Ryan Mountcastle 2023

[maybenxtyr]

As frustrating as he can be, I have to remind myself that he's only 26. Sure, he may not completely change what he is but there's hope for some improvement. Seeing him taking hits to RF has been great.

[jdwilde1]

5 hours ago, banks703 said:

To keep this going for RM. Since the break he's now:

 

29/71 good for .409 BA with 7 2B, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 9 BB to 19 Ks

 

He's been a little more strikeout happy the last six games counting today (8 Ks in that span) but he's also walked three times and had nine hits. He may be reverting back to pull-happy Ryan, which we have to expect some but if he can fight off those tendencies and continue to stay true to the middle of the field, I think we've got this version of him that everyone salivated over during his years in the minors. It's still a relatively small sample size but I continue to like what we're seeing from him (approach-wise, not the numbers, obviously we all like the numbers). 

And at least 2 of those Ks were called strike threes with full counts on bad calls.  It could very easily be 6K and 5BB.  Regardless, good-Mounty is a beast and I hope he keeps it going.

[banks703]

53 minutes ago, jdwilde1 said:

And at least 2 of those Ks were called strike threes with full counts on bad calls.  It could very easily be 6K and 5BB.  Regardless, good-Mounty is a beast and I hope he keeps it going.

I’m really liking his swing decisions. He’s been more selective (though I’m not sure that the pitches per plate appearance suggest that). It just seems like he’s seeing the ball really well and he’s swinging at HIS pitch.

The league will adjust to how they pitch him at some point but with a warm Adley, Gunnar and Ant continuing to do their Gunnar and Ant things, ROH remaining productive, Westburg and Urias contributing and hopefully a healthy Ced, there continues to be no glaring hole in their lineup. Frazier and McCann have grown increasingly more productive these recent weeks. It’s going to be tough for opposing pitchers to consistently beat all nine guys in their lineup day in and day out. Pitchers are going to have to choose whether to pitch to RM with Adley on base OR pitch around him to get to Gunnar, Ant, ROH, Hays, etc etc. I expect RM to continue to rake if he stays with this approach, especially if he’s to preceded in the lineup by Adley and followed by Gunnar and Ant. It’s unconventional to lead off your catcher but damn if it isn’t working and helping Ryan to get pitches to hit. 

[sportsfan8703]

He’s having a Tim Beckham type August so far.

Tim Beckham August 2017 (AL Player of Month) - 

PA 132 H 50 HR 6 2B 10 3B 2 OPS 1.062

Ryan Mountcastle August 2023 -

PA 38 H 15 HR 2 2B 2 3B 0 OPS 1.295

[Billy F-Face3]

Ryan Mountcastle is doing great since recovering from Vertigo. Like he said, it's alot easier to hit 1 ball than it is when you're seeing 3 balls. 

[Billy F-Face3]

Ryan Mountcastle must have discovered this old tweet...

 

[accinfo]

Ryan walked 12 times his first 60 games this year.  In 25 games since he has come back from vertigo he has walked 11 times.  Not a definitive trend yet but it is a good sign.  If he continues to swing at strikes he will be a much more dangerous hitter.  

[ChosenOne21]

If he keeps up this trend of being more selective, yeah, he'll be special. But we've been down this road before, so I wouldn't bet on it lasting.

[banks703]

1 hour ago, ChosenOne21 said:

If he keeps up this trend of being more selective, yeah, he'll be special. But we've been down this road before, so I wouldn't bet on it lasting.

Not so. He’s never demonstrated this selectiveness, not even during his minor league career.

There is always the potential for regression to the mean so I’m not ready to declare that he has “fixed” himself but he’s showing a very clear difference in how he is attacking pitches since he came off of the IL. I don’t expect him to hit .400 with a 1/2 BB/K but if he can maintain this approach, he’s going to be a difference maker. I’ve stated multiple times that, to me, this has been his best stretch of hitting during his professional career. I’ll happily take less homers from him if it means more doubles, more hits to right field, more walks and more pitches per plate appearance. 

[Sanity Check]

How the times have changed after so many thought Elias was crazy bringing Mountcastle up after struggling to hit AAA pitching.   Seems maybe Elias wasn't crazy....

[Ripken]

Look at the BB below.  Down and/or away is exactly how you got him out many times over the last two years.  It looks to me like he's moved a little closer to the plate and it's clear his approach is to work away.  Those things are obviously related.  I'm sure he's worked on pitch recognition, both type and location.  Here, he swung at the first pitch and took the next five.  If he can continue laying off the outside stuff and working right-center, a BIG IF for sure, he's going to have a nice career because his hands are power are elite.

 

[clapdiddy]

Is it just me, or does his stance look a little different than before the time on the IL?

[banks703]

3 minutes ago, clapdiddy said:

Is it just me, or does his stance look a little different than before the time on the IL?

Nope, not just you. I've pointed it out a few times. He's not as tall/straight upright and stiff, his front leg/foot are not as pronounced and he's inched a little bit closer to the plate while opening up just a skosh.

[ChosenOne21]

2 hours ago, banks703 said:

Not so. He’s never demonstrated this selectiveness, not even during his minor league career.

There is always the potential for regression to the mean so I’m not ready to declare that he has “fixed” himself but he’s showing a very clear difference in how he is attacking pitches since he came off of the IL. I don’t expect him to hit .400 with a 1/2 BB/K but if he can maintain this approach, he’s going to be a difference maker. I’ve stated multiple times that, to me, this has been his best stretch of hitting during his professional career. I’ll happily take less homers from him if it means more doubles, more hits to right field, more walks and more pitches per plate appearance. 

I have no idea how to look this up, but I'd be surprised if he hasn't been this selective over 50 PAs somewhere in his career.

1 hour ago, Ripken said:

Look at the BB below.  Down and/or away is exactly how you got him out many times over the last two years.  It looks to me like he's moved a little closer to the plate and it's clear his approach is to work away.  Those things are obviously related.  I'm sure he's worked on pitch recognition, both type and location.  Here, he swung at the first pitch and took the next five.  If he can continue laying off the outside stuff and working right-center, a BIG IF for sure, he's going to have a nice career because his hands are power are elite. 

I wouldn't give him too much credit. Four of those were nowhere close, and yes, while he's swung at pitches like that before, I'm not ready to call him Joey Votto yet either.

I would love nothing more than for Ryan Mountcastle to hit like this forever, but he's got a track record of looking good for a month before becoming, well, Ryan Mountcastle again. I'll start hoping and getting a little excited if he does this for the rest of the season.

[Aristotelian]

2 hours ago, Sanity Check said:

How the times have changed after so many thought Elias was crazy bringing Mountcastle up after struggling to hit AAA pitching.   Seems maybe Elias wasn't crazy....

Well, the Orioles didn't tell us anything about his vertigo even though he was apparently playing with it for some time. I can buy into him hitting to his career norms, maybe better if he can improve incrementally his plate discipline.