regime.  We have a lot of prospects getting close.  Converting one (Vavra, Westburg/Mayo/Stowers)  to 1B doesn't seem that farfetched. 

This is a good point. Mountcastle's approach is not the approach taught by the Elias regime. I've always thought he would be a guy who has value who could be moved because honestly, you can convert just about anyone to play first base and Rutschman can play there when he's not catching sometimes.

Mountcastle has traditionally not hit in April and July. Not sure why, but his track record at the major league level shows his lengthy cold streaks. Lengthy cold streaks from your power hitter is not a good thing and may make him pretty available if Elias can get the right return for him.

[jamalshw]

I like Mountcastle, particularly when he gets red hot, but his lack of positional flexibility and need to play 1B or DH limits him and makes his offensive abilities play down a bit. Still, I like him, but more as a 6 place hitter than a someone that hits 4-5 in the order. I know many don't believe place in the order matters too much, but he's a streakier hitter and his approach makes him vulnerable to cold stretches. 

I think he's a solid player, however, and a fine value though that may change in his last year or two of arbitration. Until then, he's certainly got a place on this team (of course, if you get a good offer you make the deal). 

I would love to see Adley stay in the 2-hole and solidify himself there down the stretch and eventually when Henderson is up, I'd love to see him establish himself more as a middle of the order bat and eventually push Mountcastle down into the second half of the order where he ultimately belongs. 

[clapdiddy]

Anyone think it might be time to let Ryan sit a game out?   Maybe the rest of the month since he's always miserable in July?

[RVAOsFan]

4 minutes ago, clapdiddy said:

Anyone think it might be time to let Ryan sit a game out?   Maybe the rest of the month since he's always miserable in July?

It is frustrating when his bat goes cold but if it gets hot he can put the team on his back.