Ryan Mountcastle 2023

[ShoelesJoe]

Since June 1st Mountcastle has put up .343 / .409 / .550 / .959. 

What exactly do we know about his "vertigo" problems? If they've been resolved then is it possible that this is who he is going forward, give or take a mini-slump every couple of months? 

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, ShoelesJoe said:

Since June 1st Mountcastle has put up .343 / .409 / .550 / .959. 

What exactly do we know about his "vertigo" problems? If they've been resolved then is it possible that this is who he is going forward, give or take a mini-slump every couple of months? 

Why is vertigo being quoted here?

Are you suggesting they lied about his condition?

As for your question, he's probably still who he is, he was healthy in 2021-2022 and had some pretty wide variances month to month.

[AnythingO's]

Mountcastle didn't come off the IL until July 9 and he went on the IL June 10 so maybe you meant July 10??

[G54377]

I've never been happier to be wrong. I thought he was toast. Two months of a 1000 OPS isn't a hot streak. That's just a good hitter finding a groove. 

[nvpacchi]

Cherry picked career high alert!  Ryan Mountcastle has now posted a 20 game rolling walk rate greater than 10% for 19 consecutive days.  His previous high was 17 a few times over the years.  The smart money is probably to bet on a dip at some point, but a 10.8% walk rate since his DL stint (157 PAs) is new territory for him - add on a tidy 21% K rate.

 

Last time he approached that for 150 PAs was June/July 2021, which was good for a 125 wRC+ versus the 178 wRC+ he's sporting now since coming off the DL.

 

[Frobby]

The TV announcers keep harping on the fact that Mountcastle is using the middle of the field so much, but the fact is, he’s always done that.  His pull percentage is down a bit, but he’s never been an extreme pull hitter.  He’s just making better contact and being a bit more selective.  

[G54377]

Yea one the keys for Mountcastle is the classic Adam Jones "stop chasing breaking balls out of the zone early in the count!".

[Moose Milligan]

6 minutes ago, G54377 said:

Yea one the keys for Mountcastle is the classic Adam Jones "stop chasing breaking balls out of the zone early in the count!".

Jones would get selective for a little bit and then go right back to hacking. 
 

Coincidentally, Mountcastle has stopped getting unlucky all of a sudden. 

[Frobby]

10 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Jones would get selective for a little bit and then go right back to hacking. 
 

Coincidentally, Mountcastle has stopped getting unlucky all of a sudden. 

His .340 wOBA is still 25 points below his .365 xwOBA.   But, the gap was at 60 points when he went on the IL (.292/.353).  So, he has both made better contact and had better luck.

[Moose Milligan]

13 minutes ago, Frobby said:

His .340 wOBA is still 25 points below his .365 xwOBA.   But, the gap was at 60 points when he went on the IL (.292/.353).  So, he has both made better contact and had better luck.

That's good to hear.  All I know is that Ryan Mountcastle Apologist Club founder Kevin Brown has stopped saying that he's been unlucky.

[justD]

I thought this was kinda cool:

 

[Osornot]

On 8/31/2023 at 12:39 PM, Moose Milligan said:

Jones would get selective for a little bit and then go right back to hacking. 
 

Coincidentally, Mountcastle has stopped getting unlucky all of a sudden. 

I believe one seriously difficult thing to change is chasing any pitch consistently for a period of time.  I have seen a few times when Ryan almost, almost swung at the "curve outside the zone" but pulled back.  To me, if he can continue this improvement (habit?) he will get better pitches and his hit talent will be more consistent.  I am a bit cynical when "bad luck" is mentioned at this level.  

[banks703]

7 minutes ago, Osornot said:

I believe one seriously difficult thing to change is chasing any pitch consistently for a period of time.  I have seen a few times when Ryan almost, almost swung at the "curve outside the zone" but pulled back.  To me, if he can continue this improvement (habit?) he will get better pitches and his hit talent will be more consistent.  I am a bit cynical when "bad luck" is mentioned at this level.  

I think the bad luck (as it relates to Mountcastle) has been:

 

Stat                                               2022                      2023

sweetspot%                                  13th                      56th

exit velo                                        31st                      31st

barrel%                                         8th                         25th

hard hit%                                      44th                      64th

wOBA/xwOBA difference             252nd                     240th

 

He is exactly 31st right now (31st last year as well) in average exit velo (91.3 mph in 2022 and 91.9 mph in 2023) which is pretty interesting to me but.. these numbers all suggest that last year he was actually barreling up the ball more for harder contact but he wasn't getting the expected results. He's been slightly less unlucky this year but the results have obviously been pretty clearly different.

[casadeozo]

Anyone see this clip of Hyde snapping at a reporter asking if Mountcastle out of the lineup is related to vertigo? 

https://video.masnsports.com/video/BrandonHydeonJorgeLópezreunion/5106

[Getz]

9 minutes ago, casadeozo said:

Anyone see this clip of Hyde snapping at a reporter asking if Mountcastle out of the lineup is related to vertigo? 

https://video.masnsports.com/video/BrandonHydeonJorgeLópezreunion/5106

I watched it. It really was weird.